Worldwide PC shipments totaled 72.6 million units in the fourth quarter of 2016, a 3.7 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2015, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. For the year, 2016 PC shipments totaled 269.7 million units, a 6.2 percent decline from 2015. PC shipments have declined annually since 2012.

Despite the innovative form factors like 2-in-1s and thin and light notebooks, as well as technology improvements, such as longer battery life have not been able to lift the stagnation the PC industry is facing. There is however high interest in gaming and high end machines which has been experiencing but the market driven by PC enthusiasts is not big enough to drive overall market growth.

Four of the top six vendors experienced an increase in worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2016 . The top three vendors all increased their global market share in the fourth quarter. Lenovo maintained the No. 1 position, as the company experienced shipment increases in North America and EMEA, while Asia/Pacific and Japan continued to be challenging markets.

HP remained in the second position, and it has recorded three consecutive quarters of shipment growth. HP secured the top position in PC shipments in the U.S. and EMEA, growing faster than the regional averages.

Dell also registered three consecutive quarters of shipment growth in 4Q16. Dell continued to place PCs as a strategic business segment in commercial and consumer markets during 2016. Asus suffered the steepest decline among the top six vendors in the fourth quarter of 2016. Asus has been shifting its PC strategy more toward the high-end market, which will allow it to maintain better profit margins. Gartner analysts said the falling shipment volume could be the cause of this strategy shift.

For the year, worldwide PC shipments totaled 269.7 million units in 2016 with shipment totals remained the same levels as shipments in 2007.