Devices shipments to stay flat in 2017, but PC revival expected in 2018

Gartner predicts PC replacement cycles next year will lift PC shipments in 2018 and 2019

Worldwide device shipments will stay flat in 2017 as a result of market saturation, according to Gartner.

In the PC market, Gartner predicts that shipments of traditional PCs and basic tablets will both fall slightly; but shipments of ultramobile devices such as the Macbook Air will see an increase.

This is set to cause overall PC shipments to drop from 268 million devices in 2016 to 266 million 2017.

Gartner is however predicting a revival of the PC market at the end of this year as replacement cycles begin, which it says will lead to shipments of 272 million in 2018; and 278 million in 2019.

Mobile devices meanwhile will see consistent shipment growth over the next three years, driven by eastern markets.

Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, was pessimistic on the overall performance of the devices market over the coming three years.

"The global devices market is stagnating," he said.

"Mobile phone shipments are only growing in emerging Asia/Pacific markets, and the PC market is just reaching the bottom of its decline.

"As well as declining shipment growth for traditional devices, average selling prices are also beginning to stagnate because of market saturation and a slower rate of innovation."