According to IDC, by 2027, AI-integrated PCs are expected to constitute 85% of new computer setups in China, marking a significant shift from cloud-based to device-local AI applications.

This transition heralds a new era where PCs are not merely tools for computing but evolve into sophisticated personal assistants

AI’s Role in Reinventing PCs

As AI technology permeates everyday devices, its impact on the personal computer market is profound.

Lenovo’s CEO, Yang Yuanqing, noted that despite the growing ubiquity of smartphones, PCs remain the preferred platform for running sophisticated AI applications due to their superior processing power.

This sentiment is echoed by major PC manufacturers worldwide, who view AI-enhanced PCs as a pivotal market opportunity.

Industry-wide Transformation

The infusion of AI is redefining the entire PC ecosystem—from silicon and operating systems to the end-user experience.

AI integration is not just about enhancing computational capabilities but also about reimagining the PC as an intelligent entity that can anticipate user needs and handle complex tasks.

This shift is prompting a radical restructuring of the PC industry, affecting hardware components like chips, storage solutions, and thermal management systems.

Market Predictions and Pricing Challenges

IDC’s forecast that 85% of new PCs in China will be AI-equipped by 2027 highlights the anticipated widespread adoption.

However, this technological advancement comes with heightened costs. AI PCs, such as the Yoga Book 9i and ThinkPad T14p, are currently priced significantly higher than their traditional counterparts, a factor that could hinder their accessibility to the average consumer.

Chen Shuxin, IDC’s Senior Research Manager in China, points out that the enhanced performance requirements of AI PCs necessitate more sophisticated, and consequently more expensive, hardware components.

Addressing Cost Concerns

In response to these pricing challenges, Lenovo’s Liu Jun asserts that AI PCs are currently viewed as premium products.

To counteract this perception and make AI PCs more accessible, Lenovo is actively engaging with its supply chain to negotiate cost reductions and streamline production processes.

The goal is to position AI PCs within mainstream price ranges, making them as common as traditional PCs.

The impending dominance of AI-integrated PCs in China represents a significant technological leap and a potential market shift.

While the benefits of such advancements are clear, the industry faces the dual challenge of managing costs while maintaining the pace of innovation.

As manufacturers like Lenovo lead the way in making AI PCs more affordable, the next few years will be crucial in determining whether these intelligent machines become the standard in personal computing across China.

Mobile gaming has been the most powerful growth engine for China gaming industry. In Q3 2014, total revenue of China mobile gaming market was RMB5.79 billion (US$940.3 million) with a high increase; further, in Q4 2014, the revenue would exceed RMB6 billion according to the research of CNG, IDC and TalkingData.

According to the research, China internet users tend to favor games on mobile device rather than on the desktop. The activeness, as well as frequency on mobile gaming indicated users’ increasing interest in mobile gaming. Especially, the chess and card games were the most active ones in 2014 in China.

Mobile gaming is becoming a habit for many China mobile users’ daily life. See more about China mobile gaming users’ profiles here .

Compared with other market segments in China gaming industry, mobile gaming had the highest growth in sales revenue as well as the number of users.

The number of China’s mobile gaming users was already over 0.33 billion in H1 2014 and it is believed that there is still great potential in online gaming market with its rapid growth in users according to Nielsen.

Also read: China Mobile Internet Statistics 2014

China online travel market experienced overwhelming development on mobile device in recent years. EnfoDesk believed that 2015 will be a significant year for mobile device to surpass the desktop. At present, online travel providers are implementing O2O strategy and it is estimated that China online travel market will transform from mobile device to O2O and then be in stable development in 2016.

Also read: 80% Willing to Travel During Chinese New Year Holidays 2015

Navigation websites are similar to directory websites, listing websites by categories and making it easier for users to find what they need. It’s set as homepage or entry page to internet access by many internet users in China. Let’s take a look at some insights of navigation websites in China.

In July 2014, navigation websites had daily user coverage of 150 million with growth rate of 56.3%, ranking the most popular online application in China according to data from iResearch.

China top 3 navigation websites by MAUs in October were Hao.360.cn, Hao123.cn and 123.Sougou.com according to data from EnfoDesk.

Page views of Hao123.cn exceeded 2,909 million in October, ranking top among China navigation websites, followed by Hao.360.cn and 2345.com.

Besides, Hao123.cn had longest visiting time among China navigation websites in October.

In terms of visits, Hao.360.cn had the most visits among China navigation websites, followed by Hao123.cn and 2345.com in October 2014.

Most Chinese people who use navigation service on the internet were satisfied with popular navigation websites in China according to research of EnfoDesk.

Male users accounted for 74.4% of total navigation website users in China.

Users whose income were between 2,000 and 3,999 yuan accounted for 27.86% of total users, which were the major ones in October 2014.

China navigation website users who were in east China represented 36.62% of total users, followed by north and south China.

Users who had bachelor degree used navigation websites more than other users with different education background in October 2014.

China navigation website users favored social news on desktop, which accounted for 80.13%.

Leisure games accounted for 63.4% of all the favored games by Chinese people, ranking top, followed by role play and chess & cards games.

Online videos like movie, hot trend video and TV drama were the most popular ones favored by Chinese users in 2014.

Hao123.cn, Hao.360.cn and 2345.com are known by Chinese people and they visited these navigation websites within half a year in 2014.

Chinese users tend to visit navigation website with installed browser, which represented 60.73% in 2014.

Clothing, bags & luggage, digital product and book & video were top 3 categories of products purchased via navigation websites by Chinese users on desktop in 2014.

Also read: China Top Automobile Websites in Q3 2014

In Q3 2014, top 3 automobile websites by total user reach on desktop were Autohome.com, BitAuto.com and PCAuto.com with 47.68 million, 35.6 million and 32.48 million respectively according to data from EnfoDesk.

China top 3 automobile websites all had strategies for competing for traffic: Autohome.com reached Baidu Alading platform (it is Baidu’s search open platform which shares data and display hidden wed information to obtain valuable traffic); BitAuto.com cooperated with 360 onebox; PCAuto.com cooperated with Sougou.

Good performance on desktop will stimulate competition for traffic on mobile device among automobile websites. Automobile.com occupied the first display of mobile search results; BitAuto.com shifted to mobile Baidu Alading; PCAuto.com cooperated with Shenma search. Search engines’ revenue from mobile search was the key driving force for China search engine market in Q3 2014.

Except large traffic of top 3 automobile websites in Q3 2014, they must keep their advantages and show some unique features for users. Good content and active online community are the keys. China automobile websites could promote automobile online purchase to develop automobile e-commerce.

Social media is another platform that got automobile industry’s serious attention in Q3 2014. During 14 days’ promotion on Weibo, a total number of over 60 thousand cars were ordered with a total worth of over RMB9.2 billion (US$1.5 billion). Chinese users displayed the highest level of engagement and interactions with brands on social media, according to PwC research. And, A McKinsey survey pointed out that social media has a greater influence on purchasing decisions for consumers in China.

Also read: China Automobile Market Overview in August 2014

In August 2014, total users reach in China social media service on desktop were 470 million with an increase of 10.7% YoY and 0.8% QoQ. Social media service users accounted for 92.6% of total China Internet users in August 2014 according to data from iResearch.

According to iResearch’s latest data, the number of social media’s monthly unique visitors on mobile device was 200 million in August 2014 with an increase of 35.7% YoY. Data shows Weibo’s UVs on mobile device were 120 million with an increase of 30.9% YoY and online community’s UVs reached 110 million with an increase of 89.9% YoY.

On desktop, online community’s UVs  exceeded 360 million with an increase of 15.5% YoY in August 2014. China online community performed well on desktop and mobile device.

There are many kinds of online community apps with large number of active users, such as Baidu Tieba, Douban and so on. Baidu Tieba invites enterprises, organizations and media to open official Baidu Tieba account, with supports such as Tieba management access, data, search marketing and mobile technology and services.

In August 2014, usage of instant messenger reached 10.1 times per person per day with daily effective time of 23.5 minutes in China. And, the usage of online community was even higher than instant messaging and Weibo.

With rapid online applications development on mobile device, social media has been one of the most important service on mobile device. Wechat and Weibo are still making great efforts to obtain larger market share, which are now major social apps for Chinese mobile internet users. Weibo monthly active users (“MAUs”) were 167 million as of Sep 30, 2014, an increase of 36% year on year according to Weibo official quarterly financial results. Besides, online vertical community also has great potential based on interest, location and demographic data.

Also read: The Rise of Mobile Social Media in China

By the end of Q3 2014, Dangdang’s traffic on mobile device had already surpassed traffic via desktop computers, accounting for over 60% of total traffic with an increase of 25% QoQ. At the same time, orders on mobile device accounted for over 40% of Dangdang’s total orders. It is estimated that by the end of 2014, orders on mobile device will account for 50%.

Mobile shopping showed great strength in Q2 2014. Total transaction value on mobile Alibaba accounted for 32.8%. During period of “6.18” promotion, orders on mobile Jingdong accounted for 25% and Vipshop accounted for 46%.

Dangdang believes that there are several reasons for its increase on traffic and orders on mobile device.

1. Part of Dangdang users transferred from desktop to mobile device.
2. New Dnagdang users add powerful strength.
3. Dangdang carried out various kinds of promotion.
4. Improvement on mobile device has been made to make it more competitive among China online shopping websites

Also read: Dangdang GMV Had An Increase of 81.6% YoY in Q2 2014  & 7 Charts on China Mobile Shopping App Market