Market research firm The International Data Corporation announced Wednesday that it is changing its prediction on the declining rate of global PC shipments for 2014 from 6 percent to 3.7 percent.
The PC market welcomed the news for this is lower than the initial prediction of most analysts in June. IDC forecasted that the PC makers will ship at least 303 million units of PC this year, about 12 million lower than the previous year's global rate.
"Programs to reduce PC prices, such as Windows 8.1 with Bing, have helped to improve PC shipments in some segments," IDC Senior Research Analyst Jay Chou said in a statement.
He also explained that the transition towards mobile devices will make it harder for PC makers to establish their share in the market. However, some consumer groups experienced a newfound appreciation for PC markets, and this is where the IDC thinks PC sales will come from this year.
CNET reported that another reason for the decline rate adjustment may be the upcoming demand for desktops, as Windows is preparing to release its new Threshold operating system. Threshold, or Windows 9, will hit the shelves in 2015. Although the features of the new OS have not yet been revealed, the IDC analysts were confident that it is likely to have improved features that will attract people to buy desktops instead of smartphones or tablets.
Despite the somewhat confident prediction for PC shipments for 2014, the IDC does not expect the tide to turn over for the few years to come. For 2018, the estimated global PC shipments decline is about 290 million units.
