The world stocked up on laptop and desktop computers this year at a level not seen since the iPhone debuted in 2007, and manufacturers are still months away from fulfilling outstanding orders, hardware industry executives and analysts said.
Remote learning and working has upturned the computer market during the COVID-19 pandemic, zapping sales of smartphones while boosting interest in bigger devices, which had become afterthoughts to iPhones and Android devices over the past decade.
“The whole supply chain has been strained like never before,” said Gregg Prendergast, president of Pan-American operations at PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁).
Photo: Reuters
Annual global shipments of PCs, the industry’s collective term for laptops and desktops, topped out at about 300 million in 2008 and were sinking toward 250 million. Few expected a resurgence.
Some analysts expect this year will close at about 300 million shipments, up roughly 15 percent from a year ago. Tablets are experiencing even faster growth.
By the end of next year, installed PCs and tablets would reach 1.77 billion, up from 1.64 billion last year, research company Canalys Co said.
The virus pressed families into expanding from one PC for the home to one for each student, video gamer or homebound worker.
To meet the sudden demand, the world’s handful of big PC vendors added suppliers, sped up shipping and teased better models launching next year. It has not been enough.
Acer has been absorbing the cost to fly laptops directly to its education customers, ditching boats and trains to cut a month off shipping, Prendergast said.
Yet with assembly lines behind, some customers must wait four months for shipments.
Components including screens and processors are hard to obtain even with many factories long past virus shutdowns, analysts said, adding that sales forecasts for next year would be higher if not for the supply issues.
Canalys analyst Ishan Dutt recalled a customer telling a vendor in April that any device with a keyboard would suffice as long as shipments arrived in a week.
That urgent need has subsided, but people now want to upgrade, maintaining pressure on the industry, Dutt said.
Additional government stimulus money for schools and businesses in several countries might add to the crunch until 2022, said Ryan Reith, vice president at analyst firm International Data Corp.
Some computers coming to market in the next few months address new needs. They feature better cameras and speakers for videoconferencing, analysts said.
More models would have a cellular chip, aiding users who can access 4G or 5G mobile signals, but not traditional Wi-Fi.
Sam Burd, president at PC maker Dell Technologies Inc, this month said the industry “renaissance” would soon bring devices with artificial intelligence software to simplify tasks like logging on and switching off cameras.
Dell’s online orders from consumers surged 62 percent in the third quarter compared with last year.
Over Black Friday, teams that would normally ring bells at Dell's Texas headquarters to celebrate big sales gathered like many other people this year — over Zoom from PCs at home.
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