Huge PC vendor you’ve never heard of is set to become second biggest player in China ahead of Apple and HP – here’s why it matters
- iSoftStone grows fast, edging closer to becoming China’s number two PC vendor
- Focus on B2B and gaming powers its rise in challenging home market
- Global expansion could follow if this growth momentum continues unabated
There’s a fast-growing PC brand in China that you’ve likely never even heard of, but is on track to become the second-largest PC vendor in the country, edging past both HP and Apple.
iSoftStone, a name more familiar in China’s enterprise circles, has seen explosive, triple-digit growth, with a fast-expanding gaming portfolio menaing it has begun to attract attention from outside its home market – even though it doesn’t sell to consumers overseas.
According to the latest report from Canalys, iSoftStone shipped 0.89 million PCs in Q1 2025, up from 0.42 million in Q1 2024 – that’s a 111% increase in just one year. In Q1 2024, iSoftStone held a 5% market share. It’s now at 10%, just 2% behind Huawei, 2% ahead of Apple, and 3% ahead of HP.
111% year-on-year increase
Much of iSoftStone’s rapid success comes from its business background. The company is deeply involved in China’s education and public sectors, areas which have benefited from steady government support and subsidies, even as large enterprise spending has stayed mostly flat.
iSoftStone is also gaining traction in gaming PCs, a category that continues to grow – up 24% year-on-year – especially at the high-performance end.
The overall PC market in Mainland China is forecast to remain flat this year, as the effect of consumer subsidies begins to fade. The SMB and public sectors are expected to grow however, by 4% and 1%, respectively.
“Mainland China’s PC landscape has evolved significantly over the past two years, shaped by a more competitive landscape for domestic brands,” said Emma Xu, Senior Analyst at Canalys.
“Consumer-focused Chinese vendors such as iSoftStone, Huawei, Honor, and Xiaomi all reported growth in Q1 2025, gaining share at the expense of traditional commercial heavyweights like Lenovo, HP, and Dell.”
iSoftStone might not have an easy job claiming the number two spot, however. As Xu noted, “The recent announcement of Huawei’s HarmonyOS PCs in May could mark another potential inflection point. While it faces an uphill battle to drive consumer and developer adoption, Huawei’s long-standing strength in mobile devices and emerging AI differentiation could see HarmonyOS redefine the competitive landscape for PCs in the mid to long term.”
As it stands now, iSoftStone is focused on China. But with past involvement in global projects, like a data center in Singapore, it may not stay local for long. If, buoyed by domestic success, it expands internationally, the global PC market could be in for a seismic shakeup.
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iSoftStone grows fast, edging closer to becoming China’s number two PC vendor Focus on B2B and gaming powers its rise in challenging home market Global expansion could follow if this growth momentum continues unabated There’s a fast-growing PC brand in China that you’ve likely never even heard of, but is…
