Dive Brief:

• New estimates from the International Data Corporation (IDC) predict PC shipments will fall even lower than previously expected this year, falling a total of 7.3% over 2015. 

• IDC revised its estimates for the year after first quarter sales dropped more than expected. The firm previously forecast a 11.3% drop in Q1, while actual shipments for that period fell 12.5%.

• The PC industry has now seen an unprecedented four consecutive quarters of lower sales, according to IDC.

Dive Insight:

Last week, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York that the upgrade cycle for PCs has slowed down from an average 4 years to nearly six years. A PC that might have been replaced every three or four years is now often upgraded instead and used much longer.

The good news is enterprises can save money because they don’t have to update as often. However, the decline points to some difficulties for PC producers.

Jay Chou, research manager for Worldwide PC Tracker, said enterprise PC sales are not dropping quite as fast as consumer sales, however.

"Commercial shipments are projected to decline just 4.4% in 2016 and see slightly positive growth for the next few years," said Chou.