2024-2029 Devices Market Forecast

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TBR expects cyclical PC market dynamics and AI adoption to drive a single-digit devices CAGR from 2024 to 2029

After declining for several quarters due to market saturation and tightened corporate IT budgets, PC demand is gradually recovering, particularly on the commercial side of the market as organizations begin to refresh their fleets of devices. TBR expects the devices market to grow at roughly a 2.7% CAGR from 2024 to 2029 as this recovery in PC demand is supplemented by growing smartphone and tablet revenue. TBR also expects demand for AI advisory and consultancy services will increase as organizations invest in implementing AI across IT infrastructure and client devices.
 
The proliferation of AI across the IT space presents devices vendors with a range of growth opportunities. PC OEMs will remain focused on driving AI PC adoption and gradually increasing these devices as a mix of total PC shipments to drive long-term revenue growth and average revenue per unit (ARPU) expansion. To help speed this adoption and increase services revenue, vendors will also continue to build out suites of services designed to help organizations take advantage of the productivity gains offered by AI PCs. TBR expects vendors to continue to increase their non-PC revenue mix, capitalizing on growth opportunities presented by AI and sheltering their top lines and margins from potential fluctuations in the PC market.
 

Dell’s strong direct sales motion will help it maintain its top position in PC services revenue through 2029

PC services revenue is closely correlated with PC hardware revenue, but revenue recognition is often deferred. As a result, the trends in the overall devices market are slower to materialize in the PC services segment. PC sales declined for several quarters throughout 2022 and 2023, offering vendors less opportunity to attach services and constraining revenue growth in this segment. As 2025 progresses and PC unit shipments continue to expand year-to-year, PC services revenue growth momentum will gradually accelerate. Recovery in the commercial PC space will boost PC services performance, as commercial PCs carry higher services attach rates than their consumer counterparts.
 
Vendors will remain focused on mitigating the impacts of negative margin pressures on PC hardware by continuing to focus on increasing their PC services revenue mix relative to PC hardware revenue, with an emphasis on sustainability, cybersecurity and predictive analytics.
 
As AI becomes increasingly prevalent in the devices space, vendors will also continue to promote offerings designed to help organizations effectively adopt AI infrastructure and AI-enabled end-user devices. Offerings such as Lenovo’s AI Fast Start program and Dell Technologies’ Implementation Services for Microsoft Copilot are both designed to help organizations take advantage of the productivity gains that AI PCs offer.
 

 

Although China is a weak market for some vendors, TBR expects Lenovo to take advantage of AI PC opportunities in the country to expand APAC revenue

TBR expects the APAC devices market to grow at a 2.7% CAGR from 2024 to 2029 — a rate on par with the global devices market.
 
Over the last several quarters, vendors such as Apple and HP Inc. have reported China as being a particularly weak market for their devices businesses due to persistent softness in demand.
 
TBR expects that among the vendors included in this forecast, Lenovo will reap the greatest benefit from recovering PC demand in China due to its already large market share and its AI PC strategy in the country. In May 2024 Lenovo rolled out a lineup of devices in the country it dubbed its “five-feature” AI PCs, including a personal agent and local large language model (LLM). The company reported strong initial uptake of these devices during its 2Q24 and 3Q24 earnings calls, and TBR expects ongoing momentum in China will help drive Lenovo’s PC segment and top-line growth throughout the forecast period.