Korea IDC recently announced that the domestic PC shipment in the previous year recorded 4.74 million units, a 1.1% decrease compared to the previous year, in its analysis of the domestic PC market research published on the 28th. This reflects a sluggish recovery compared to the 1.1% growth in the global PC market during the same period.
The expansion of AI PC product lines, the strengthening of online platform influence, and the replacement demand due to the end of Windows 10 support have positively impacted the domestic PC market, easing the decline; however, it has shown a fall due to the reduction of laptop distribution in the education market and the prolonged economic downturn. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, both the global and domestic markets are expected to grow by 2.5% and 0.0%, respectively, compared to the previous year, indicating a potential escalation in market recovery momentum. However, the full recovery of the domestic PC market is expected to be delayed due to the economic and political uncertainties that began at the end of the year.
By examining the detailed markets, the home market continued to decline until 2023 due to pent-up demand during the pandemic, but is expected to record a 1.0% growth in 2024 as the trend of AI PCs becomes prominent. Major suppliers expanded their AI PC and gaming PC lineups, and strengthened related promotions, leading to increased sales of premium products through online channels. This is analyzed to have positively contributed to the overall PC market momentum, securing supplier revenue.
The public sector increased by 15.2% compared to the previous year due to demand for replacement PCs introduced during the pandemic and quantities from the Election Commission. In contrast, the education sector saw an annual volume decrease of 15.7%, despite large-scale laptop distributions in the public education sector, including those from Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Incheon education offices, as the scale of laptop distribution for digital education was reduced starting in the second quarter. In the corporate sector, the end of Windows 10 support has led to movements for replacing outdated PCs, primarily among large corporations in finance, manufacturing, healthcare, and distribution. However, the long-term economic recession and high exchange rates have resulted in corporations reducing their IT device-related budgets, keeping the overall scale similar to the previous year.
Currently, AI PCs make up about 25% of the domestic PC market, but an average annual growth of 27.3% is expected over the next five years until 2029. In particular, by 2026, the maturity of AI technology and changes in user perception are anticipated to significantly drive growth, projected to account for more than half of all PCs. Additionally, interest is expanding beyond on-device AI to AI agents, which are expected to greatly enhance productivity and user experience by automating tasks through AI agents running on devices. Many industries are considering the introduction of AI PCs as part of digital transformation; however, limited budgets and a lack of clear use cases remain challenges. Accordingly, IDC advises that suppliers need to flexibly promote the spread of on-device AI from a long-term perspective.
Kim Do-hee, a researcher at Korea IDC, noted, "AI PCs are evolving from on-device AI to AI agents, with customized work support and automation features utilizing generative AI becoming core competitiveness," and emphasized that "the development of intuitive and practical AI applications and the specification of use cases in various industries and consumer environments will be key challenges for expanding the AI PC market."