Global shipments of desktops, notebooks and workstations declined by 3.6 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2026 as rising memory and storage costs disrupted the PC market, according to the latest research from Omdia.

The global PC market recorded 65.7 million units shipped during the quarter, with both desktop and notebook segments experiencing annual declines.

Desktop shipments, including desktop workstations, reached 13.9 million units, representing a 1.3 per cent decrease compared with the same period last year.

Notebook shipments, including mobile workstations, totalled 51.7 million units, falling by 4.2 per cent year on year.

The decline came as manufacturers and consumers faced the effects of a sharp increase in memory and storage prices, which pushed up the cost of computers and influenced purchasing decisions.

“The sharp increase in memory and storage prices during the first quarter of the year had a significant impact on product pricing in the second quarter,” Principal Analyst at Omdia Ben Yeh said.

“It also prompted consumers and IT decision makers to bring forward their PC purchases to mitigate the risk of further price increases,” Yeh said.

“Although sales volumes were maintained at a stable level, the risk of a subsequent downturn remains,” he added.

Apple’s decision to increase MacBook prices has become one of the most closely watched developments in the market, although other PC manufacturers had already begun raising prices towards the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.

Across comparable product ranges, PC prices have increased by around 20 per cent to 40 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier, as manufacturers attempt to absorb higher component costs.

The initial rush by consumers and businesses to purchase computers earlier in the year has raised concerns that demand could weaken later in 2026.

“After the pull-forward activity seen in the first half of the year, signals are now pointing to a period of delayed demand as the true impact of the supply crunch sinks in,” Research Director at Omdia Ishan Dutt said.

More than half of business-to-business channel partners surveyed by Omdia in June said their customers were delaying hardware refresh plans until market conditions stabilise.

A further 6 per cent of respondents said outright cancellations of planned purchases were likely.

The situation comes as businesses approach the one-year point since the October 2025 Windows 10 end-of-support deadline, leaving a significant number of commercial computer fleets still requiring upgrades.

Although the pace of memory and storage cost increases is expected to slow significantly during the second half of 2026, PC prices are likely to continue reflecting higher upstream component costs that emerged from the second quarter onwards.

Omdia’s research indicates that neither memory nor storage prices are expected to reverse during 2026.

Additional components, including multilayer ceramic capacitors and printed circuit boards, are also becoming more expensive, increasing pressure on manufacturers.

As a result, PC companies are expected to continue passing higher costs on to customers, a move likely to weigh on demand during the second half of the year.

Lenovo retained its position as the world’s largest PC manufacturer during the quarter, shipping 16.6 million units and maintaining a 25 per cent market share despite a modest 2 per cent annual decline in shipments.

HP ranked second with 13 million units shipped, although its volumes fell by 9 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2025.

Dell held third place, showing resilience despite supply constraints, with shipments of 9.3 million units and a 14 per cent market share.

Apple recorded the strongest growth among the leading PC manufacturers, shipping 7.3 million units after the launch of the MacBook Neo and benefiting from continued underlying demand.

The company increased its market share by two percentage points compared with the second quarter of 2025.

Asus completed the top five rankings with 5 million units shipped, recording a broadly unchanged performance compared with the previous year.

The latest figures highlight the growing challenge facing the PC industry as manufacturers attempt to balance higher production costs, cautious consumers and the need to maintain upgrade cycles among businesses.