Not only are Indian consumers opening their wallets to purchase premium smartphones, but they are also opting to purchase premium laptops. This developing trend provides a glimpse into the future of the personal computer market in India, which is the world’s second-most populous country.
According to Akshay Kamath, Director of PC Client Sales for India at Intel Corporation, “The era of compromise is slowly going away as Indian consumers really want bang for the buck, so they are willing to spend more for performance.” This is something that Kamath shared with indianexpress.com. “The compromise era is slowly going away.”
According to Kamath, who was recently in Delhi for an event to showcase Intel’s 12th generation of products, a significant number of students who, in the past, would have purchased a machine that was not designed for gaming are now opting to purchase a high-specification laptop that can also be used for gaming. And the reason for choosing a slightly more premium laptop is the kind of things users want to do in addition to regular web browsing and content consumption, such as coding and content creation. These activities go beyond simply consuming content online.
The rise in premium PC solutions, such as devices with thin-and-light form factors and dedicated gaming notebooks, can be attributed to a number of key factors, including the demand for high-performing laptops and a variety of different device options from PC manufacturers.
“Indian consumers are evolving in their requirement of performance, and that is why you are seeing what traditionally used to be sub-25K move up to 30K and above, You are seeing this because Indian consumers are evolving in their requirement of performance. There is a movement that is taking place that is moving more towards premium and mainstream.
said Akshay Kamath, Director of PC Client Sales for India at Intel Corporation
Although Kamath acknowledges that the surge in demand for personal computers that occurred during the pandemic has rationalized somewhat due to the opening of schools and offices, he believes that people will still feel the need to replace their computers every three to four years. The fact that first-time buyers are willing to pay a little more and purchase a device with better specifications and features, moving up the ladder in price point, is a trend that is relatively new but paints a positive picture of the state of the personal computer market in India. As a result of this, there is a greater demand for laptops in the price range of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 compared to the demand for devices in the price range of Rs 25,000 and lower.
But who exactly is responsible for propelling India’s PC growth momentum? According to Kamath, the majority of first-time buyers are congregated in cities that are classified as tier-3 or tier-4, which is where the growth is coming from. They wouldn’t want to make any further concessions after a certain point.
“India as a market still has still untapped potential,” he said, adding that everybody has realized that if you want to do serious stuff, PC is the place to do it. “India as a market still has still untapped potential.”said Akshay Kamath, Director of PC Client Sales for India at Intel Corporation
Over the course of the past few months, there has been a significant shift in the business environment, and Intel is feeling the heat. Intel is feeling the heat from competitors Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Apple as they gain market share. Apple has just announced a new M2 processor, which will power the company’s most recent MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The next chip architecture from AMD will be referred to as “Zen 4” and will be released later on in this year. Apple’s transition to its own custom M-series processors used in the Mac was largely responsible for the company’s significant expansion in the personal computer (PC) market. In point of fact, during the March quarter, Apple was one of the few PC manufacturers that was successful in increasing its sales.
