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Similar to our tablet report, consumers are demonstrating renewed interest in buying desktops and laptops. While the survey found a normal seasonal pattern, the outlook for Q1 was a bit brighter compared with the past couple of years. Generational and economic factors continue to play key roles in shaping the PC market.
This blog post presents findings from a study conducted by 451 Research by S&P Global, which asked US consumers about current tablet, desktop and laptop ownership, as well as customer satisfaction and purchasing plans.
Key takeaways from the survey
Laptop and desktop buying plans are higher than last year. Like the tablet market, consumers are easing themselves into purchasing new PCs, with 20% planning to buy a desktop and 25% planning to buy a laptop in the next 12 months. While these results are stronger than the past two years (Q1 2025 and Q1 2024), they are still down a bit compared with Q1 2023. Typically, baby boomers and the Silent/Greatest Generation are the most likely to show an increase in their PC buying plans, but this survey might finally be seeing a long-expected demographical shift. Our current survey shows that Generation Z, millennials and Generation X are all showing improvements in buying intent, while baby boomers and the Silent/Greatest Generation are showing declines. Like other tech product categories, at a certain point, older consumers are going to age out of purchasing new devices on a regular basis.
Traditional PCs aren’t going anywhere. Looking at the overall PC market, 84% of households say they own either a desktop computer, a laptop, or both. However, there are noticeable differences across income groups. More than nine out of 10 (93%) higher-income respondents ($100,000-plus per year) say they have at least one PC in their household, compared with 74% among lower-income households (less than $50,000 per year). Notably, this 19 percentage-point gap is wider than the 12-point gap seen for tablets. An interesting factor is that lower-income households own tablets at a higher rate than desktops. Yet, while the overall reliance on traditional PCs has softened during the mobile computing era, they remain important in addressing consumers overall computing needs.
HP and Dell remain desktop heavyweights. HP (31%) and Dell (29%) are the longtime leaders in the desktop market, while Apple (15%) remains solidly in third place. These three are the only manufacturers registering double-digit ownership. In terms of planned buying over the next 12 months, Apple (30%) is on top, followed by HP (25%) and Dell (25%). Apple’s leading position in planned desktop buying is largely influenced by Gen Z and millennials.
HP stands alone in the laptop market. HP (32%) enjoys nearly double the laptop market share of Dell (17%) and Apple (16%) in our current survey, and almost three times that of Lenovo (12%). As with desktops, Apple (29%) is again the top choice among respondents planning to purchase a laptop in the next 12 months, followed by HP (23%) and Dell (19%). One sign that the laptop market remains more competitive than the desktop market is that Samsung (12%) and Lenovo (12%) also show double digits among planned buyers. Again, we note that Apple’s popularity is largely driven by Gen Z and millennials.
Gaming and streaming keep Gen Z tethered to PCs. The widespread adoption of mobile computing devices creates a world where digital natives like Gen Z respondents use traditional PCs less than their elders. Yet, there are a few use cases that are still better served with a computer. Gaming (33%) and streaming (26%) are two of the key activities that one-quarter or more of Gen Z respondents say they most often perform with a PC. Interestingly, email (28%) and online shopping (21%) also garner a solid percentage of respondents that prefer to use a computer.
Satisfaction remains important but is not the only factor. Typically, Apple has the highest percentage of owners who say they are satisfied with their devices. In our current survey, however, PC satisfaction ratings for Dell and HP are on par with Apple. While Gen Z and millennials maintain a strong preference for Apple, that is not the case with other generations. Among income groups, lower-income households are more likely to opt for the combination of value and performance offered by Dell, HP and other brands. All of these intersecting market dynamics ultimately make it hard for Apple to overcome this usage gap, even though its products are more highly rated.
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