The notion of having Windows 10 on a brand new notebook has failed to lift sales of PC’s with manufacturers now concerned that the Microsoft OS will not be in demand even after the July 28th launch of the new OS.
According to DigiTimes research sales of PC are expected to fall not rise after the Windows 10 launch as millions of consumers get the software for free on current hardware.
Manufacturers in Taiwan who make notebooks for the likes of Toshiba, HP, as well as Asus and Acer have said that they expect overall shipments to decline to 160 million units in 2015, down 5% on year with some conservative players even forecasting the number to reach only 150 million units which would result in falls of over 10%.
After having a weak first half, the sources said that they are still seeing weak orders from brand vendors for the second half as depreciation of non-US currencies and oil price drops have both caused overall consumer purchasing to stay weak.
Although many vendors expect Windows 10 to trigger a PC replacement trend after its launch, some are concerned that the free upgrade is unlikely to help prompt consumers to replace their current model PC’s.
OEM manufacturers claim that clients such as HP and Toshiba have reduced orders for the second half recently and this could seriously impact the notebook industry’s overall performance.
In the first half of 2015 there has been a 15% decline in 15.6-inch notebook panel pricing while 14- and 11.6-inch notebook panel demand was weak claim manufacturers.
As a result of declines in notebook sales manufacturers are shifting capacity away from notebook panels to production of 32″ inch monitors which are in demand at Australian retailers.
