US PC market grows 17% in Q2 2021 as notebook popularity booms | ZDNet

The US PC market continued its expansion in Q2 2021, growing 17% thanks to a total shipment volume of 36.8 million units, according to analysts at Canalys. 

Notebooks and desktops led the way with a growth in shipments of 27% and 23% respectively compared to last year. Tablet shipments were down 1% in Q2. 

HP was the leading company in the US, delivering more than 8 million devices to customers and dominating the Chromebook sector with a 42% market share. Apple suffered a 3% decline in devices shipped but still held on to the second place slot behind HP. 

Canalys noted that Apple was the only major PC manufacturer to see negative growth in Q2, due in no small part to waning consumer interest in iPads, according to the report. The company did see a 24% increase in notebook shipments thanks to recent success with the M1 chip. 

The rest of the list is rounded out by Samsung, which saw a 51% growth in shipments year over year while Lenovo and Dell posted 25% and 11% growth respectively in Q2. Canalys attributed Lenovo’s success to its growing influence over the Chromebook market while Samsung solidified its place in the tablet market, seeing a growth of 19% in the US for Q2 even as the overall tablet market shrank. 

Following a spike in tablet interest in Q2 2020, there has been a slowdown as the COVID-19 pandemic has waned and more people spent the summer outdoors. 

Brian Lynch, research analyst at Canalys, said it was now clear that pandemic-related use cases will extend well into the future. 

“This points toward a significant refresh opportunity in the future — fantastic news for PC vendors and their channel and ecosystem partners. The commercial and education segments have exploded, triggering tremendous refresh potential,” Lynch said. 

“The US economy has bounced back well from its pandemic woes and small businesses are recovering, which will lead to a wave of purchasing from the segment.”

But Canalys added in its report that with the Delta variant of COVID-19 triggering another wave of infections, hospitalizations and deaths, many companies have doubled down on investing in tools built for hybrid work models. 

While US schools have shown no signs of canceling in-person educating for the coming school year, hybrid learning models also look as if they’re here to stay, Canalys theorized. 

“The US PC industry is set for a bright future. Whether it be work, school or leisure at home, PCs are in users’ hands more than ever. The integration of devices into everyday life points toward a rosy future for the market,” said Lynch.