The first quarter of 2023 was marked by a sharp drop in global personal computer shipments – a record 29% due to weak demand, excess inventory and a worsening macroeconomic climate – and the outsider was Apple, whose profits fell 40.5% for the year, Reuters wrote.

The International Data Corporation (IDC) report said global PC shipments totaled $56.9 million in the first quarter of this year, up from $80.2 million in the same period last year.

PC shipments were also down in the last quarter of 2022, down 28.1%.

Apple’s first-quarter shipments fell the most, down 40.5% from the same period in 2022, while Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) shipments fell 31%.

Lenovo Group (OTC: LNVGY), Asustek Computer Inc (TW:2357) and HP Inc (NYSE: HPQ) were also outsiders.

Mac sales rose during the wave of remote work during the pandemic, but fell year over year to $7.7 billion in the last quarter of last year.

Shipments in the first quarter of 2023 were markedly lower than the 59.2 million units in the first quarter of 2019 and 60.6 million units in the first quarter of 2018.

Because of the forced pause, many factories are beginning to explore production options outside China.

Concerns about slowing economic growth stem from recent turmoil in the banking sector, rampant inflation and tight monetary policy, which will hamper growth and financial investment.

If the economy grows by 2024, we can also expect significant market growth on the back of hardware upgrades by households, schools and businesses switching to Windows 11.

Earlier we reported that the U.S. Congress warned Apple and Disney about problems because of China.