Unit shipments for the global personal computing devices market, comprised of traditional PCs, Tablets, and Workstations, is expected to contract by 3.9% in 2018, according to the latest forecast from the IDC ‘Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker'.

Despite the decline in overall shipment volume, the market is expected to grow 3.6% in terms of dollar value to $237.3 billion in 2018, fueled by 2-in-1s (detachable tablets and convertible notebooks), ultra-slim notebooks, and even desktops, particularly ones used for gaming.

This decline is expected to continue throughout the forecast period as the market shrinks to 383.6 million units shipped in 2022 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -1.5%.

"Although average time spent on a PC has declined substantially in the past few years, the need for better designs and greater performance has continued to grow," says IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani.

"The market for gaming PCs provides a much-needed uplift in the short term and beyond that, we still anticipate the need for performance-oriented machines that cater to designers, AR/VR related tasks, and even to creators that are part of the YouTube generation."

Among the various form factors, desktop PCs are expected to see a CAGR of -2.7% as most of these devices are destined for the commercial market where lengthy refresh cycles and saturation are contributing to a steady decline in shipments.

Slate tablets, along with traditional notebooks and mobile workstations, share a similar outlook with five-year CAGRs of -5.3% and -9.1% respectively.

Meanwhile, ultraslim notebooks and 2-in-1 devices share a much more positive outlook as the categories are forecast to achieve CAGRs of 7.8% and 9.3% respectively.

"While the ramp of convertibles and detachables has been more crawl than run, the category, on the whole, continues to build momentum," says IDC devices and displays research director Linn Huang.

"Strong form factor appeal, the continued growth of gaming, and even the ascent of Chromebook as a consumer device in North America will all play an important role in bolstering the critical holiday season that is looming."

IDC's ‘Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker' gathers data in more than 90 countries and provides detailed, timely, and accurate information on the global personal computing device market.

This includes data and insight into global trends around desktops, notebooks, detachable tablets, slate tablets, and workstations.

In addition to insightful analysis, the program delivers quarterly market share data and a five-year forecast by country.

The research includes historical and forecast trend analysis.