Windows 10 to stabilise PC market - IDC

New operating system will be 'significant contributor' to market but commercial buyers will remain cautious

The arrival of Windows 10 will bring some hope to the ailing PC market, but vendors and partners still need to work hard to convince customers of the benefits, according to IDC.

The operating system is set to hit the market at the end of this summer and will act as an upgrade path for commercial Windows 7 users that didn't go for Windows 8, the analyst said.

Its arrival will make a "significant contribution" to the market, but PC players should not take this for granted, according to IDC's vice president for worldwide PC trackers Loren Loverde.

"Microsoft and PC vendors still need to convince users of the advantages of the new OS and new PCs, which will take some time," he said. "In addition to educating clients, they'll face tough competition from other devices, and weak spending in many regions."

But the outlook remains positive: "We see PC shipments stabilising in 2016, followed by limited growth for the next few years."

Overall in 2015, global PC shipments are expected to fall by 6.2 per cent annually – the fourth consecutive year of decline thanks to competition from tablets and smartphones.

Tablet trouble

Despite eating into PC sales, the tablet market itself will far from set the world alight this year. IDC claims shipments of the devices, as well as two-in-one versions, will reach 221.8 million units in 2015, down 3.8 per cent from last year.

The grim outlook follows two quarters in a row of slumping sales and represents a downward revision from IDC's previous forecast of 235.5 million units. The analyst had expected the market to grow 2.1 per cent annually.

But Jean Philippe Bouchard, IDC's research director for tablets, remained optimistic about certain areas of the market.

"We're seeing cellular-capable tablets and two-in-one devices experience important growth in certain parts of the world and we think this represents a huge opportunity for the entire tablet ecosystem," he said.

"Those cellular-connected devices fill multiple needs for vendors and carriers around the world; they offer a quick solution to price and margin erosion, and when compared to smartphones, they offer a less expensive way for carriers to increase their subscriber base."