By Meryl Kao / Staff Reporter
Global notebook computer shipments are expected to decline 13.6 percent year-on-year this year amid rising prices and weaker consumer demand, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday.As brands start to pass higher component costs onto consumers, replacement demand has suffered, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a statement.The slowdown in demand is visible in the consumer segment, particularly for entry-level and mainstream notebook computers, but demand in the commercial and educational segments remains relatively stable, TrendForce said.
Visitors try out ASUS computers during the annual Computex trade show in Taipei on June 2.
Meanwhile, Apple Inc’s decision on Thursday last week to raise prices across its MacBook lineup could reinforce consumers’ expectations of higher notebook prices down the road and further dampen replacement demand, it said.However, Apple’s move could narrow the price gap between MacBook and some high-end Windows-based notebook computers and prompt price-sensitive consumers to switch to Windows computers, TrendForce said.
Even so, with notebook prices rising across the board and consumer demand weakening, the spillover effect is expected to be limited, it said.Balancing production costs with end-market demand would remain the industry’s biggest challenge, TrendForce said.Among major brands, Apple is expected to remain more resilient than others in the broader notebook market, supported by continued upgrade demand for its Apple Silicon platform and the strength of its macOS ecosystem, it said.Apple might see MacBook shipment growth slow in the second half of the year as price increases take effect this quarter, TrendForce said. Its full-year MacBook shipment forecast of 23.1 million units could be revised downward if higher prices weigh on demand more than expected, it said.
