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PC shipments worst decline in history – blame Windows 8

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Reports have surfaced that PC shipments have suffered the worst single quarter decline in history, or at least the history since IDC started tracking the PC market in 1994. Apparently the disappointing launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 is what appears to have slowed the market.

According to GI.biz, worldwide PC shipments stood at 76.3 million units, which is a 13.9% decline of the same quarter in 2012. This has been classified as the single largest quarterly drop since 1994. IDC only expected a 7.7% drop.

“At this point, unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market,” said Bob O’Donnell, vice president of Clients and Displays at IDC, in a statement.

“While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the UI, removal of the familiar Start button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices. Microsoft will have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if it wants to help reinvigorate the PC market.”

Even though I’m not entirely sold that Windows 8 is all to blame for the decline, I can’t say that it helped improve PC sales either. The Operating System was simply released at the wrong time. It’s abundantly clear that it’s an OS for touch screens and quite obviously PC’s don’t only come with those do they? The OS could probably be really awesome and successful should that become a reality, but until then, belongs on surface tablets and not on our PC’s. The super fast boot up is just not enough to justify keeping the OS installed, but suffering in other areas.

Last Updated: April 12, 2013

59 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief Erwin

    April 12, 2013 at 09:54

    Janee, REFUSE to touch Win8, I REFUSE.

    *waits for SP1*

    Reply

    • NiteFenix

      April 12, 2013 at 09:58

      Or Windows 8.1 😛

      Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 12, 2013 at 10:34

      Likewise! Windows 7 is my new XP, it’s going to be installed for 15 years….

      Reply

    • Slade Boender

      April 12, 2013 at 10:34

      If even that. Win7 does what it needs to and doesnt blow up terribly often. I ran XP up untill the release (and stable release at that) of DX11. Hell I’d still run XP if it were up to me. You could shoot it with a tank and the only thing that would happen is that you might have lost like 12mb’s of virtual memory.

      Reply

      • HvR

        April 12, 2013 at 10:49

        still rocking Win XP on both my work machines.

        Reply

        • Slade Boender

          April 12, 2013 at 10:52

          If only x64 was more stable and did the DX11 thing. Man. I’d be in utter heaven. Tired of switching on my pc and seeing that 1.5gb of ddr3 are missing to the bane of microsoft.

          Reply

          • matthurstrsa

            April 12, 2013 at 13:26

            I ran XP until late last year. Changed to 7, and it sped up my machine dramatically!

      • FoxOneZA - The Chosen One

        April 12, 2013 at 11:55

        Once you see DX11 on WIn 8, there’s no turning back 😉

        Reply

  2. AndriyP

    April 12, 2013 at 09:55

    Ive seen this happening with win7 slowly…hated the fact that upon clean install it tries to tell you what to do

    “Are you sure you want to click on this”
    “You have just clicked on this are you sure that what you wanted to do?”
    “OK since you are sure might aswell let you through but not without asking if you are 100% sure”
    First thing i do is swithc all this shit off when i install

    but with win8 we dont have such luxuries as to set it up the way i want it to work

    Reply

  3. Kaya

    April 12, 2013 at 10:00

    The problem I have with Windows 8 is that there are loads of programs and little things that don’t work. For example I can’t login to my router from my browser on Windows 8, that’s a pretty serious problem.

    I never user the Metro interface and while it may really work on tablets there is just no point for desktop users.

    Reply

    • Lord Chaos

      April 12, 2013 at 12:03

      Odd, I have no problem connecting to my router…

      Reply

  4. Hondsepop

    April 12, 2013 at 10:02

    You know what, I don’t want a OS on my PC that is build for tablets. The reason I have a PC is to close the door of my study and get away from the wife and children for a couple of minutes. It works and keeps me sane.

    Reply

  5. Gavin Mannion

    April 12, 2013 at 10:04

    I love my windows 8 OS… I haven’t had a single days problem and the removed start bar has simply sped up my productivity.

    Reply

    • Kaya

      April 12, 2013 at 10:18

      The removal of the start bar is annoying when you don’t know keyboard short cuts I don’t have a problem but I’d like to launch in desktop mode at least.

      Reply

    • Lord Chaos

      April 12, 2013 at 11:51

      Agreed. I have NO problem with Win 8. In fact it’s only installed on my gaming rig and it works perfectly with what I want it to do, it has in actual fact made my life easier.

      Reply

    • FoxOneZA - The Chosen One

      April 12, 2013 at 11:56

      I can’t see anyone gaming on a PC without Windows 8. Games run smoother, faster and DX11 is the best thing.

      Reply

    • ElNicko

      April 12, 2013 at 12:22

      Quite lucky then Gav , had a few times where a dodgey update from microsoft practically broke my laptop. Thank goodness for restore points

      Reply

  6. Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

    April 12, 2013 at 10:07

    I was reading about this yesterday.

    What seems to be a common consensus is that PC unit sales are slowing for pre-built PC’s through people like sahara, pro-line (do they even still exist?) etc.

    People are becoming smarter and purchasing components separately to build up PC’s.

    What I would like to know is whether these stats took in to consideration component sales or if this was only pre-built PC shipments.

    If it’s only pre-built then I am sure the reality is a lot more positive and that they are simply trying to call doom and gloom for the PC market to try and drive people towards mobile computing.

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      April 12, 2013 at 10:11

      ah but remember the vast majority of PC sales go to corporates, government and the like who would never build their own PC’s…

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        April 12, 2013 at 10:16

        Also very true. And I guess they are moving more towards laptops, tablets and general mobile computing and moving away from the desktop PC. It just makes sense.

        But surely that doesn’t mean the general PC market itself is falling? Surely component sales would bolster the stats in a large way?

        I’m no expert but it’s the trend in this day and age to build up your own PC (as a normal consumer). Back in the days when I was much younger the trend was to buy pre-built.

        So the consumers are just becoming more clued up. Or at least that’s what I am thinking.

        But yeah, businesses are moving away from desktops towards mobile computing and that’s just not something the PC can’t compete with.

        Reply

        • Yolanda Green

          April 12, 2013 at 10:21

          It all comes down to mobility 🙂 Why give your employers a Desktop PC for the office AND a Laptop for travel or working overtime from home? When you can give them one compact device that does everything and can be taken everywhere. In a way PC gaming is going the exact same way, especially with the smaller Alienware rigs, makes LANning so much easier. But you are right, building up rigs has become more popular than buying pre-builds.

          Reply

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            April 12, 2013 at 10:25

            And that’s why I’d love to see the stats of component sales now compared to component sales back then. My personal feeling is that that would increase. So while PC unit sales have gone down, component sales are up and so balances out. Hence the market needs to shift it’s way of thinking to accommodate.

            Either way, the technology market is volatile and changes drastically when new tech is available. It’s an adapt or die market lol

          • Ultimo_Cleric_N7

            April 12, 2013 at 10:48

            100% Yolanda. Upvote for days.
            Tower PC’s are declining and tablets and Laptops are growing. I wouldnt say that its Windows fault. As Gav said its a great OS.

          • HvR

            April 12, 2013 at 11:18

            You’re confusing light users with people actually working on their PC’s.

            Checking/forwarding mail, reading a few document and Skyping a tablet will suffice but actually producing something (5+ pdf, two IDE’s, two browsers, ssh session and 3 Skype sessions at the same time) nothing beats a PC.

            A PC do not need to be latest anymore, my laptop is a 6 year old dual core proper Dell laptop and my desktop top is 3 year old Core2 Quad generation PC. Both run Windows XP SP3, works with everything (never have a driver/support problem) and is stable as a rock.

            The decline is financial, easiest way for company to stretch the ever tightening budgets is not to upgrade every 2 years because actually there is no reason for a manager to have a R20K+ laptop to write his KPA doc or create his latest BS powerpoint.

        • Robert Infy Hart

          April 12, 2013 at 10:23

          Its just a matter of having more options. So in the past if an employee wanted to check his mail, he’d need a PC. Now instead of paying R5,000 for a cheap office PC, they are spending R5,000 for a mid-range smart phone.

          Component sales are generally on the up. All the component companies are still making a killing and PC game sales are also on the increase.

          Reply

        • Lourens Jordaan

          April 12, 2013 at 10:25

          Corporations are also moving towards cloud computing which does not require a lot of processing power at a local work station. Basically only needs a network connection, input devices and a screen.
          The general home pc market is also moving towards laptops due to the affordability and mobility. The only true build your own pc market left is the gamers and small businesses that require a lot of processing power.

          Reply

          • umar bastra

            April 12, 2013 at 10:28

            Yup Yup agreed, I worked somewhere they were migrating to the cloud as well, I think that and the fact that corporations don’t always invest in the latest PC hardware as it comes out though, and gamers and small business owners hardly make up any feasible part of the PC market sales

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            April 12, 2013 at 10:31

            Not really. There are a lot of industries that still require modular desktop PC’s. The first that springs to mind is graphic design and visual arts (specifically high quality digital and video).

            These guys need to have as much power as they can and need to upgrade easily when the time calls for it. I know a lot of VFX artists who despise working on laptops because they often don’t cut it.

            I am sure there are many other industries that still require high end computing. None of them being small businesses.

            I’m not arguing the facts. PC units are not moving as much as they used to. It’s the cold hard truth. But, I am not too worried as pre-built is a generally bad idea anyway.

            But companies that still require high end desktops are simply opting to putting their own pc’s together from components and not purchasing pre-built PC’s with crapware on them slowing them down etc. So that’s another factor to think about when running up the tallies of PC unit sales.

            The desktop PC is far from dead.

          • Kobus Nel

            April 15, 2013 at 11:40

            Yup, us Graphic Designers and VFX artists like to have the power at our finger tips! 😀 Personally, getting a pre-built PC is against my beliefs. I want to know what’s in there, I want to buy the parts and put it together, boot it up and make it MY rig, MY creation. Like the pride one has when building their own car. The confidence of knowing what your rig is made of, sets in apart by far from those pre-built PC’s.

            And I’m not talking about Win8. It’s a nice to have on tablets, otherwise it stays right where it is on the shop’s shelf. I prefer android anyway 🙂 http://i.imgur.com/UQMUWpR.png

          • Slade Boender

            April 12, 2013 at 10:42

            No. No they arent. Did you leave Sims 3 on again? #droomlekkerpapa. A tablet is not a laptop and a laptop is not a pc. I dont know where you getting your data but, laptops are in decline, corporations opt for pc’s because they’re easier to fix and maintain. Laptops require hefty warranties to keep running and are also not upgradable. A decent 17″ will set you back at least 10K. For that price you can walk away for a modular i5 and 24″ monitor and the bits to go with it. PC’s arent for gamers and “small” companies. Its the most cost effective way of completing digital workflow and maintenance there of. Name one company thats moved to cloud computing in a 5km radius from your office? South african broadband is hardly stable enough to run that kind of implementation, never mind the fact of some one else hosting company sensitive data. Pc’s will stay at the forefront of business for many a year to come. Its not just about gaming.

          • Sandelk

            April 12, 2013 at 11:50

            My company moved to cloud computing… Yes, we have an expensive internet connection (although my home connection connects to the cloud fine as well), but it was needed as we are a global IT company. A lot of companies are doing this in the area and most actually prefer laptops for their mobility – as it enables employees to connect anywhere… It is industry specific however. We don’t use the cloud for everything and especially not as a code repository, because that’s just stupid, but it is a definite trend.

          • Slade Boender

            April 12, 2013 at 12:03

            you know its a fad right? Centralized computation is a myth 😛

        • Lardus

          April 12, 2013 at 11:19

          Our company, for one, started moving towards laptops a long time ago. Mostly new junior people get to use the old desktops while waiting for their chance to get a laptop.

          Reply

  7. Lourens Jordaan

    April 12, 2013 at 10:08

    In your face master race!!! Going the way of the Dodo is my guess. Pretty soon PC’s will see the same release schedule as the Wii U! “There’s just no market for PC games anymore” says one gaming exec…… TROLOLOLO!!!

    Reply

    • Slade Boender

      April 12, 2013 at 10:32

      Sorry Lourens. I know you tried but its ok buddy. Take a break. Here. Have a kit kat.

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        April 12, 2013 at 10:39

        Hey it wasn’t all bad. I give it a 6/10… What do you think? What’s the metacritic score?

        Reply

        • Slade Boender

          April 12, 2013 at 10:44

          If you give me some money maybe Ill do a review

          Reply

        • HvR

          April 12, 2013 at 10:47

          eahhh, give him a 4.5/10. Base score of 4 +1 for master race -0.5 for buggering he trollololol

          Reply

          • Slade Boender

            April 12, 2013 at 10:48

            HE-TROLL! MASTER OF THE INTERWEBVERSE!

          • HvR

            April 12, 2013 at 11:37

            dibs, using it for my profile name.

            By the power TrollSkull, I HAVE THE POWER!!!

        • Lourens Jordaan

          April 12, 2013 at 11:22

          Hey, come on! I should at least get something for the horrible release schedule for the Wii U reference, as well as paraphrasing a fictional gaming executive. Since big business makes strategic decisions by referencing reports like this, it would be safe to presume that EA might decide to limit some releases only to consoles due to the declining PC market. I’m not saying it is declining, I’m saying that this report can be interpreted as such. The funny thing is that the gaming rig market is probably as stable as ever.

          Reply

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            April 12, 2013 at 11:25

            Hehe. The Wii referance pushed your score up from 5 to 6 😛

            Look you are right. Certain companies (EA) always jump on the bandwagon of what they seem to believe “the consumer” wants.

            PC units decreasing? Oh that means there is no money in the PC industry. Goes console only. Dies a horrible financial death…. Hey… wait…. Yes! tell EA the PC market is dead! I have found out how to defeat them!!!!!

  8. caponeil

    April 12, 2013 at 10:12

    Anyone got the black screen of doom yet in Windows 8 where you only see a cursor display?? Annoying as crap. I have had to format mine twice already. Can’t move to Win 7 though as I need to test the our Software on Win8…

    Reply

  9. GTO

    April 12, 2013 at 10:14

    Just silly, the reason everyone I know hasn’t upgraded PC is because our PC’s have run all the games from this generation on high graphics for thr past 6 years. We don’t upgrade because we don’t need anything better.

    Reply

    • Robert Infy Hart

      April 12, 2013 at 10:20

      Blame consoles!

      Reply

      • GTO

        April 12, 2013 at 11:05

        Personally I am thankful, consoles holding game graphics (which I dont care about) back back has saved me lots of money.

        Reply

  10. Carl Angus

    April 12, 2013 at 10:25

    I can’t say that I like Windows 8, the whole blockiness of that UI tells me it was meant for tabets and hammered onto the PC platform as an afterthought. I also found that some of my critical software just doesn’t work in Win 8, VPN, SAP and router utilities gives issues, so I’ll have to stick with 7 for now.

    For me I’m getting some Windows ME type aftertastes from Windows 8.

    As for the actual topic, could we be hitting a stage where PC’s from 2 years ago are still coping with todays average software, as such people don’t need to upgrade as frequently. My work laptop is an old Toshiba Satelite now 6 years old and it still runs everything I need perfectly. (Obviously I’m not counting the cutting edge games in my generalizations).

    Reply

  11. Slade Boender

    April 12, 2013 at 10:30

    Windows 8. The other other white meat. That no one wants to touch.

    Reply

  12. SPDHUNTER

    April 12, 2013 at 10:32

    I don’t see the blame with Windows 8 at all. World economy is still a mess and people/business are just not purchasing/upgrading at the rate they used to for obvious reasons.

    Computer hardware as well as Windows 7 has been much more stable than any previous generations. Hence another reason why must you buy a new PC if the current one is running perfectly.

    Here at work we’ve been running on a brand new server as well as Windows 7 desktop with i5/i7 platforms for the last two years without a single major problem. Just the usual software glich here and there. Same goes for my PC at home. Again no reason to upgrade hardware or to Windows 8 not because it’s bad, just because why fix it when it ain’t broke.

    Bottom line is money is not falling from the sky like pre 2008 and computer platforms are just performing better and lasting longer. Plus there are tones of other devices like phones, tablets etc that help people connect. The guys that compile these reports always try and blame something on a single matter when in reality there are so many factors together that’s the cause for change.

    Reply

    • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

      April 12, 2013 at 10:34

      Yep, also still running my i7-2600 sandy bridge from almost 2 years ago and it still isn’t breaking a sweat.

      Reply

    • umar bastra

      April 12, 2013 at 10:34

      Agreed!! and the single factor they put the blame on is always so ludacris. WIndows 8 is far from the main cause … Obama could be closer to source … JK 😛

      Reply

  13. Lardus

    April 12, 2013 at 11:18

    Sure, blame Windows 8. It has nothing to do at all with the “double dip recession”. It is all Microsoft!

    Reply

  14. FoxOneZA - The Chosen One

    April 12, 2013 at 12:03

    Well it’s ironic and stupid to blame Windows 8 sales on the decline of PC sales. Regardless of OS, PC’s will still regardless get sold. If one doesn’t like Windows 8, they could always load Windows 7, Linux, XP, etc. For years the Apple Mac and Mac Book range have seen a decline in sales. Hardware prices and technology have been stagnant for years and this isn’t helping the industry. For the past 6 year’s the quad core CPU has been the defecto tech on PC’s. Consoles and even cellphones are moving onto 8 Cores. Blu Ray as a medium isn’t as popular either. There’s more to the PC than an OS.

    Reply

  15. OVG

    April 12, 2013 at 12:18

    iPad was the reason. Nothing wrong with Windows 8 but all those 50 something people who are now enjoying reading in bed with a Tablet, who would other wise own a PC just to read are the main market.

    Dont worry, Im sure the XBOX 720 will revive Windows 8 with there SMART GLASS SURFACE KINECT MINORITY REPORT INTERFACE for all American super speed Internet living rooms.

    Reply

  16. string_slinger

    April 12, 2013 at 13:17

    Have no problems with Win 8. Everything works, faster and neater too. Run a pro recording studio and am a heavy gamer too – so if there were issues I’d have found them. Have 3 Win 8 machine in house, and performance is great on all. Best Windows ever. I don’t rally use Metro, even on my touchscreen S200 – just desktop, and kudos to MS for leaving us the choice. They moved it on without moving it away from us.

    As for PC sales issue, I think the hardware OEMS were leaning on Win 8 to give them a boost that software alone can never do. It’s the marriage of innovative & useable hardware and innovative & useable software that drive demand, and thereby sales. Look at both the good and bad phones out there running Android – it’s about what you do with it, you can’t blame Android if your phone doesn’t sell well. OEM’s using MS as a scapegoat here quite frankly.

    Reply

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