Technology devices maker Lenovo remains bullish on the long-term growth of India’s personal computing market, even as rising memory chip prices and global supply chain imbalances threaten to weigh on demand for PCs, tablets and smartphones in the near term.
The optimism comes at a time when India’s traditional PC market — comprising desktops, notebooks and workstations — recorded its highest ever shipments in 2025. According to data compiled by International Data Corporation (IDC), PC shipments in the country rose 10.2 per cent year-on-year to 15.9 million units despite a sharp spike in memory chip prices triggered by supply disruptions.
Other device categories showed weaker momentum. Smartphone shipments to India grew marginally by 0.5 per cent to 152 million units in 2025, while tablet shipments fell 21.7 per cent year-on-year to 4.49 million units, according to IDC data.
The outlook for 2026 appears even more challenging globally. IDC expects worldwide PC shipments to decline by 11.3 per cent this year, while tablet and smartphone shipments are projected to fall by 7.6 per cent and 12.9 per cent, respectively.
At the centre of the disruption in the global memory market is the artificial intelligence (AI) frenzy. Random access memory (RAM), a critical component used in smartphones, tablets and PCs, is also essential for powering AI servers in large data centres run by companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta Platforms.
With demand from AI companies surging, the world’s largest memory manufacturers — Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology — which together account for over 90 per cent of the global memory market, are increasingly shifting production away from consumer electronics to more lucrative AI-focused orders. As a result, memory prices have risen sharply. Data from Counterpoint Research shows memory prices surged by 80–90 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, marking an unprecedented spike.
“For device manufacturers, this is a double whammy — rising component costs and weakened consumer purchasing power will likely slow demand as the quarter progresses,” said Jeongku Choi, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Market analysts do not expect the situation to ease before the second half of 2027.
Lenovo, however, believes its diversified supply chain will help it navigate the disruption.
“It’s a dynamic situation, and we are monitoring the developments closely from a business continuity and risk management standpoint. But we are well placed to tackle any challenges. We have a very resilient supply chain because we have more than 30 manufacturing locations across over 10 markets globally, and India is among them,” Kaman Chawla, director, consumer business at Lenovo India, told The Telegraph.
Chawla added that the company plans to leverage its broad portfolio across PCs, tablets and smartphones (Motorola), spanning multiple price points to tap evolving demand.
The user base for devices in India is also expanding beyond traditional productivity use cases. Lenovo is seeing rising demand from content creators and gamers, which is helping sustain the growth outlook.
“There could be some short-term impact, but from a long-term standpoint, India remains a major market for Lenovo and is expected to grow much faster,” Chawla said.