Federica Laricchia
Research expert covering the global consumer technology industry
From studying at university to working from home, personal computers (PCs) have grown to be a significant part of our everyday life. Despite the PC industry's massive growth over the past decade, it suffered from the economic downturn of 2022. In 2023, the PC market size in Italy was forecast to amount to around four billion U.S. dollars, a value expected to decrease in coming years. The PC industry includes several segments, from devices to accessories to storage units. In Italy, laptops are the most profitable segment, recording revenues of over 2.6 billion euros by 2028.
Apple is also one of the leaders in the Italian tablet market – an industry that quickly gained popularity in the country after the introduction of the Apple iPad in 2010 and that today is worth just under 870 million euros. In Italy, Tim Cook’s company has maintained its leading position through the years. Samsung managed to overcome Apple only in 2021, but lost first place again in 2022, when the Korean company occupied almost 39 percent of the market and Apple dominated over 43 percent.
Many brands for many PC market segments
As for the rest of the world, several PC manufacturers and vendors are active in the Italian PC market, such as the American giants Apple and HP, and the Korean colossus Samsung. For instance, in 2022, Apple was the leading laptop vendor in the southern European country, holding around 77 percent of the market, whereas Microsoft and HP occupied much smaller shares, 11 and five percent, respectively. On the contrary, Windows-based desktop PCs are much more popular in Italy, like Asus, HP, and Lenovo. In fact, in 2022, Windows was the leading desktop operating system in the country, dominating almost 77 percent of the Italian desktop OS market.Apple is also one of the leaders in the Italian tablet market – an industry that quickly gained popularity in the country after the introduction of the Apple iPad in 2010 and that today is worth just under 870 million euros. In Italy, Tim Cook’s company has maintained its leading position through the years. Samsung managed to overcome Apple only in 2021, but lost first place again in 2022, when the Korean company occupied almost 39 percent of the market and Apple dominated over 43 percent.
Most Italians own and use PCs daily
As mentioned above, PCs play a major role in various aspects of our routine and are used to perform a wide range of both demanding and leisure activities, such as writing papers, working and watching a movie or scrolling on social media. At the beginning of 2023, around 67 percent of Italians owned a laptop or desktop computer. PC owners vary in age and educational level. In 2021, such devices were most popular among Italians aged between 15 and 17, followed by those aged between 18 and 19. Most likely, people this age use computers for school and university, as well as for leisure time. Tablet devices have very similar uses and are, indeed, often used as a replacement for PCs. Consequently, the number of Italian tablet users has increased in recent years, reaching over 23 million 2023, and is expected to keep growing in the near future.
