Global PC shipments grow 2.6% in 2024, genAI to drive volumes in 2025: Counterpoint

Personal computer (PC) makers shipped 253 million units globally in 2024 – growing by 2.6% year-on-year from 2023 – due to an impending end of support for Windows 10 operating system (OS) and the first wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-equipped computers in the second half of the year, as per the preliminary data released by Counterpoint on Monday.

In Q4 2024, the global PC market grew by 3.7% year-on-year in terms of volume, thanks to the year-end holiday season and China’s subsidy policy, as per Counterpoint.

“We believe the PC market has recovered to normal seasonality and entered a new phase after the launch of AI PCs in 2024,” the research firm said.

First-ranked Lenovo grew the fastest at 4.6% year-on-year growth in volumes in 2024, while second-placed HP’s volume growth was flat at 0.2% year-on-year, and Dell in the third place saw its volume fall by 1.3% year-on-year, as per Counterpoint data.

Apple and Asus in fourth and fifth ranks grew by 1.3% year-on-year and 3% year-on-year, respectively, the market tracker’s report showed.

“Overall, PC vendors’ market share in 2024 remained largely unchanged,” said Senior Analyst William Li, adding that competition among chip vendors is intensifying in the AI PC segment with the entry of Qualcomm, AMD’s growing traction, Intel’s downturn, and a potential new entrant with an Arm-based solution in late 2025.

“GenAI PC capability driven by Microsoft and chip vendors is set to put some life back into the PC segment,” Li said.

It reported that over 25% of laptop PCs shipped in 2024 were generative AI (genAI) capable, while in 2025, AI laptops are poised to capture close to 60% of the total laptop market.

PC brands introduced several AI PCs in 2024, starting with models based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite series, followed by AMD’s Strix Point and Intel’s Lunar Lake.

AI-advanced laptops PCs are Microsoft CoPilot+ computers sporting a powerful neural processing unit (NPU), and AI-capable laptop PCs powered by Nvidia’s RTX 3000 or RTX 4000 series GPUs, which can run GenAI applications on the device efficiently.

Together, these AI-advanced laptops have captured 27% of the global laptop PC market in the first year of rollout, as per Counterpoint.

It estimates that laptops, priced above $1,000 (or Rs 86,000), by default will have on-device GenAI capabilities, which will also diffuse down to mid-tier PCs in terms of hardware and support, accelerating the shipments of such laptops in 2025.

“The AI ecosystem on the software and application sides will continue to mature this year, with the Agentic AI proliferating,” Counterpoint said.