Canalys: India's PC and tablet shipments to grow 8% in 2025

According to the latest research from Canalys, India's PC and tablet market maintained strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, increasing 6.4% year-on-year to reach a total of 4.6 million units in shipments. This growth was mainly driven by an 11% increase in notebook shipments to 2.6 million units; and a 4.3% increase in tablet shipments to 1.1 million units. Desktop shipments fell 3.6% to 852,000 units. The market grew 13% for the full year, with shipments exceeding 20 million units, including a 41% increase in tablets, a 5% increase in notebooks, and a 1% increase in desktops. Looking ahead, India's PC and tablet market is expected to grow 8% in 2025, with overflow demand from the refresh cycle driving another 5% growth in 2026.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, all segments of the Indian PC (excluding tablets) market grew, with corporate purchases growing 25% year-on-year. This growth was mainly due to global companies upgrading their systems as part of the refresh cycle and increased demand due to the end of support (EoS) of Windows 10. Government tenders, especially for notebooks, also increased significantly; the education sector grew by 34%, mainly driven by public educational institutions. The consumer market was relatively flat, growing only 1% as online channels focused on maintaining healthy inventory levels for year-end sales.

The Indian PC market is expected to grow by 9% in 2025.

In the tablet industry, the consumer market grew 2% in the fourth quarter of 2024, mainly driven by strong inventory for year-end sales. The education sector also performed well, mainly driven by government initiatives and demand from private institutions. However, delays in government tenders at the end of the quarter led to a sharp decline in non-education public sector procurement.

The Indian tablet market is expected to grow 5% in 2025, driven primarily by consumer demand as many devices purchased during the pandemic need to be updated or upgraded.

The Indian government has introduced a policy to gradually reduce import restrictions on PCs and tablets by 5% each year starting from 2025, based on import data from fiscal year 2024-2025. To ensure a smooth transition, the government has extended the unrestricted import period to December 31, 2024, postponing the original deadline of September 30, 2024.