Worldwide PC shipments totalled 71.9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015, a year-on-year decline of -10.6%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). The news ended 2015 as the first year below 300 million units since 2008.

The holiday quarter achieved a modest uptick compared to the third quarter, but the year-on-year decline in 2015 shipments was nevertheless the largest in history, surpassing the decline of -9.8% in 2013.

According to the report, the PC market continued to face persistent challenges from longer-PC lifecycles and competition from mobile phones and tablets, despite the slowing growth in those markets. However, economic issues like falling commodity prices and weak international currencies were a larger factor for 2015.

Detachable tablets, which are counted separately from PCs, are growing quickly but from a small base. Lenovo maintained its top rank for the quarter and all of 2015, exceeding 20% market share for the year. HP was the number 2 vendor.