AI Boom and Windows 10 Deadline Drive Global PC Market Surge

The global PC industry is showing strong signs of recovery, with shipments rising 8% in the third quarter of 2025. This growth comes as the market shifts toward AI-powered PCs, which indicates a broader push to accelerate the adoption of next-generation computing technologies.

According to a new report from Gartner, over 69 million personal computers (PCs) were shipped worldwide compared to the same quarter in 2024. This marks the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Windows 10 end-of-support spurs business upgrades

The increase in business PC demand can be largely attributed to the Windows 10 end-of-support deadline on October 14. At the same time, there is a growing interest in AI-enabled PCs with Neural Processing Units or NPUs, especially in premium and business segments. The study also found that the education sector and the public sector purchases contributed to growth, particularly in the United States.

“In the third quarter of 2025, worldwide PC shipments were driven by the Windows 10 end-of-support (EOS) refresh cycle in most regions, while North America’s growth was limited to 1.6% as demand had been accelerated into the first half of the year due to anticipated import tariffs,” said Rishi Padhi, Research Principal at Gartner.

AI-powered PCs emerge as the new market catalyst

Gartner mentioned that AI-powered PCs are expected to make up about 31% of all device shipments in 2025, which is more than double their share from the previous year. This surge indicates that over 77 million AI-enabled units will be shipped globally throughout the year.

The U.S. PC market experienced robust growth, which is largely driven by increased investments from government and educational institutions. Meanwhile, regions like Asia-Pacific and Latin America also experienced growth. However, the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) remained stagnant due to ongoing economic challenges and uncertainty.

Lastly, Lenovo continued to lead the global PC market in terms of shipments and maintained its top position among manufacturers. HP and Dell followed closely behind, with HP showing strong performance in the U.S. market. Meanwhile, Apple and Acer also saw year-over-year shipment increases.

According to a previous study from Gartner, AI-powered PCs will become the “new norm” by 2029, making up over half of all PC shipments. IDC also found that a large majority of IT leaders plan to invest in AI PCs in 2025, with data suggesting these devices could dominate the market with a 93% share by 2028.