Mainland China's PC market declined amid economic challenges in Q2 2023 

In Q2 2023, the decline in PC (desktops, notebooks and workstations) shipments to Mainland China showed signs of moderation, dropping 19% year-on-year to 9.6 million units. Desktop (including desktop workstations) and notebook (including mobile workstations) shipments were both down 19%, to 3.0 million and 6.6 million units respectively. IT investment from the commercial sector remained cautious as the economic recovery was slower than expected through July 2023. Meanwhile, the tablet market enjoyed an 8% year-on-year shipment growth of 6.5 million units, driven by stronger iPad performance compared to a supply-constrained quarter a year ago. 

Mainland China’s commercial sector faced a more significant setback, registering a 22% year-on-year PC shipment decline to 4.2 million units in Q2 2023. Shipments to the consumer sector fared slightly better, dropping 16% year-on-year, with total units down to 5.4 million units. 

“Mainland China’s anticipated commercial recovery has been weaker than expected,” said Emma Xu, Analyst at Canalys. “Signals across the economy, ranging from weak exports and consumer spending to slow down in bank lending, all indicate further headwinds affecting the IT industry at large, and the PC market in particular. Businesses of all sizes are being more prudent in their investment decisions amid an uncertain economic outlook, but SMBs are especially challenged by budget constraints. During this period of economic downturn and restructuring, further stimulus action is expected from the government to reinvigorate investment and boost confidence.”  

On the consumer front, the “618” shopping festival saw healthy expenditure growth of around 15%, but much of this was directed at categories like necessities, beauty and fashion, with spending on electronics relatively subdued. “The lack of uplift for PC market sales in Q2 2023 despite heavy promotional activity suggests that consumers are unlikely to prioritize refreshing their devices in the short-term,” added Xu. Canalys expects the PC market recovery in Mainland China to remain challenged, with a forecasted annual decline of 19% for full-year 2023 shipments. 

Lenovo topped Mainland China’s PC market yet again but experienced a year-on-year shipment decline of 24%. HP and Huawei both experienced year-on-year growth of 6% against a favorable comparison quarter, taking second and third place respectively. Dell posted the largest decline among the major PC vendors with a 52% drop in shipments annually, marking a recent low for its market share in the region. Apple sealed fifth place with 17% year-on-year growth.  

Mainland China’s tablet market posted 8% year-on-year growth, primarily due to Apple’s strong performance. Android tablets experienced a shipment decline of 5% despite strong discounting from vendors and the retail channel in Q2 2023.  

“New tablet vendors in Mainland China are targeting increased market penetration to drive up their installed base,” said Xu. “They are achieving this through various avenues such as expanding their reach into lower-tier cities, developing stronger entertainment and ecosystem offerings, and providing competitive alternatives to unbranded budget tablets. The major tablet vendors are also diversifying their product portfolios to span across more price bands to navigate competitive pressures. Looking forward, the winners in the market will need to deliver more innovation through both devices and their ecosystems to unleash the potential of interactive intelligence through the interplay between hardware, software and applications, tailored for specific use cases in education, entertainment, and commercial settings.”  

Apple topped Mainland China’s tablet market with 2.3 million units of shipments, achieving 47% year-on-year growth. Apple’s growth rate was boosted by a relatively weak comparison quarter due to a significant supply chain disruption it faced in Q2 2022. Huawei secured second place with 19% growth, shipping 1.2 million tablets. Xiaomi was placed third in the market rankings and enjoyed the strongest growth among the major vendors with shipments up 53% following its launch of several new models. Fourth-placed Lenovo saw its tablet shipments decline 44%, amid weak commercial demand for its devices. Honor rounded out the top five with an 8% annual shipment decline.   

For more information, please contact:

Emma Xu: emma_xu@canalys.com 

About PC Analysis

Canalys' PC Analysis service provides quarterly updated shipment data to help with accurate market sizing, competitive analysis and identifying growth opportunities. Canalys PC shipment data is granular, guided by a strict methodology and broken down by market, vendor and channel, as well as additional splits, such as GPU, CPU, storage and memory. In addition, Canalys also publishes quarterly forecasts to help better understand the future trajectory and changing landscape of the PC industry. 

About Canalys

Canalys is an independent analyst company that strives to guide clients on the future of the technology industry and to think beyond the business models of the past. We deliver smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world. We stake our reputation on the quality of our data, our innovative use of technology and our high level of customer service.

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