Will Artificial Intelligence Keep the PC Shipments Rolling?

General news News Tech Tech News 07/19/2025

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TECH NEWS – Although Trump’s tariffs may reduce international PC shipments, the AI craze could offset the decline.

The new tariffs have created uncertainty in the PC supply chain. The higher cost of importing products has prompted manufacturers to procure large volumes of shipments before the tariffs are imposed. While this has sustained demand for a while, the PC industry may still feel the impact of Trump’s tariffs in the future. A new Counterpoint Research analysis discussed the state of PC markets in the second quarter of 2025 and found modest growth, but an uncertain future.

“The second quarter growth was mainly driven by the approaching Windows 10 sunset, the early adoption of AI PCs, and stronger commercial demand caused by a pull-in during the beginning of the quarter as the market prepared for a tariff and inventory buildup. Due to US tariff-related uncertainty, PC shipments will likely weaken year over year (YoY) starting in the second half (H2) of 2025. However, demand for AI PCs is expected to become a significant tailwind in 2026. We expect more than half of the laptops shipped in 2026 and beyond to be AI laptops,” wrote Counterpoint Research.

Companies like Dell and HP are playing a wait-and-see game. They are waiting to see how the tariff situation develops. Demand for next-generation PC products is relatively higher in the professional segment, mainly due to the Windows 10 end-of-life (EOL) cycle and the required hardware replacements to migrate to the new system. On the consumer side, primary demand is driven by hype around AI PCs, especially mid-range laptops. Apart from that, though, the broader market remains risky.

PC manufacturers are shifting their supply chains from China to regions such as Vietnam, India, and Mexico to reduce their exposure to rising tariffs. With the prospect of new chip tariffs, manufacturers still don’t know what’s in store. This will reportedly cause a slowdown in PC shipments in the near future, unless the tariffs magically disappear for some strange reason.

Source: WCCFTech

Angyal Anikó

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