"The year ahead is shaping up to be extremely volatile" — IDC adds another PC price alarm to a market already filled with noise

It's a new year, and that means that top tech analysts are poring over data from 2025 in an attempt to make sense of the next 12 months.

Earlier this week, I covered a report from tech research and advisory group Omdia, suggesting that 2026 will see a laptop supply that fails to meet demand, driving up prices for consumers.

That same sentiment is being shared by the International Data Corporation (IDC) in an independent report that looks eerily similar to the one from Omdia.

According to IDC's research VP, Jean Phillipe Bouchard, "the PC market will be far different in 12 months, given how quickly the memory situation is evolving."

Bouchard is, of course, referring to the ongoing DRAM shortage caused by AI firms buying up production for the months and years ahead. AI datacenters require an unfathomable amount of memory to operate, and unfortunately, the core tech is the same that goes into the consumer RAM found in our personal PCs.

Given the choice of selling to consumers or to AI firms, memory manufacturers are following the big money that seems to swirl endlessly around the latter.

On one hand, the big laptop manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, Dell, and ASUS — which had stellar sales in 2025 — are likely better positioned to weather the storm thanks to their "scale and memory allocations." On the other hand, IDC warns that "smaller brands may not survive, and consumers, particularly DIY enthusiasts, may delay purchases or shift their spending to other devices or experiences."

Laptop makers had a great 2025, and Lenovo continues to lead the way

IDC points out that 2025's holiday season saw strong laptop sales, which isn't out of the ordinary. However, news of the impending laptop price spike likely amplified sales as consumers and the big brands attempted to get ahead of the newfound costs.

Add to that the lingering uncertainty of Windows 10's end-of-life and the push for Windows 11 PCs, and you can certainly see why PC sales were so strong. Lenovo alone shipped 19.3 million PCs globally in Q4 2025, according to IDC.

Just like Omdia's results, IDC shows Lenovo at the top of the PC sales charts with around 71 million (70.8 is the exact number IDC shares) shipments throughout all of 2025. HP comes in second place with 57.5 million shipments, Dell in third with 41.1 million, Apple in fourth with 25.6 million, and ASUS in fifth with 20.5 million.

My recommendation for those who need a new PC? Buy now and get it over with before the big price hikes hit. There are plenty of laptops from 2025 available, many of them at a discount as retailers attempt to clear out inventory for new 2026 models. I just put together a roundup of 13 top laptops on sale at Best Buy's Winter Sale if you need a bit of inspiration.

Do you agree with analysts who suggest that PC sales will decline in 2026? Do you see any way around the factors driving those price hikes? Let us know in the comments section below!

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