PC Market Defies Expectations with Growth Despite Windows 10 End-of-Life Looming

The PC market posted its strongest growth in two years during the final quarter of 2024, with global shipments reaching 64.4 million units according to IDC's latest figures. That represents a 2.7% increase year-over-year, defying earlier predictions of a flat or declining market.

What Actually Happened

Despite what many industry watchers have called a "rampocalypse" - the impending end of Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025 - businesses and consumers appear to be taking Microsoft's deadline seriously. The growth comes as organizations face a critical decision: upgrade hardware to run Windows 11, or risk running an unsupported operating system.

Lenovo maintained its position as the market leader with 24.7% share, shipping 15.9 million units. The company saw 6.9% growth, suggesting its enterprise-focused strategy is paying dividends as corporate IT departments refresh aging fleets.

Apple posted the strongest percentage gains among major vendors, with shipments up 14.8% to 7.1 million units. The Mac maker captured 11.1% market share, buoyed by its M4 chip lineup and continued momentum in both professional and consumer segments.

HP and Dell rounded out the top four, though both saw declines. HP shipped 13.7 million units (down 1.1%) while Dell dropped 1.7% to 9.9 million units. The divergence suggests buyers are consolidating around specific brands rather than spreading purchases evenly.

Why This Matters for Developers

For mobile and cross-platform developers, this growth signals a shift in the hardware landscape that affects testing strategies and platform support decisions.

First, the Windows 10 migration creates a compressed timeline for application updates. Developers targeting enterprise customers need to ensure their software runs smoothly on Windows 11, which has stricter hardware requirements including TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Many older machines can't upgrade, forcing hardware refreshes that may change your user base's capabilities.

Second, Apple's strong performance suggests the Mac platform continues to gain ground among developers and technical users. With M4 chips now across the entire Mac line, the performance gap with traditional x86 systems has narrowed considerably. For cross-platform tools like Flutter, React Native, or .NET MAUI, this reinforces the importance of first-class macOS support and native ARM64 builds.

Third, the growth in PC shipments despite economic headwinds indicates that computing remains essential rather than discretionary. This bodes well for software companies betting on desktop-first or hybrid workflows, particularly in productivity, creative, and development tools.

The Cross-Platform Angle

The Windows 11 requirement creates a natural inflection point for cross-platform development strategies. Organizations upgrading hardware are more likely to consider alternative platforms, especially if they're already investing in new systems.

For Android developers, this is an opportunity. Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) may be deprecated, but the demand for mobile apps on desktop remains strong. Tools like Microsoft's Windows App SDK and the continued evolution of WinUI 3 provide modern paths for bringing Android experiences to Windows.

For iOS developers, the Mac's growth reinforces the value of Catalyst and SwiftUI. With Apple Silicon now standard, iOS apps run natively on Mac with minimal modifications. The 14.8% shipment growth suggests more users are in the Apple ecosystem, making cross-platform development between iOS and macOS increasingly attractive.

What Changes Going Forward

The Q4 2024 growth likely represents the beginning of a multi-year refresh cycle. IDC expects PC shipments to grow throughout 2025 as the Windows 10 deadline approaches. This creates several implications:

For development teams: Prioritize Windows 11 testing and ensure your CI/CD pipelines include ARM64 builds. The mix of x86 and ARM Windows devices is shifting, and Apple Silicon Macs are now a significant portion of the developer machine pool.

For cross-platform tools: Expect increased demand for solutions that work across Windows, macOS, and Linux. The growth in PC shipments combined with Mac's strong performance suggests developers need to support multiple desktop platforms efficiently.

For enterprise software: The hardware refresh creates an opportunity to modernize applications. Companies buying new machines are more receptive to new software architectures, whether that's moving to cloud-native solutions, adopting new frameworks, or restructuring licensing models.

The "rampocalypse" may have been overstated as a doomsday scenario, but it's clearly driving real market movement. For developers, the message is clear: the PC base is growing and modernizing. Your cross-platform strategy needs to account for both Windows 11's hardware requirements and Apple's continued platform momentum.

The full IDC report is available at idc.com, with detailed breakdowns by region and form factor that reveal additional trends in commercial versus consumer segments.

Patrick O'Rourke is XDA's News Editor and Entertainment Segment Lead, covering the intersection of mobile, gaming, and PC technology.