PC, Tablet and Mobile Phone Shipments Grow in 2013; Android Dominates OS Market

Written by CJ Arlotta
June 25, 2013

Worldwide PC, tablet and mobile phone shipments are expected to grow 5.9 percent in 2013, and Google (GOOG) Android is forecast to dominate the operating systems (OS) market in 2014, according to a recent Gartner, Inc. (IT) report. How will this impact enterprise smartphone and tablet management technology?

Gartner projected an increase in the worldwide devices (the combined shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones) market to 2.35 billion units in 2013. Worldwide traditional PC (desk-based and notebook) shipments are expected to total 305 million units in 2013, a 10.6 percent decline from 2012. If one were to add ultramobiles, which includes Chromebooks, thin and light clamshell designs, and slate and hybrid devices running Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8, into the traditional PC forecast, the market would show a 7.6 percent decline.

Gartner Research Vice President Carolina Milanesi said in her prepared remarks that consumer demand for "anytime-anywhere computing" is driving the market.

Ultramobile demand, according to Gartner, will arise from upgrades of both notebooks and premium tablets. These ultramobile devices are expected to draw attention away from other devices in the market, specifically toward the fourth quarter of 2013.

Tablet shipments alone are forecast to grow 67.9 percent, to total 202 million units, while the mobile phone market is expected to grow by 4.3 percent, with volume of more than 1.8 billion units.

Both the tablet and smartphone markets, however, are expected to face some challenges ahead as devices shift to longer life cycles and consumers move from premium tablets to basic tablets.

"The increased availability of lower priced-basic tablets, plus the value-add shifting to software rather than hardware will result in the lifetimes of premium tablets extending as they remain active in the household for longer," said Gartner Research Director Ranjit Atwal in a prepared statement. "We will also see consumer preferences split between basic tablets and ultramobile devices"

Gartner also projected that Google Android will dominate 2013 and 2014 market share, with Microsoft (MSFT) Windows taking second, and Apple (APPL) iOS snagging third.