{"id":429138,"date":"2022-04-09T20:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-09T17:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/"},"modified":"2022-04-09T20:48:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-09T17:48:00","slug":"the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/","title":{"rendered":"#: The pandemic PC boom is over, but its legacy will live on"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c882e6d9cb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c882e6d9cb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/#%E2%80%9C_The_pandemic_PC_boom_is_over_but_its_legacy_will_live_on%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;: The pandemic PC boom is over, but its legacy will live on&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/#The_personal-computer_industry_reversed_a_yearslong_slide_in_a_sudden_and_explosive_way_during_the_first_two_years_of_COVID-19_but_now_growth_is_slowing_just_as_PC_makers_are_pushing_out_new_machines_geared_toward_the_online_activities_that_unexpectedly_became_everyday_tasks\" >The personal-computer industry reversed a yearslong slide in a sudden and explosive way during the first two years of COVID-19, but now growth is slowing just as PC makers are pushing out new machines geared toward the online activities that unexpectedly became everyday tasks<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/#%E2%80%98Its_essential_Its_officially_on_the_essential_list\" >\u2018It\u2019s essential! It\u2019s officially on the essential list!\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/#Booming_sales_and_chip_shortages\" >Booming sales and chip shortages\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/#The_new_Mac_studio_boasts_extensive_connectivity_to_support_a_variety_of_new_workflows\" >The new Mac studio boasts extensive connectivity to support a variety of new workflows.<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/#What_does_the_return_to_the_office_mean_for_PCs\" >What does the return to the office mean for PCs?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on\/#Therese_Poletti\" >Therese Poletti<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9C_The_pandemic_PC_boom_is_over_but_its_legacy_will_live_on%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;: The pandemic PC boom is over, but its legacy will live on&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_personal-computer_industry_reversed_a_yearslong_slide_in_a_sudden_and_explosive_way_during_the_first_two_years_of_COVID-19_but_now_growth_is_slowing_just_as_PC_makers_are_pushing_out_new_machines_geared_toward_the_online_activities_that_unexpectedly_became_everyday_tasks\"><\/span>\n  The personal-computer industry reversed a yearslong slide in a sudden and explosive way during the first two years of COVID-19, but now growth is slowing just as PC makers are pushing out new machines geared toward the online activities that unexpectedly became everyday tasks<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000769352\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000769352\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the globe, the personal computer had become a staid, boring product with dwindling sales, as consumers spent their money on new smartphones every couple of years while letting their home laptops and old towers collect dust.<\/p>\n<p> That changed in a dramatic way when people retreated into their homes to avoid the virus and realized they suddenly needed to do everything\u2014work, school, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a>ize\u2014remotely. The industry was surprised: PC shipments had declined for seven consecutive years from 2012 to 2018, yet they jumped 14% in 2020 and another 14.5% in 2021, a sudden surge unseen since 2007, the year the iPhone was introduced.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       \u201cThe consumer market had been slowing and slowing and slowing and then, all of a sudden, we hit 2020 and people are at home, and surprisingly, consumers were buying PCs for work, gaming, content consumption, another screen at home,\u201d said Ryan Reith, an IDC analyst.<\/p>\n<p>As Zoom<br \/>\n        ZM,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/211319643\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-2.99%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       meetings became ubiquitous for remote work and school, consumers scrambled to equip themselves and their children with computers and suddenly necessary peripherals, such as webcams and headphones \u2014 if they could find and afford them. Component shortages and overwhelming demand left scraps at electronics and office supply stores, even as inflation hit in 2021, pushing prices higher.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For more: The pandemic has brought the personal computer back to life, with help from Zoom<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But the renaissance of the PC might have been a relatively short era. On Wall Street there is now little expectation that PCs will continue to be a big source of growth for companies like HP Inc.<br \/>\n        HPQ,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/203461582\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-3.57%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       and Dell Technologies Inc.<br \/>\n        DELL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/203822527\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.63%<\/bg-quote><span>,<\/span><br \/>\n       even as Warren Buffett\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.<br \/>\n        BRK.A,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/208872451\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+1.78%<\/bg-quote><\/p>\n<p>        BRK.B,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/200060694\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+1.90%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       makes a big bet on HP stock. IDC now forecasts that global PC industry sales will fall 1.1% in 2022 and 0.1% in 2023, as consumers largely have their new machines and students are back on school campuses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really a consumer and education slowdown,\u201d Reith said. \u201cIf you think about all the consumers that purchased in the last two years, whether they were first-time buyers or they had not used a PC in the last whatever number of years, it\u2019s going to take another few years before they buy another one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet the activities that became pandemic staples have affected the design of PCs for the better. Remote videoconferencing and streaming are here to stay and many consumers now expect most PCs to handle the most graphically intensive video<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s previously played only on consoles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Zoom culture became so prevalent that in the first month of the stay at home orders Saturday Night Live did a hilarious skit mimicking a Zoom meeting of a small sales office. Two receptionists were unable to correctly position themselves in front of their laptop cameras, and one even took her laptop into the bathroom with her, while her boss frantically yelled \u201cSTOP!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The latest computers and devices seem to be built to avoid such pitfalls, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le Inc.\u2019s<br \/>\n        AAPL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/202934861\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-1.19%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n      new Studio Display monitor that has studio quality microphones and HP\u2019s suite of Presence technologies, including an AI camera and a privacy shutter. These tweaked designs, along with the greater acceptance of remote and hybrid work, are the legacy of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:86.28571428571429%;\" data-subtype=\"photo\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=540&amp;size=1.1594202898550725 540w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=620&amp;size=1.1594202898550725 620w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=639&amp;size=1.1594202898550725 639w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=700&amp;size=1.1594202898550725 700w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=700&amp;size=1.1594202898550725&amp;pixel_ratio=1.5 1050w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=700&amp;size=1.1594202898550725&amp;pixel_ratio=2 1400w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=700&amp;size=1.1594202898550725&amp;pixel_ratio=3 2100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 979px) 620px, (max-width: 1299px) 540px, 700px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520649?width=700&amp;height=604\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\n      <\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\">\n          <span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            MarketWatch illustration<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Its_essential_Its_officially_on_the_essential_list\"><\/span>\u2018It\u2019s essential! It\u2019s officially on the essential list!\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>On March 19, 2020, California Gov. Gavin <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>om ordered the state\u2019s 40 million residents to stay in their homes due to the new pandemic threat, the nation\u2019s first state lockdown order. Days later, Newsom issued a list of essential workers who were exempt from the lockdown, and among them were IT workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Newsom declared that IT workers were critical, especially those who played a role in helping people to work from home, citing, \u201cworkers who produce or manufacture parts or equipment that supports continued operations for any essential services and increase in remote workforce, including computing and communication devices, semiconductors, and equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many states issued similar exceptions to their workforces, identifying essential workers who could continue to leave home to go to work, as well as lists of essential items consumers were able to leave their house to buy, like personal computers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As the stay-at-home lockdown orders piled up, Alex Cho, president of HP Inc.\u2019s personal systems business, was briefed by his team on how many businesses around the world had stalled, but that PCs were an exception. Cho realized at that moment that the personal computer had become a big deal again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was sitting right here thinking, you know what, \u2026 it\u2019s essential! It\u2019s officially on the essential list!,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s when for us that phrase really was an inflection point of saying, \u2018Wow, the world has changed.\u2019 The PC is essential, it\u2019s so essential for work, and for learning, even telehealth, and suddenly what we saw was this category was no longer this thing on the side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Across the world, there was a frenzied upgrade of home offices, or at least the ad-hoc offices that appeared on kitchen and dining room tables. Neither families nor retailers were prepared.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>About a week into the stay-at-home orders, I went looking for a monitor and keyboard for my laptop to create a better workstation at home, to avoid being slouched over my work-issued laptop. By that time, there were two monitors left in a local Office Depot that was mostly occupied by swaths of empty shelves and office workers frantically searching for a sudden need, including the many techies in the Bay Area trying to find additional equipment. Fortunately my laptop was on the newer side, and it had a decent camera and audio, two key attributes in the Zoom age.<\/p>\n<p>I was not alone, as the same scene played out in communities worldwide. Garrett Gwinnup, a computer technician at Boise Computer Depot in Boise, Idaho, said that business has been so strong during the pandemic that his boss bought the shopping center the store was in, expanded the store and is now the landlord for the other retail spaces.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPreviously desktops weren\u2019t something you used a lot, but it has gone up tremendously since the beginning of COVID,\u201d Gwinnup said. \u201cHe went from a very small store to a very large store in one year and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The PC \u2014 often the least used and oldest electronic gadget in the home, relegated to a corner \u2014 suddenly became the most important device in the house. In addition to the huge numbers working from home, children of all ages, including college students, added another element to the picture, creating nightmarish scenarios for parents working from home, with their offspring also stuck with them while their schools figured out how to conduct remote learning. Jerry Paradise, vice president, global commercial portfolio and product management at Lenovo Group Inc. HK:992 said in an email interview that more than 1.5 billion students were forced to stay at home at some point during the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>For more: The pandemic PC boom gave personal computers their biggest year in nearly a decade<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of a sudden, your three kids needed to be online and on Zoom everyday,\u201d said Maribel Lopez, principal analyst with Lopez Research. \u201cYou might have only had one machine at home, but you had five people who needed to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If a parent had a laptop from work, they were the lucky ones with a relatively newer machine. As the Zoom phenomenon began to take off as a way for companies to hold team meetings, and schools began to experiment with remote classes, it became clear the old PC was not up to the task.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, neither was the PC supply chain.<\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:85.28571428571429%;\" data-subtype=\"photo\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=540&amp;size=1.1732355637030247 540w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=620&amp;size=1.1732355637030247 620w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=639&amp;size=1.1732355637030247 639w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=700&amp;size=1.1732355637030247 700w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=700&amp;size=1.1732355637030247&amp;pixel_ratio=1.5 1050w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=700&amp;size=1.1732355637030247&amp;pixel_ratio=2 1400w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=700&amp;size=1.1732355637030247&amp;pixel_ratio=3 2100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 979px) 620px, (max-width: 1299px) 540px, 700px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520648?width=700&amp;height=597\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\n      <\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\">\n          <span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            MarketWatch illustration<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Booming_sales_and_chip_shortages\"><\/span>Booming sales and chip shortages\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p> Memory chip maker Micron <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a> Inc. MU reported earnings in late March 2020, just after the initial stay-at-home orders were issued. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra described for analysts on the company\u2019s earnings conference call how Micron was sanitizing its manufacturing facilities and that its workers were social distancing on the line. The company, Mehrotra said, was dealing with border closures and a temporary shut down of its NAND assembly and test site in Malaysia, and a couple of sick workers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read also:<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>Micron CEO optimistic even amid unprecedented times<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was merely the tip of the iceberg. As the pandemic wore on, supply chain disruptions and then semiconductor shortages became the biggest concerns among most hardware companies. When PC demand started to surge, it caught tech companies off guard. All over the world, each different segment of the manufacturing supply chain started to reel, as factories began to report COVID cases among their workers, disruptions that shut down production lines for brief periods.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the major companies were better able to deal with supply constraints, thanks to advance purchasing of memory and central processing units (CPUs), but even giants with major power such as Apple couldn\u2019t meet all the demand. CEO Tim Cook told analysts last October that its revenue in the September quarter would have been at least $6 billion higher, had it been able to meet all the demand, and in the December quarter it was an even greater shortfall.<\/p>\n<p>Incredibly, the most challenging supply chain issue revolved around the paucity of small and seemingly inconsequential chips, some of which cost about $1 each, such as video drivers and audio drivers. These tiny chips, because they were on older manufacturing processes, are made by smaller, lesser known companies. In addition, these chips, especially the ones for screens, had huge competition from TVs, cars, anything with an LCD panel, said Mikako Kitagawa, a Gartner Inc. analyst.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reason why the PC industry was so supply constrained for the last 2 years, none of the people in the industry, HP, Dell, etc. had the components for the $1 chips, none of them built a business plan for that,\u201d IDC\u2019s Reith said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more about the<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>$1 chip that is behind record price increases for PCs<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Without even these seemingly minor but actually significant chips, companies could not ship their systems, but that didn\u2019t stop PC makers from racking up big sales in an environment where consumers were willing to pay more. From December, 2020 to December, 2021, the prices of personal computers, peripherals and smart home assistants rose 2.8% unadjusted, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Apple surpassed $30 billion in Mac sales for the first time ever in its 2021 fiscal year, rising 23% from the prior year to $35.2 billion. In the holiday season that ended in December, the first quarter of Apple\u2019s 2022 fiscal year, Mac sales hit a quarterly record of $10.8 billion. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more about the Mac\u2019s<\/strong><strong> rebirth and its biggest growth rates ever<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>HP, with a similar fiscal year to Apple, posted record revenue in its personal-systems division of roughly $43.4 billion, growing more than 11% from the year before and pushing the company to its highest annual revenue total since splitting from Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co. in 2015. Dell had never before topped $50 billion in annual sales, but it jumped all the way to $61.5 billion in 2021, growth of more than 27% year-over-year. Lenovo PC sales grew nearly 20% to their own record high of $54.4 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The stocks of Lenovo, HP, and Dell soared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>le-digits during the last two years, while these once-staid business segments blossomed in the pandemic. Apple, which trades mostly around iPhone and services sales, saw a huge resurgence of interest in the Mac.<\/p>\n<p>Wall Street, though, is bracing for a slowdown. In recent weeks, there have been a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of downgrades in the sector, focusing on expectations for slower growth. Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring lowered his price targets on HP and Dell, citing a downward risk on hardware budgets, and more consumer caution, especially in light of inflationary trends.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more about Wall Street\u2019s fears about the end of the pandemic PC boom<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a note to clients, Woodring said there were three reasons he had become extremely cautious about consumer demand for PCs in 2022. He\u2019s convinced demand was simply pulled forward in 2021 and the first half of 2022; Morgan Stanley\u2019s survey work indicated worsening consumer sentiment due to inflation; and he sees growing evidence of a supply-demand rebalance. \u201cWe believe PC and consumer hardware spending will be pressured as supply improves and demand normalizes after two years of above-trend growth.\u201d Woodring wrote.<\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n                \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetMediaIllustration\n            article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"\n        media-object-image\n        enlarge-image\n        img-inline\n        article__inset__image\n      \" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:66.57142857142857%;\" data-subtype=\"photo\" class=\"image-container  responsive-media article__inset__image__image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=540&amp;size=1.5005861664712778 540w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=620&amp;size=1.5005861664712778 620w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=639&amp;size=1.5005861664712778 639w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=700&amp;size=1.5005861664712778 700w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=700&amp;size=1.5005861664712778&amp;pixel_ratio=1.5 1050w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=700&amp;size=1.5005861664712778&amp;pixel_ratio=2 1400w, https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=700&amp;size=1.5005861664712778&amp;pixel_ratio=3 2100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 979px) 620px, (max-width: 1299px) 540px, 700px\" src=\"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520742?width=700&amp;height=466\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\n      <\/div><figcaption class=\"wsj-article-caption article__inset__image__caption\" itemprop=\"caption\">\n<h4 class=\"wsj-article-caption-content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_new_Mac_studio_boasts_extensive_connectivity_to_support_a_variety_of_new_workflows\"><\/span>The new Mac studio boasts extensive connectivity to support a variety of new workflows.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>      <span class=\"wsj-article-credit article__inset__image__caption__credit\" itemprop=\"creator\"><br \/>\n            Apple<br \/>\n          <\/span><br \/>\n  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_the_return_to_the_office_mean_for_PCs\"><\/span>What does the return to the office mean for PCs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p> Even if the boom is over, however, it will leave its mark, as all the major PC makers continue to roll out new machines with features geared to doing so much more from home than before the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAudio and video and being able to show up, with a level of audio and video and fidelity that isn\u2019t distracting, is now of much higher importance,\u201d HP\u2019s Cho said on a Zoom chat with MarketWatch. \u201cPeople recognize this is important, especially if I am going to do this on an ongoing basis. That is also driving a whole new wave of innovation and upgrades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>See also: HP CEO says we\u2019re still in a PC boom, and his company\u2019s record sales prove it<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the past few months, many of the biggest PC makers launched products to include features for better videoconferencing, and features for hybrid work. For example, Dell\u2019s recently added features across its portfolio of commercial systems that include a docking station with wireless charging for earbuds. HP\u2019s recent entrants include better monitors and cameras that can reduce noise reduction, and an ability to enhance your on-screen image for meetings. Lenovo and ASUS have launched dual-screen laptops, with a second smaller screen on the keyboard area to act as a sort of mini, second monitor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven that people are spending more time at home, and many are using the same device for their professional and personal lives, we have seen an increased interest in premium features,\u201d said Paradise of Lenovo.In the past few months, demand for PCs has been coming from the commercial side of the business, as consumers have pretty much settled into the remote setups created months ago. But commercial demand is being driven by\u00a0 new needs, like shared drop-in desks, videoconferencing with remote workers, and audio improvements.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are huge shifts, secular changes, in how people are living and working,\u201d Cho said. \u201cPeople\u2019s expectations are changing and the role of the office is changing.\u201d He said one of his co-workers recently sent an out-of-office email response that said he was \u201cin the office, collaborating with peers,\u201d and his response time would be slow<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are seeing a big uptick right now in the large enterprise space as companies return to the office and retrofit technology to ensure they\u2019re ready for hybrid work,\u201d said Lenovo\u2019s Paradise. \u201cThere\u2019s huge demand in return-to-office for high-end systems, corporate systems, desktops and notebooks, and videoconference systems.\u201d He said in Lenovo\u2019s fiscal third quarter, commercial sales jumped 23%.<\/p>\n<p><strong>More from Therese: As growth slows, where does Zoom go from here?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>HP and Dell both observed big increases in commercial sales in the January quarter, with HP seeing that sector soar 26% in its first fiscal quarter, ended Jan. 31, while consumer revenue fell 1%. Dell saw even bigger growth, with a surge of 30% in commercial revenue, and a 16% jump in consumer revenue, up from a year ago.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts believe commercial sales will outpace consumer this year, but that consumer sales will pick up a bit again in the fall. \u201cWe will see a lull around the summer and then some pick up for back to school,\u201d said Lopez, of Lopez Research.<\/p>\n<p>Some components will continue to be in short supply. Right as companies were catching up, a new wave of covid briefly shut down some manufacturing in some areas of China in December and January. The war in Ukraine is also expected to have an impact on some raw materials and gases used for making semiconductors.<\/p>\n<p>Paradise of Lenovo, though, said he believed that the \u201cworst of the supply chain shortages are behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amid the weakening backdrop after a record year, PC growth is showing signs of slowing, and the strong commercial market is not enough to keep the overall category from slowing down. Corporate sales will keep growth up this year, but Micron\u2019s CEO said during the company\u2019s recent quarter earnings that he sees \u201cflattish\u201d unit shipments overall.<\/p>\n<p>IDC, before the invasion of Ukraine and the recent lockdowns in China, had been expecting 2022 unit growth to fall 1%. \u201cWhile I don\u2019t have a new number for you right now, I would safely say we do not believe the market will be stronger than the -1% and even faces some slight downside risk because of the macro and geopolitical activities,\u201d Reith said.<\/p>\n<p>If those projections come true, the pandemic PC boom will truly have ended. But with machines built for a new era and a supply chain that has been tested and hopefully improved, the PC industry has changed permanently, as has consumers\u2019 view of a tech product that was barely in their thoughts just a couple of years ago.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author mobile-scrim hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Therese Poletti\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"bio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/topics\/journalists\/therese-poletti\",\"text\":\"Biography\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"twitter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tpoletti\",\"text\":\"@tpoletti\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"email\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/mailto:tpoletti@marketwatch.com\",\"text\":\"tpoletti@marketwatch.com\"}]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Therese_Poletti\"><\/span>Therese Poletti<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><ufc-follow-author-widget product=\"marketwatch\" author-id=\"192_MW\" author-name=\"Therese Poletti\" signin-url=\"https:\/\/accounts.marketwatch.com\/login?target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fthe-pandemic-pc-boom-is-over-but-its-legacy-will-live-on-11649422108%3Frss%3D1%26siteid%3Drss\" panda-api=\"https:\/\/follow-api.marketwatch.com\"><\/ufc-follow-author-widget><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7BBD-48BC6B4D7FA4%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;: The pandemic PC boom is over, but its legacy will live on&#8221; The personal-computer industry reversed a yearslong slide in a sudden and explosive way during the first two years of COVID-19, but now growth is slowing just as PC makers are pushing out new machines geared toward the online activities that unexpectedly became&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":429139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-520650\/social","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-429138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}