Microsoft and Intel are down bad right now, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to declare that PCs are dead once again.
It’s been a grim week for the world of computers. If you aren’t up-to-date on financial statements (and I can’t blame you for that), let me catch you up to speed. Microsoft started the week by posting a 39% decline in its Windows revenue, followed shortly by Intel recording a 36% drop for its Client Computing Group (consumer products). AMD and Apple are announcing their earnings next week, with dire predictions as the demand for PCs comes to a standstill.
PCs are dying, or that’s how the story usually goes for these types of drops. In 2015, a 5% drop was enough for Wired to declare, “no, really, the PC is dying.” And in 2009, when PC sales dropped by 8%, John Herrman at Gizmodo wrote: “I just can’t go on pretending there’s a future for [desktop PCs].” Those single-digit drops were enough to ruffle feathers, so between a 35% and 40% decline? That looks like certain death.
But there’s a much broader context here, and for everyone holding tight to their beloved computer (myself included), fret not — PCs aren’t going anywhere.
Intel is down, and AMD, Apple, and Nvidia are expected to follow suit, but the glaring signpost is Microsoft. The 39% drop comes from Windows manufacturer revenue, which is the money Microsoft receives from brands shipping Windows computers. It’s not entirely representative of the PC market, but it’s close.
In early January, Gartner reported that PC sales had fallen off globally by 28.
