After long decline, demand for computers in Armenia sharply goes up: And what's happening in world?

The demand for personal computers in Armenia, on the contrary, is on the rise amid the decline in the global PC market.

The Armenian State Revenue Committee told NEWS.am Tech that 151,100 computers and PCs worth $22.2mln were imported to Armenia during the first six months of the year 2020, while 179,200 computers and PCs worth over $22.5mln were imported during the same period in 2021. But during the first 6 months of the current year 249,600 computers and computer units, worth $54.4mln, were imported to Armenia.

The demand for personal computers has been growing in both quantitative and monetary terms for the past three years.

According to NEWS.am Tech, in 2022, compared to last year, imports of computers in quantitative terms increased by almost 1.4 times (increased by 40%), and compared to 2020 - almost 1.7 times (increased by 65%).

The quantitative indicator of imports for the first 6 months of 2022 is only slightly inferior to that of 10 years ago: for the entire 2012 about 300,000 computers and units were imported into Armenia. At the same time, there was almost a 30% drop in imports in 2012 compared to 2011 (406,000 computers and units).

At the same time, the cost of importing personal computers has doubled in 10 years. If it cost $27 million to import 406,000 computers and units for all of 2011, then $54.4 million was paid for 249,600 computers and units in the first six months of this year.

Meanwhile, in the world...

Globally, demand for personal computers has fallen noticeably in recent months - and continues to fall.

According to experts, the global market for personal computers in the third quarter of 2022 recorded an unprecedented decline in the last decade by 20% compared to the same period in 2021, which can be explained by inflation and the weakening of the global economy. At the same time, many experts believe that the situation is unlikely to improve in the near future.

The most significant decline in the global market over the last 10 years was recorded in 2015: sales then fell by 10.4%. And in 2021 there was a 15% increase - the best result in the last 10 years.

According to the estimates of many experts, it is not worth waiting for the market to recover before 2024. In 2023, the PC and tablet market will continue to shrink - collectively, by about 2.6%. But even in 2024, it is unlikely that there will be much positive change. 

Arm laptops still popular?

Despite the difficult situation with personal computers and laptops, the Arm notebook market by 2023 could grow by 10 times compared to 2020.

Experts estimate that by 2023, laptops with Arm processor architecture could take up 13.9 percent of the portable PC market. By comparison, in 2020 this figure was only 1.4%.

Several factors may have influenced the increased interest in such laptops. First, people began to be more interested in laptops because of restrictions during the pandemic. Second, the decline in Intel's share of this market could also have played a role. Thirdly, the fact that modern Apple laptops are also based on Arm-chips, although of their own design, could also have an impact.

Moreover, according to specialists, the situation with laptops based on Arm could have been even better if the mobile PC market was not held back by a number of macroeconomic factors: the decline in sales after the pandemic, and the general decline in the IT market, and lower demand for hardware solutions.