Michal Ždanský We could first hear about the term Post-PC from Steve Jobs in 2007, when he described devices like iPods and other music players as devices that do not serve general purposes, but focus on specific tasks such as playing music. He also stated that we will see more and more of these devices in the near future. This was before the introduction of the iPhone. In 2011, when he introduced iCloud, he again played the Post-PC note in the context of the cloud, which is supposed to replace the "hub" that the PC has always represented. Later, even Tim Cook called the present the Post-PC era, when computers cease to function as the centerpieces of our digital lives and are replaced by devices such as smartphones and tablets.
And there was much truth in those words. A few days ago, the analyst firm IDC released a report on global PC sales for the last quarter, which confirmed the Post-PC trend - PC sales fell by less than 14 percent and recorded a year-on-year decline of 18,9 percent, which is almost double against analysts' expectations. The last growth of the computer market was recorded a year ago in the first quarter of 2012, since then it has been in constant decline for four quarters in a row.
IDC released preliminary sales estimates, in which HP and Lenovo lead the top two with nearly 12 million PCs sold and roughly a 15,5% share. While Lenovo maintained similar numbers from last year, HP saw a sharp drop of less than a quarter. The fourth ACER saw an even greater decline with a loss of more than 31 percent, while the sales of the third Dell fell "only" by less than 11 percent. Even in the fifth place, ASUS is not doing the best: in the last quarter, it sold only 4 million computers, which is a 36 percent decrease compared to last year.
While Apple did not rank among the top five in global sales, the US market looks quite different. According to IDC, Apple sold just under 1,42 million computers, thanks to which it took a ten percent bite of the pie and was enough for third place behind HP and Dell, but they do not have as big a lead over Apple as in the global market, see the table. However, Apple declined by 7,5 percent, at least according to IDC data. On the contrary, the rival analytical firm Gartner claims that the decline in PC sales is not so rapid and that Apple on the contrary gained 7,4 percent in the American market. In both cases, however, these are still estimates, and the real numbers, at least in Apple's case, will be revealed only when the quarterly results are announced on April 23.
According to IDC, two factors are responsible for the decline - one of them is the already mentioned shift away from classic computers to mobile devices, especially tablets. The second is the slow onset of Windows 8, which, on the contrary, was expected to help the growth of computers.
Unfortunately, at this point, it is clear that Windows 8 has not only failed to boost PC sales, but has even slowed down the market. Although some customers appreciate the new forms and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes in the user interface, the removal of the familiar Start menu, and the prices have made the PC a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competing devices. Microsoft will have to make some tough decisions in the near future if it wants to help boost the PC market.
– Bob O'Donnell, IDC Program Vice President
The cannibalization of tablets on classic PCs was also mentioned by Tim Cook during the last announcement of the results for the fourth quarter of 2012. In it, sales of Macs recorded a significant drop, which, however, was partly to blame for delayed sales of new iMacs. However, according to Tim Cook, Apple is not afraid: "If we fear cannibalization, someone else will cannibalize us. We know the iPhone is cannibalizing iPod sales and the iPad is cannibalizing Mac sales, but that doesn't bother us." declared Apple's CEO a quarter of a year ago.
