IDC

IDC said said automation is changing how employees approach work and there is a stronger need for organizations to accelerate their automation strategies and deployment plans.

The education segment declined, but shipments were still largely above pre-pandemic levels, supported by sizable education projects in Japan, India, Korea, and the Philippines.

Global shipments of traditional PCs, including desktops, notebooks, and workstations, declined 5.1% in the first quarter of 2022 (1Q22) but exceeded earlier forecasts, according to preliminary results from research firm IDC.

IDC data showed that more than 70% of the employees said their productivity was higher or at least at the same level compared to pre-pandemic.

With 143.6 million units shipped globally, 2021 also stood as the best performing year since 2012, when volume was 150.3 million.

Meta's Quest 2 was by far the most popular product with 78% share of the combined AR/VR market during the year.

The worldwide wearables market hit a new record high in the fourth quarter of 2021 as shipments reached 171 million units, up 10.8% from the same quarter last year.

According to research firm IDC, the Philippines tablet market grew by 60% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2021 as smartphone vendors Nokia, realme, and Xiaomi launched their products in the market. This was, however, still down 44.9% year-on-year.

Realme clinched the top spot for the fourth consecutive quarter, accounting for 20.6% of the smartphone market and growing by 7.9% QoQ, driven by the C-series that accounted for more than 70% of its total shipments.

The growth in 2021 can largely be attributed to Samsung's recent success, as the Korean giant made waves in the market thanks to its newest foldable flagships.