Global PC shipments increased dramatically in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest figures from Canalys. A total of 62.7 million units were sold in the quarter, which is a year-over-year increase of 9.4%.
The spike is spread out relatively evenly across notebooks (up 10% YoY) and desktops (up 8% YoY).
Canalys credits part of the increased PC sales to OEMs pushing sales ahead of the anticipated tariffs by the Trump administration. The ongoing trade war could cause PC prices to skyrocket, so several manufacturers have rolled out discounts or pushed sales in other ways.
The end of Windows 10 support is also a major factor when it comes to PC sales.
Preemptive sales ahead of tariffs
The ongoing trade war has created uncertainty in several industries, including PCs. In response to tariffs being announced, paused, increased, and decreased, PC manufacturers have had to take drastic steps.
Razer paused laptop sales in the United States altogether. Framework had to stop selling the base model of one of its laptops or risk selling a device at a loss.
We’ve also seen the prices of devices go up, including the Legion Go S and MSI Claw.
If certain tariffs had gone into effect, one model of the Razer Blade 18 would have cost over $12,000.
Just this week, China stopped exporting heavy rare earth metals and NVIDIA announced a massive shift to produce AI supercomputers in the United States.
The upcoming tariffs drove PC manufacturers to sell more devices.
“PC shipments experienced a surge in Q1 2025, driven by vendors accelerating deliveries to the US in anticipation of initial tariff announcements,” said Principal Analyst at Canalys Ishan Dutt.
“This preemptive strategy allowed manufacturers and the channel to stock up ahead of potential cost increases, boosting sell-in shipments despite otherwise stable end-user demand,” Dutt added.
It’s difficult to predict how PC sales will trend until key questions are answered by the United States and China. We’ll then need to see how PC manufacturers respond to any tariffs that stick.
Windows 10 end of support
The impending end of Windows 10 support is a growing factor in PC sales as well. Microsoft has warned people for years about the end of Windows 10 support, and it appears to have finally started altering buying habits.
After the cutoff in October 2025, Windows 10 PCs will no longer receive security updates or support. And since Windows 11 has strict minimum requirements for upgrading, that leaves purchasing a new PC or switching to a different operating system as the only options for many people.
Businesses are especially affected by the end of Windows 10 support.
“A Canalys (now part of Omdia) March poll of channel partners who are familiar with SMB PC refresh plans revealed that 14% say their customers are not aware of Windows 10 EoS and a further 21% say their customers are aware but have no plans to upgrade,” said Dutt.
“For customers in these situations, the delay in planning means they are likely to face a higher cost environment when the time comes to refresh their PC fleets.”
Since PC prices could go up in the coming months, businesses and individual users may race to upgrade to new hardware while PCs remain in stock.
