Global notebook shipments tipped to drop 8%, MIC says
By Meryl Kao / Staff reporter
Global notebook computer shipments are expected to fall 8 percent year-on-year to 167.9 million units this year, dragged by weak demand, high component prices and supply constraints, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC) said on Tuesday.
Next year, shipments are expected to decline by a further 4.7 percent to 160 million units as higher retail prices weigh on consumption, MIC deputy director-general Edward Lin (林柏齊) told a news conference in Taipei.
The downtrend is expected to extend into 2028, with replacement demand unlikely to recover before supplies of key components rebound and costs decline, Lin said.
A laptop is pictured at a Sony showroom in Tokyo on May 8.
Photo: AFP
Surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers has led to a broader tight supply of standard DRAM and high-bandwidth memory chips, high-end multilayer ceramic capacitors, advanced microscopic bridge substrates and build-up films, high-end copper-clad laminates and T-glass, which is likely to persist until 2028, he said.
However, NAND flash memory shortages could ease by the end of next year, he added.
MIC expects wider adoption of AI PCs in 2028, with penetration rate projected to reach 76.1 percent, from 54.1 percent projected for this year and 66.3 percent next year, Lin said.
The next AI PC opening is in devices that run meaningful agentic workloads locally, he said.
Unlike basic AI assistants, the systems can handle workflows and execute tasks, requiring greater computing power and memory, he added.
A trend among PC makers to cut memory specifications to offset rising costs in the past year is likely a short-term response rather than a lasting strategy, Lin said.
The measure can help maintain prices, but could weaken the user experience for AI, he said.
As AI shifts from an optional feature to an expected capability, products with overly compromised specifications could lose competitiveness, he added.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.