Global PC sales have remained painfully stagnant for several consecutive quarters, prompting industry watchers to pin their hopes on Microsoft Windows 8.
But can the latest iteration of Microsoft’s operating system stop the expected decline?
Well, not according to Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes who believes the upcoming Windows 8 launch will only have a limited impact on the waning PC market.
“We continue to believe that the rise of smartphones and the iPad are having an adverse impact on the PC market – in addition to macro [economic] factors,” Reitzes opined in an industry note obtained by AppleInsider.
Although initial shipments of Windows 8 PCs and Ultrabooks are projected to “meaningfully” improve in September, Reitzes remains pessimistic about the long-term future.
“After some short-term ‘excitement’ we believe the PC market will resume its pattern of deceleration given secular threats from tablets and smartphones,” he explained.
“[Both form factors] are cannibalizing traditional PC tasks and creating all new use cases through apps.”
Reitzes was also quick to emphasize that while traditional PCs certainly wouldn’t be disappearing anytime soon, Barclays simply did not “believe consumers and corporations have enough ‘wallet’ to grow the PC market” – especially given the need to invest in new gadgets and platforms.
As such, the analyst predicted “stagnant PC unit growth given elongated sales cycles,” with industry revenue declines effectively funding the growth of new platforms.
