Barring unforeseen shocks, the signs point towards a strong 2024 for the global PC market

(Image credit: Nvidia)

2023 has been a year to forget for PC manufacturers. After the work-from-home boom and seemingly endless global political and economic instability, a slowdown was always likely to happen. But if a new analysis from Canalys is to be believed, 2024 is shaping up to be a much better year for the PC market.

Canalys (via TechPowerUp) forecasts the global PC market to return to 8% growth in 2024. It attributes this growth to 'tailwinds including the Windows refresh cycle and emergence of AI-capable and Arm-based devices.'

I'll begin with Windows 12. Microsoft hasn't announced a new Windows, but rumors are growing that it will launch sometime in 2024. Commercial Times, a Taiwanese financial newspaper, believes it will launch in June 2024. Windows 12 (if that's what it ends up being called) is expected to introduce a new user interface and ramp up support for cloud and edge based AI functionality.

Personally, I'm really excited to see Arm make a move into the laptop space. Qualcomm’s X Elite chip really could be a game changer if Qualcomm's own performance predictions are true. The key thing here is that it doesn't just offer very competitive CPU and GPU performance, but it does so with hard to believe power efficiency. If laptops with these chips perform as well as Qualcomm says they do, and they're marketed properly, then a 2024 laptop with Windows 12, AI functionality and vastly improved efficiency will entice a lot of upgrading.

In terms of desktop PCs and gaming, the second half of 2024 is looking pretty good there too. Nvidia, AMD and Intel are all expected to release new graphics card families. Affordable 14th Gen 65W processors will launch early in the year with Arrow Lake to follow late in 2024. AMD will launch its Zen 5 chips too. If all that comes to fruition, then we're looking at basically a complete refresh of the desktop PC market.

So, combine Windows 12, an edge AI explosion, competitive Arm options, Intel's Meteor Lake and all-new desktop products with an improving global economy and hopefully an end to the Ukraine and Middle East wars, and 2024 starts to look a lot better for the global PC market. PC Gamers have a lot to look forward to.

Chris' gaming experiences go back to the mid-nineties when he conned his parents into buying an 'educational PC' that was conveniently overpowered to play Doom and Tie Fighter. He developed a love of extreme overclocking that destroyed his savings despite the cheaper hardware on offer via his job at a PC store. To afford more LN2 he began moonlighting as a reviewer for VR-Zone before jumping the fence to work for MSI Australia. Since then, he's gone back to journalism, enthusiastically reviewing the latest and greatest components for PC & Tech Authority, PC Powerplay and currently Australian Personal Computer magazine and PC Gamer. Chris still puts far too many hours into Borderlands 3, always striving to become a more efficient killer.