125M More Laptops, Tablets in Use vs. 2020: Gartner

The installed base of connectivity devices, including laptops, desktop PCs, tablets and mobile phones, will total 6.2 billion globally in 2021, reported Gartner Thursday. It estimates 125 million more laptops and tablets will be in use this year than in 2020. COVID-19 "permanently changed device usage patterns,” said analyst Ranjit Atwal. “With remote work turning into hybrid work, home education changing into digital education and interactive gaming moving to the cloud, both the types and number of devices people need, have and use will continue to rise.” The world is on pace to reach 6.4 billion devices in 2022, up 3.2% from 2021, said Gartner. The shift to remote work exacerbated the decline of desktop PCs and boosted the use of tablets and laptops. In 2021, laptops in use will increase 8.8% and tablets 11.7%, while the installed base of desktop PCs is expected to decline to 470 million in 2022 from 522 million in 2020.