Dive Brief:

• PC sales fell nearly 10% in the first quarter of 2016, Gartner said Monday.
• The analyst firm reported that in the first quarter of 2016 total worldwide PC shipments dropped to 64.8 million, marking the first time they fell below 65 million since 2007.
• Gartner said currency fluctuations were a leading cause of the drop in sales.

Dive Insight:

All regions showed a decrease in sales, but sales in Latin America were particularly poor, falling more than 32%. Ongoing economic troubles are likely to blame. The consistant drop in PC sales demonstrates how the market has continued its shift to hybrids, tablets and smartphones to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile population.

Asus, Apple and Dell were the vendors that sustained either market growth or minimal losses in Q1. Dell and Lenovo saw a small amount of first quarter growth. Meanwhile, HP's shipments shrunk 9% compared to the first quarter of 2015. 

Despite a declining market, PC vendors aren’t giving up. Several companies have introduced slick new designs meant to appeal to high-end business users. In October, Microsoft introduced a new Surface Book laptop-tablet hybrid to high demand. Last week, HP unveiled a premium laptop that it says will rival Apple’s line of high-end laptops. HP’s business-focused Elitebook Folio are less than half an inch thick.