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The traditional PC market (desktops, notebooks, and workstations) in Asia/Pacific (including Japan and China) dropped by 1.9% in 2024 to 95.5 million units, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Q uarterly Personal Computing Devices Tracker, Q4 2024. IDC expects shipments to grow in 2025, mainly driven by replacement demand in Japan.
“In 2024, the Asia/Pacific region decreased year-over-year (YoY) as the market was dragged down by the sluggish economic recovery in China. Consumers limited purchases because of constrained spending power, while businesses faced tight budgets and restricted expenditures amid market uncertainty. That said, countries like Japan and the Philippines posted double-digit YoY growth, fueled by strong demand in the education segment and the private sector,” says Matthew Ong, senior market analyst, Devices Research, IDC Asia/Pacific.
Key Market Trends in 2024
- The consumer PC market declined by 2.6% to 47.3 million units. Desktop shipments dropped by 6.0% while notebooks fell by 1.5% YoY. Besides China, several other countries including Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam experienced weak demand, which contributed to the decline of the consumer PC market in 2024.
- The commercial PC market decreased by 1.3% to 48.2 million units. Businesses were quite cautious with IT spending, although replacement demand started to pick up in the second half of the year to refresh devices that were purchased during the pandemic. This was particularly evident in Japan where the private sector posted double-digit YoY growth. Public sector shipments grew slightly, thanks to solid demand in the government segment as well as several large education projects that supported the commercial PC market in 2024.
In 2025, traditional PC shipments in Asia/Pacific are projected to record a 4.1% growth to 99.4 million units, driven by the commercial segment’s demand to replace pandemic-driven purchases and the transition to Windows 11, particularly in Japan.
"The Asia/Pacific PC market faces a year of mixed potential with several factors offering opportunities: aging pandemic-era PCs driving commercial refreshes, end of Windows 10 support spurring significant upgrades, and growing interest in AI PCs for productivity enhancements," said Maciek Gornicki, senior research manager, Devices Research, IDC Asia/Pacific. “However, businesses and consumers have yet to understand full benefits of AI PCs, which require greater education on use cases. While companies are likely to invest in AI PCs to futureproof their hardware, adoption is expected to be gradual and follow typical replacement cycles. Coupled with global economic and political uncertainties, this makes us believe that the PC market will witness only moderate growth this year.”
