If you have been holding off on a PC upgrade, you are not alone. Between the rising cost of components and the ongoing memory crisis, the market for new hardware has hit a significant snag. According to the latest data from IDC, worldwide PC shipments have fallen by 4.9% between Q2 of last year and Q2 of 2026. This dip marks the first decline after nine consecutive quarters of growth.

The Disconnect Between Units and Dollars

While the drop in shipment volume is clear, the financial reality for manufacturers is more complex. Jitesh Ubrani, research director for consumer devices at IDC, notes a distinct disconnect between unit sales and revenue. Even as shipments fall, revenue is climbing because vendors are pushing price increases through to consumers faster than demand is dropping.

The impact of this shift is visible across the industry's biggest players:

  • Lenovo: Dropped from 17 million to 16.6 million units.
  • HP: Dropped from 14.3 million to 13 million units.
  • Dell: Dropped from 9.8 million to 9.3 million units.
  • Asus: Experienced nearly flat growth.

Amidst these declines, Apple stands out as the only major manufacturer to see growth. The company increased its shipments from 6.1 million to 6.7 million units, capturing 9.9% of the market share compared to 8.5% the previous year. Jean Philippe Bouchard, vice president for consumer devices at IDC, attributes this gain to the launch of the budget-oriented MacBook Neo, which helped the company remain well-positioned despite the broader market's cost pressures.

Supply Chain Struggles and Future Outlook

For the rest of the industry, supply chain management has become a matter of survival. To navigate the memory crisis, major manufacturers are increasingly signing long-term contracts to secure memory and storage components. This strategy, while protective for larger firms, leaves smaller operators struggling to compete with the increased buying and negotiating power of the industry giants.

While the gaming sector has historically been more resilient during periods of market decline, these are far from normal times. The memory crisis shows no signs of immediate resolution, and experts anticipate at least another year of instability. Bernstein research analysts have offered a cautious outlook, projecting that SK hynix may not significantly reduce prices until the end of 2028, with more price hikes expected in the interim. For now, the hardware market remains a waiting game.