What this means: IDC’s latest Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, which gathers data in more than 90 countries, indicates that even as demand slows in 2022, the PC market is expected to see a five-year growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3% in the long run, mostly driven by laptop sales, per The Register.

Desktops, laptops, and tablets accounted for almost an hour more of daily media time than mobile phones. In H1 2021, 94.6% of internet users owned a smartphone—a share essentially unchanged since H1 2019. By contrast, PC and tablet penetration both appear to have peaked. The share of respondents who owned a desktop or laptop slipped by more than 4 percentage points year over year, to 78.6%.

Time spent daily with desktops, laptops, and tablets rose to a remarkable 5:25 on average, while smartphone time reached 4:56. Social networking and messaging accounted for long periods with screens of all sizes.

Time spent with desktops, laptops, and tablets averaged 4 hours, 2 minutes (4:02) daily in H1 2021. This metric rose more steeply year over year than mobile time, which accounted for 3:08 daily. Digital video arguably now exceeds live TV in terms of reach, while paid-for video services made a quantum leap between 2020 and 2021.

Some gender-related differences also persisted: Males were more likely than females to own a desktop or laptop, but the opposite was true for tablets. Traditional media are increasingly eclipsed by digital alternatives, though live TV still enjoys substantial reach.

Smartphone ownership was predictably high, but penetration of desktops, laptops, and tablets was also greater than in most countries polled. Just under 95% of internet users ages 16 to 64 owned a smartphone in H1 2021—a marginal decline from 2020. The share who owned a feature phone also slipped, to 4.0%—though ownership remained higher (6.1%) among respondents ages 55 to 64.

As in previous years, females were marginally more likely than males to own a tablet or smartphone; ownership of desktops and laptops was roughly equal in both groups. In addition, PC penetration was notably low among those ages 16 to 34 and in lower-income households. Larger screens still claimed a longer period of time each day.

In H1 2021, respondents spent an average 4 hours, 10 minutes (4:10) daily with desktops, laptops, and tablets, and 3:33 with mobile devices. Smartphone penetration had declined slightly since 2020, but advanced handsets remain the crucial digital device for most internet users; 95.6% of respondents owned one in H1 2021. Only 3.6% had a feature phone.

Time spent each day with desktops, laptops, and tablets remained considerably higher than time spent with mobile devices, averaging 3:25 and 2:19, respectively. Daily PC time grew more than mobile time year over year; the opposite was true in 2020.

As in numerous other countries, the share of internet users who owned a desktop or laptop declined for the second year in a row, from 76.6% to 71.6% in H1 2021. Predictably, older respondents were most likely to own a PC; 77.0% of 55- to 64-year-olds had a desktop or laptop, for example, but that share had also dropped by more than 5 percentage points year over year (YoY).

This year, however, time spent each day with desktops, laptops, and tablets rose by 25 minutes, while mobile time increased by 16 minutes—an indication that larger screens saw an uptick during phases of the pandemic when internet users were at home more often.

Penetration of desktops, laptops, and tablets declined. Between H1 2020 and H1 2021, penetration of desktops, laptops, and tablets fell in virtually every market. Admittedly, several countries in Asia-Pacific—including China, Japan, and Thailand—saw modest gains for both devices. PC ownership also rose in India, UAE, and Vietnam.

Time spent each day with mobile devices surpassed time spent with desktops, laptops, and tablets by half an hour in H1 2021. On average, internet users spent 4 hours, 27 minutes (4:27) daily with mobile phones, compared with 3:57 on larger-screen devices. Both mobile and PC time rose year over year (YoY); PCs recorded the larger gain, though.

The share of respondents who owned a desktop or laptop declined for the second year in a row, to 73.1%. Following a dip in H1 2020, tablet penetration recovered slightly, to 40.9%. Daily media time shifted decisively toward mobile. In H1 2021, time spent with larger screens was unchanged from 2020 (3:54), but daily mobile time shot ahead to 4:06.

Some 73.0% of respondents in Malaysia also owned a desktop and/or laptop. Tablet penetration seems to have plateaued at just under one-third of respondents, though that share was more than 40% in the oldest age bracket, and close to 46% among affluent internet users. The proportion of respondents who still own a feature phone has continued to slide and is now below 10% in all cohorts.

For example, 96.8% of those polled owned a smartphone, and 81.3% owned a desktop or laptop. Almost half (48.6%) owned a tablet. Fewer than 10% had a feature phone, though penetration was above 10% among males, respondents ages 45 to 64, and those in low- or medium-income households. All cohorts were deeply engaged with social media.

Penetration of desktops and laptops had increased YoY, however, while smartphone penetration hadn’t really shifted. Nearly 39% of respondents owned a tablet—an annual gain of nearly 2 percentage points. One in 10 internet users owned a feature phone. Mobile devices accounted for an average 4:28 of respondents’ media time each day in H1 2021. PCs and tablets claimed about half an hour less, at 3:55.

Desktops, laptops, and tablets claimed 50 minutes more, at 4:17 daily. Time with mobile and nonmobile devices had risen since H1 2020. Since 2018, social networking has engaged more internet users than broadcast TV. In H1 2021, 94.4% of those polled had used social media in the month prior to polling, compared with 79.5% who had watched live TV.

Ownership of desktops and laptops trended in the opposite direction, falling below 70% for the first time. Tablet penetration had also fallen, from 45.9% to 42.7%. Ownership was highest (59.8%) among affluent respondents and those ages 35 to 44 (51.9%). No other cohort posted penetration above 50%. As PC and tablet penetration shrank, the average time spent with those devices declined as well.

As of H1 2021, 73.8% of internet users owned a desktop or laptop, while 33.5% owned a tablet. Ownership of both devices had slipped from the year prior. That said, time spent with PCs and tablets rocketed during the year, from 4:07 daily to 4:56. Much of internet users’ total media time is devoted to social networking.

In H1 2021, more than 97% of survey respondents in Portugal owned a smartphone, and 85.4% owned a desktop or laptop. Some 48.1% of internet users were tablet owners. Time spent with both mobile and nonmobile devices rocketed, at least partly because of the pandemic. Internet users spent an average of 3:30 per day with their mobile phones in H1 2021, up from 3:12 last year.

Almost 96% of internet users in Sweden owned a smartphone in H1 2021—a share unchanged since 2020—while 76.9% owned a desktop or laptop, and 50.9% owned a tablet. Both PCs and tablets saw a drop in ownership. But respondents averaged 3 hours, 37 minutes (3:37) each day with PCs and tablets, versus 2:55 with mobile phones. Both values rose by more than 15 minutes year over year.

The share of UK internet users ages 16 to 64 owning a desktop or laptop fell below 80% in H1 2021, to 77.1%—a decline of nearly 6 percentage points over two years. Tablet penetration remained relatively high, though, at 56.1%. In both cases, older respondents and those living in affluent homes were more apt to have the device.

Fewer than 58% of all respondents had a desktop or laptop, though. Penetration was below average among younger adults (ages 16 to 34) and in lower-income households. Conversely, the share of affluents owning a PC continued to rise, to 76.5%. City dwellers were also more likely to have a PC than respondents in suburban and rural areas.