The PC market rebounded final yr, sporting the best progress charge in a decade, business analysts stated this week, pinning credit score (or blame) on the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysis agency IDC pegged 2020’s world shipments of private computer systems at 302.6 million units, a 13% improve over the yr prior, which represented the biggest annual achieve since 2010. The cargo quantity was the biggest since 2014, stated Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor with IDC’s cellular machine trackers crew, in an interview.

The turnaround was hanging: Of the previous 10 years, six noticed year-over-year declines whereas one had been flat.

Gartner Analysis, an IDC rival, additionally claimed a notable increase in PC shipments. Although Gartner’s numbers for 2020 differed from IDC’s — the previous agency stated final yr’s improve was slightly below 5%, lower than half IDC’s — it agreed that that progress was the best measured since 2010.

The distinction between IDC’s and Gartner’s complete shipments for the yr — 302 million and 275 million, respectively — was largely because of the former counting Chromebooks as private computer systems, whereas the latter didn’t.

“Numerous quantity early within the yr was as a result of firms had folks working at dwelling,” stated Ubrani, reflecting on the spring months, when companies worldwide first shuttered, then requested staff to do business from home. Enterprises, Ubrani stated, bought giant numbers of laptops to equip these suddenly-remote employees, the gross sales quantity at instances ample to fully throttle the element provide chain.