Photography by Becca Farsace / The Verge
The worldwide PC market just grew consistently for the first time in eight years, according to market research firms IDC and Gartner. IDC reckons worldwide PC shipments grew by 2.7 percent to 266.7 million devices globally, while Gartner has it pegged at 0.6 percent to 261.2 million devices. 2018 contained the market’s first quarter of growth in six years, but in 2019 this finally lead to a full year of growth, the market’s first since 2011.
Although Gartner and IDC broadly agreed on the direction the PC market is currently heading in, the two firms count devices slightly differently. Both firms include desktops, notebooks, and detachable tablets like the Surface, but Gartner excludes Chromebooks.