PC shipments dropped over 20 percent in Q3 due to RAM price hikes
Demand for new PCs took a hit after months of price hikes, with Counterpoint Research reporting global PC shipments fell 21 percent year-over-year in Q3 2026. That's in line with earlier reports from IDC and Omdia. It's not just PCs, either - that same quarter, smartphone shipments also hit a 14-year low. Counterpoint linked the […]
Counterpoint Research reports a 21% decline in global PC shipments year-over-year in Q3 2026, marking a significant drop of over 20% for the sector. This decline aligns with earlier statistics from IDC and Omdia. While the impact extends beyond PCs, smartphone sales also hit a 14-year low during the same period. Counterpoint's analysis attributes the slump in PC sales to escalating prices of key components such as RAM, SSDs, and chips from leading manufacturers like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm.
These price hikes, which began in Q2 2026, have led to increased costs across a range of devices, from MacBooks to Raspberry Pis. Counterpoint's senior analyst Minsoo Kang highlights that some companies are adjusting their product configurations to absorb the rising costs, resulting in fewer budget-friendly choices for consumers.
Additionally, certain manufacturers are reintroducing older technologies, such as DDR4 RAM and 4GB GPUs, to mitigate the impact of price inflation. The Q3 2025 figures also include purchases made ahead of the Windows 10 support deadline and adjustments due to tariffs, which further contributed to the sharp year-over-year decline.
Counterpoint associate director David Naranjo warns that the PC market may struggle to recover soon, predicting that global shipments will plunge by 27% in Q4 2026 and remain largely stagnant through 2027, suggesting that recovery might be a distant prospect.
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