February 8 news, according to the latest research report released by market research agency Strategy Analytics recently, global laptop shipments reached a high point in 2020, and then increased by 19% year-on-year in 2021, reaching a record 268 million again. As 2022 begins, the industry must be cautious about ongoing supply issues and rising freight and manufacturing costs.
In fact, commercial demand for laptops remained strong in the fourth quarter of 2021, while SMBs and consumers seized the huge holiday discount season, strongly ending 2021. Faced with supply constraints, the industry as a whole prioritizes the production of laptops to meet the demands of hybrid work.
Chirag Upadhyay, industry analyst at Strategy Analytics, said: "The fourth quarter of 2021 marked another strong quarter for the laptop market, bringing another strong year to an end. The continued demand for hybrid work environments has supported growth in developed markets, while also being driven by the attractive prices of Windows 11 and DaaS. Emerging markets are driven by continued demand from SMEs, while consumers continue to shift to mobility. In addition, due to component shortages and supply issues, orders that were postponed from the third quarter of 2021 were also resolved in the fourth quarter. ”
Eric Smith, director of connected computing services at Strategy Analytics, added: "As demand for Chromebooks slows in the second half of 2021, demand for Windows begins to grow in the fourth quarter of 2021. The Upgrade to Windows 11 Enterprise provides a powerful boost to Windows laptops. Microsoft's recent windows 11 SE for K-8 education has also attracted top PC vendors in response to the surge in Chrome's market share during the pandemic. As demand for gaming laptops continues to grow during the holiday season, Windows remains a popular choice for consumers. ”
In terms of vendor segmentation, in the fourth quarter of 2021, Lenovo's laptop shipments were 16.2 million units, down 9% year-on-year and 6% month-on-month; During the same period, HP maintained its second position, with laptop shipments reaching 14.5 million units, down 4% year-on-year; Dell laptop shipments reached a record 13.2 million units, up 14% year-over-year and up 8% sequentially; Apple continued its previous momentum, making the company's history in the fourth quarter of 2021, with more than 6.6 million shipments in the holiday season, an increase of 11% year-on-year; Acer returned to the top five with 5.2 million laptop shipments, up 6% sequentially from the previous quarter, negatively impacted by supply issues.