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After previously predicting that 22 million ultrabooks would ship by the end of 2012, Analyst house IHS iSuppli has now cut that forecast to 10.3 million.
2013 doesn’t look much better, as iSuppli’s estimates for next year have fallen from 61 to 44 million units.
This news will be particularly disappointing for Intel. The chipmaker has put considerable marketing promotion behind ultrabooks and has invested $400 million in subsiding the use of high-quality displays and SSDs.
"So far, the PC industry has failed to create the kind of buzz and excitement among consumers that is required to propel ultrabooks into the mainstream," said Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for computer platforms at IHS.
"This is especially a problem amid all the hype surrounding media tablets and smartphones. When combined with other factors, including prohibitively high pricing, this means that ultrabook sales will not meet expectations in 2012."
IHS believes that more than half of the expected shipments will happen after Microsoft’s new OS is released and a host of Windows 8 ultrabooks enter the market.
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