Microsoft’s move to push over 100 million upgrades of Windows based PC’s to Windows 10 has done nothing for the PC industry other than give the big software Company, access to millions of consumers personal and PC information while delivering the biggest drop in PC sales ever.
New research revealed at the weekend by both Gartner and IDC reveals that computer sales actually dropped and that Windows 10 was not a catalyst to drive PC sales.
Despite spruiking a free upgrade of Windows 10 to existing Windows 8 customers Microsoft was charging PC manufacturers up to $75 for a Windows 10 license on a new PC resulting in price hikes of some PC’s.
Both Gartner and IDC estimate that computer sales dropped several points year-over-year (between 7.7 and 10.8 percent) in the third quarter, which is when Microsoft was rolling out their new Windows 10.
That’s one of the steeper drops in recent memory, in fact.
Not that it comes as a complete surprise. As the analyst firms explain, Microsoft’s fast-tracked release left many PC makers shipping existing systems with Windows 10, which weren’t going to drive demand as much as brand new models.
You’re not going to buy a months-old laptop just because it’s running new software, are you? The big question is whether or not the wave of new Windows 10 PCs launching with new Intel processors will make a difference — if there’s still a sharp decline, the industry is really in trouble.
Big-name brands like Apple, Dell, HP and Lenovo (the market leader) have emerged relatively unscathed — it’s the smaller, more vulnerable companies that are shedding legions of customers. Even Acer and ASUS saw sales plunge by over 10 percent. It’s too soon to say if Windows 10 will stop the bleeding, but the days of booming computer businesses appear to be long gone.
