PC sales are still over pre-pandemic levels

Jul 27, 2022 19:00 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella praised Windows during the company’s latest earnings call, explaining that the operating system is recording higher monthly usage.

Nadella also revealed that despite the change in trends in the PC market, the total sales are still over the pre-pandemic levels, and of course, Microsoft is one of the companies that are benefitting from the solid demand for new computers.

“Despite a changing market for PCs during the quarter, we continue to see more PCs shipped than pre-pandemic, and are taking share. And we are seeing higher monthly usage of Windows 11 applications, with increased time spent across creative work, collaboration, gaming, media, and writing code, as people rely on the PC for its unique productivity capabilities, rich interactive experiences, and to stay connected,” Nadella said.

The software giant’s CEO also praised the adoption of Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365, especially when comparing the quarter’s results with the same quarter a year before.

“We’re transforming how Windows is experienced and managed with Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365. Azure Virtual Desktop monthly active usage increased nearly 60 percent year-over-year. One year in, we’ve seen strong adoption of Windows 365 from organizations in every industry – from Hamburg Commercial Bank and Kyndryl, to the LEGO Group and Schroders – as they use Cloud PCs to rapidly onboard new and temporary employees, and speed M&A integration, while reducing IT costs,” Nadella said.

Microsoft Edge growing bigger

Microsoft’s CEO also praised Microsoft Edge, as the browser keeps gaining share, especially among consumers.

Based on Chromium, the new Microsoft Edge browser is available not only on Windows, but also on macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

“We’re focused on increasing our share and engagement across Edge, Bing, and our personalized content feed Microsoft Start. Daily content consumption across Start in categories like news, weather, finance, and sports, increased 80 percent since we launched the service one year ago. And Edge continues to gain share as consumers use it to save money with our built-in coupon and price comparison features,” Nadella says.