Does the sales boom over the past year signal a permanent revival rather than just a pandemic for the personal computer?

Lex errs towards this last conclusion. Two years is enough time for homeworkers to upgrade their kit, he says, meaning the surge caused by the pandemic will stall. PCs last longer than smartphones, so frequent buybacks won’t boost sales.

But analysts point out that the shift to working from home has meant the pie is bigger. Shopping for remote work has not replaced itself and its users represent a growing pool of demand.

Research firms released fourth-quarter and full-year PC shipment figures this week, with Ishan Dutt, principal analyst at Canalys, describing it as a “breakthrough year” of double-digit growth after an impressive 2020. , despite the constant cloud supply constraints.

There have been large increases in PC penetration and usage rates. “Computers are now in the hands of young students and older family members,” he said.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, a higher than normal proportion of PCs shipped have been new additions to the installed base rather than replacement devices, particularly in areas such as education and remote work. This has paved the way for continued success for the PC industry, as there is no turning back from integrating them into our daily lives.

IDC analyst Jutesh Abrani agrees. “We continue to believe that the overall PC market has reset to a much higher level than before the pandemic,” he said. While Gartner research director Mikako Kitagawa believes this will likely be the end of the massive growth triggered by the coronavirus, demand has driven prices higher and created a healthier market, he noted. “As a result, annual PC shipment volumes are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels for at least two to three years,” he said.

Companies have different ways of measuring the market. Gartner said shipments fell 5% in the fourth quarter, but rose 10% for the year to 340 million units. IDC said they rose 1% and 15%, respectively, to 348 million units for the year. Canalys accepted on 1% and 15%, but for 341 million units for 2021. All agree on the five major PC manufacturers: Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple and Acer in that order.

The PC market lacks innovation in form factors, with the contortions of folding screens seeming to have reached their limit, but manufacturers have been adept at segmenting the market to reach the wider spectrum of users. There’s a price and a PC for everyone, from Chromebooks for kids and seniors to high-end PCs for gamers. Add to that the work-from-home revolution, and the status and continued relevance of the PC seems assured.

The Internet of (five) things

1. Ukraine hit by a “massive cyberattack”
Russia is the prime suspect as the source of an online attack that took down around 70 Ukrainian government websites. The United States said evidence of a Russian cyberattack would “certainly” be seen as an example of renewed aggression against Ukraine, which could trigger sanctions against Moscow.

2. Google bets on returning to office work
Google said it would spend $1 billion to buy its office building near Tottenham Court Road in London, in a big bet on getting its employees back to work. The Silicon Valley giant is making the move even as it’s also building a huge new headquarters near King’s Cross, as it believes in the office “as a place to collaborate and connect in person.”

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3. Bolt raises London ride fares
Ride-sharing app Bolt has hiked its prices in London by 10%, bringing it in line with rival Uber, as tighter regulations and a shortage of drivers drive up costs.

4. A potential ant funder withdraws
Jack Ma’s Ant Group suffered a setback in its government-led restructuring efforts after a state-owned asset manager unexpectedly pulled out of a deal to invest in the lending arm of fintech. China Cinda Asset Management, controlled by the country’s finance ministry, was to invest Rmb6 billion ($946 million) in exchange for 20% of Ant’s lending business, but said it was pulling out after “a careful commercial consideration and negotiations with the target company”.

5. Where are the tech stocks going?
The Nasdaq is off to a shaky start to 2022, according to Richard Waters, and the market has plenty of room to take a bigger slice of the most inflated valuations. But it’s far too early to say that January’s adjustment represents a deeper change in the fortunes of the tech industry. Rob Armstrong’s Unhedged newsletter examines the trope that rising rates mean growth stocks fall.

Tech Tools – Lenovo Thinkbook Plus Gen 3

I was talking earlier about the contortions of PC screens and here’s an example from CES in Las Vegas last week. With the ThinkBook Plus Generation 3, Lenovo introduced the industry’s first 17.3-inch laptop with an integrated 8-inch secondary display. The main screen with an ultra-wide 21:10 aspect ratio is paired with the second touchscreen, which has an integrated digital stylus. Examples of uses include an oversized calculator on the second screen or mirroring your smartphone display.