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Why did personal computer sales decline after their 2012 peak?

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A laptop computer — personal computer Programmers may use computer science to design portable computers such as laptops.

Following the peak of worldwide personal computer (PC) sales in 2012, the market experienced a decline throughout the 2010s. This downturn was primarily driven by a shift in consumer behavior, as users increasingly relied on smartphones and tablet computers for their computing needs.1

Because these mobile devices became the preferred tools for many daily digital tasks, consumers were slower to replace their existing PCs, leading to reduced sales volume. This trend also rendered certain categories of portable computers, such as netbooks, obsolete by the mid-2010s. However, the PC market saw a resurgence in the early 2020s, as the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a widespread transition to working and learning from home, which increased the demand for personal computers.12