20.10.2021 | Market analyses ITscope Market Barometer Q3/2021

New graphics cards from MSI make rocket starts: ITscope Market Barometer Q3/2021

The ITscope market barometer Q3/2021 is here – with the current top sellers from seven categories and the best newcomers on ITscope.com!

The latest edition of the ITscope market barometer as a PDF (English)

The ITscope market barometer is based on ITscope GmbH’s own analysis.

Karlsruhe, 21/10/2021 - Graphics cards from MSI are the new stars in the ITC sky, Dell's new TFT P2422H is sought-after, and all signs point to changes in the smartphone sector. AMD's new APUs managed a solid start in the charts, Lenovo again challenges Dell for the notebook lead, and the ThinkCentre M720q 10T7 finally has to clear the field after seven quarters.

It's almost as if we can cautiously speak of normality again: while COVID-19 is still occupying global events, everyday life is increasingly returning - even in offices. According to a survey by the ifo Institute, people are once again seeking personal contact more frequently: the proportion of employees working in home office at least some of the time fell from 28.4 in June to 25.5 percent in July. The current market barometer also shows this trend: there is no noticeable change in terms of demand for home office equipment. Last year's peaks in demand for notebooks, headsets and similar equipment seems to be a thing of the past.

The chip shortage continues to dominate the economic situation, but the crisis seems to be sparing the ITC channel, at least for the time being. Fortunately, delivery bottlenecks tend to be an exception on the ITscope platform, with only the graphics card product category experiencing some delays. Or could this just be the calm before the storm? According to a recent study by the IT market research company CONTEXT, stock levels of notebooks, desktop PCs, monitors and printers are almost depleted. At present, everything that contains a chip seems to be affected by bottlenecks and retailers are plagued by growing concerns about how customers can be supplied in the fourth quarter, according to CONTEXT.

Nevertheless, things are looking good for graphics cards this quarter: MSI shines across the board in this category with its new models, and the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Suprim X is also in the top positions of the Highflyer Charts. Apple also scored several places in the Highflyers, but not with the 'usual suspects'. This time round, these places were secured by the Apple TV 4K, the Magic Keyboard and the evidently still very popular AirTag, which already gained a position in the charts in the previous quarter.

In the individual categories, another ever-popular favourite of the ITscope platform has to give up the top spot: after seven quarters in a row, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q 10T7 can no longer hold on to its lead - with successor models from the ThinkCentre series taking over the lead in the category of PC systems instead. The situation is different for TFTs: Dell continues to defend pole position with the P2419H, and there have also not been any changes in the first place for smartphones and tablets.

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Highflyers: the Rising Stars from Dell, MSI and Lenovo

A tight neck-and-neck race was fought between Dell and MSI this time - and with a lead of only a few clicks, our number 1 spot in the Highflyer Charts goes to Dell's P2422H this time. P-series monitors feature a practical design with an ergonomically adjustable stand and easily accessible ports. The P2422H has a 23.8-inch Full HD IPS panel as well as a particularly narrow edge that is flush with the screen. The integrated ComfortView Plus technology ensures a significant reduction of blue light to protect the eyes.

As in the previous quarter, a graphics card from MSI once again does exceptionally well and secures second place: overtaking the RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X, it is now the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Suprim X in second place with 2,524 clicks. Nice to know: the 'Ti' name suffix stands for the lightweight metal titanium, a designation that was originally used for marketing purposes to identify particularly powerful graphics cards. Although nowadays almost every second Geforce graphics card has 'Ti' in its name, the core message remains: when the model number is the same, the Ti stands for the more powerful model and thus promises even higher performance. Although the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Suprim X only comes with a comparatively small 8 GB video memory, it convinces with its DLSS AI renderer, which provides extra performance in many games without visible quality loss. It is currently available on ITscope for €950.

With a 3rd place, the bronze medal goes to Lenovo's ThinkPad E15 20RE. The E15 series is very popular in general and also secures some top 10 places in the notebook category. The E15 20RE, which has been listed since May 2021 and is one of the latest models, is already available for a comparatively cheap €570 (~$660).

Apple takes 6th place, not with the iPhone, iPad or iMac - but with the Apple TV 4K. Compared to the previous version, the changes made for this sixth generation are quite limited. Only the remote control has been revised to a noticeable extent, but not necessarily for the better. Although the shape has been altered to make it more comfortable to use, the remote can no longer be used as a games controller, as it no longer contains a gyroscope or accelerometer - games that could previously be controlled in Nintendo Wii's waving style no longer work with it.

The next two places also go to the manufacturer with the half-bitten apple logo. Apple's AirTag is once again in 7th place: although some people are sceptical and dismiss it as a gimmick, the innovative gadget is very popular yet again and secures a place in the Highflyer Charts this quarter. With the Magic Keyboard in 8th place, the new 5th generation iPad Pro turns into a mobile computer. The keys are comfortable to use and can also be used in the dark thanks to backlit keys. In addition to the technical features, the elegant design is particularly striking - for a Wholesale Selling Price (WSP) of more than €300, it is nevertheless an expensive upgrade for the already costly iPad Pro.

Samsung officially introduced its latest smartphone in the A-series at the end of August - the Galaxy A52s 5G, successor of the Galaxy A52 5G, directly making it to rank 10. It offers a lot for a WSP of only around €350: 6.5-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz, a main camera with 64 megapixels, a front camera with 32 megapixels in addition to an ultra-wide-angle, macro and portrait camera. Besides white and black, the smartphone is also available in mint green and purple - with the black version achieving the most clicks.

Ryzen 5 5600G, AMD's new all-in-one solution is in 11th place: the six-core APU, i.e. a processor with an integrated graphics card, has a base clock speed of 3.9 GHz and a Turbo clock speed of 4.4 GHz. The Ryzen 5 5600G is based on Zen 3 and relies on the Vega architecture. This may not be quite up-to-date anymore, but the APU, which is available for a WSP of around €235, is perfectly sufficient for graphically not too demanding games and Full HD.

Rank 24 is clean - with the Roborock S7 vacuuming and mopping robot, which impressed reviewers with its navigation and suction performance. The app is also practical, as it allows you to define different vacuuming and mopping areas: the entire floor plan can be mapped and divided into zones, and individual areas can be excluded.

Here are the most active 30 new releases with hot-seller potential - our Highflyer Charts:

TFTs: triumph for Dell's new monitor

Who would have thought it: after eight consecutive quarters, Dell's P2419H is still comfortably in first place. And the lead is considerable in terms of click numbers: 8,300 clicks ensure sufficient distance to the second-placed P2719H, also from Dell, which 'only' scored around 4,700 clicks.

The P2422H, a brand new TFT from Dell, also did well with fourth place. The monitor, which has only been listed on ITscope since May, not only achieved a top result within the category, but also landed first place in the Highflyer Charts with 2,575 clicks. The new 24-inch Full HD model from Dell's popular P series could be a worthy successor to the P2419H. The price will certainly not be a limiting factor, as the P2422H is even a bit cheaper at €190 than the older P2419H model from 2018.

Smartphones: will the new iPhone generation soon be at the top?

Positions 1 and 2 in the mobile phone category remain firmly in Apple's hands: the iPhone SE secured first place for the third quarter in a row with more than 6,000 clicks, while second place once again went to the iPhone 12 with 2,340 clicks.

Samsung's Galaxy A52 5G climbed from 34th to 3rd place. With 5G compatibility, the A52 is one of the few Galaxy models that currently supports the fast connection. It is also really well equipped in terms of other tech specs: the sharp and colourful OLED display is particularly pleasing, just like the enduring battery with a runtime of 10 to 12 hours. There is a slight downside in terms of charging time, as the battery needs about two hours to fully charge.

Presumably, new players will mix up the top 10 very soon. During Apple's keynote in mid-September, the new iPhone generation was officially presented with four different models - the iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max - which are available in stores as of now. The new iPhones are still far behind in the rankings, but the prospects of moving up are good.

While the standard models received more of a minor update, the two Pro variants have definitely acquired some major innovations. All four new models feature the Apple A15 Bionic, which is probably the fastest mobile CPU at the moment, an improved battery and camera, at least 128 GB of storage as well as the 5G mobile standard. The Pro and Pro Max variants also come with a Super Retina XDR display, an even better camera with macro mode and triple optical zoom, and an additional 1 TB storage option. However, you have to dig deep into your pocket for these features - as you do every time a new iPhone generation is launched: the 13 mini starts at €660 and the 13 Pro Max costs more than €1,500.

A similar picture can be seen with Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip3 5G: this smartphone with an innovative folding display, which has been listed on ITscope since mid-August, has a good starting position, just like Apple, but it is not yet enough for the top places. The next quarter will certainly be exciting and show how the new models perform. The Flip3 convinces with great colours on the main display and excellent performance, in addition to the practical folding function, which enables seamless folding. Thanks to IPX8 certification, it is also completely waterproof, while the battery life is sadly very short. The Flip3 is available at a Wholesale Selling Price (WSP) of around €840.

Tablets: no change in the top positions

With over 7,000 clicks, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 once again managed to retain first place and remains the category leader for four quarters in a row. Positions 2, 3 and 4 also remain exactly the same as in the previous quarter, with the Apple iPad 10.2", the Microsoft Surface Go 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 respectively. Occupying five places in the top 10, Microsoft is clearly ahead of competing tablet manufacturers Apple and Samsung.

Newcomers are not to be found in the top positions this time round, which are primarily occupied by 2020 models. An up-to-date tablet can only be found in 18th place: the 5th generation iPad Pro as the 12.9-inch version, which has been listed since April 2021. The tablet, which was previously ranked 25th as a newcomer, comes with outstanding performance thanks to the M1 chip, a large high-resolution display, Wi-Fi 6 and 5G mobile communications.

The iPad, which was also newly presented at the Apple keynote, is already represented in the charts, but as with the new iPhones, it is still far behind - of course it is not that easy to make up for a whole quarter of clicks in just two weeks, even for Apple. The new 9th generation iPad still offers a good price-performance ratio, but not much has changed in terms of design. On the inside, Apple relies on the A13 Bionic processor, which is supposed to deliver 20 percent more performance than the A12 Bionic of the previous generation. The storage capacity has also been improved: instead of 32 GB, all models now come with at least 64 GB.

Notebooks: Lenovo challenges competitors with the ThinkPad E15

The previous quarter's winner, the Dell Latitude 3510, has to make do with 2nd place this time round: although the notebook gets an impressive 7,921 clicks, that wasn't enough to prevent Lenovo from taking 1st place. Although it seemed as if Dell had finally overtaken the ever-popular ThinkPad E15 20RD, which was in 1st place for more than a year, Lenovo is now making another effective challenge with the ThinkPad E15 model from 2020 and more than 8,500 clicks - which helps propel the popular notebook into 1st place. Lenovo does not let up elsewhere either, securing a total of five places in the notebook top 10 with further models from the ThinkPad E15 and L15 series.

HP's ProBook 450 G8, a notebook with a Tiger Lake processor from Intel, climbed from 20th to 3rd place. Intel promises both powerful and at the same time frugal processors - which are more than sufficient for everyday use. Furthermore, the HP 450 G8 impresses with its sturdy casing and quiet operation.

As the only notebook from Fujitsu, the LIFEBOOK A3510 made it to 14th place. It's a slim, light-weight office notebook allowing a high pace of work and a battery life of up to six hours. However, the SSD is relatively small at 238 gigabytes, although it can be replaced with something bigger if necessary - same with the working memory.

PC systems: ThinkCentre M720q 10T7 plummets

After seven quarters at the top, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q 10T7 seems to have finally handed over first place. For this previously very popular PC system, it's back down to 23rd place.

However, what was already becoming a trend in the last market barometer is now confirmed: the successor model ThinkCentre M70q 11DT already made a huge leap from 157th to 4th place in the previous quarter - now it is ranked first with almost 4,500 clicks. In general, the ThinkCentre series enjoys great popularity and is therefore deservedly represented with four more models in the top 10.

Graphics cards: new MSI cards off to a flying start

MSI's new graphics card is a big hit this quarter: The GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SUPRIM X not only makes it to the top of the Highflyer Charts, but also to the number 1 spot within the graphics cards category. Another top result was scored by the MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GAMING X TRIO, which has only been listed on ITscope since June and jumped from 164th to 6th place. Only the MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GAMING Z TRIO does even better, jumping directly into an excellent 3rd place.

PNY is also well represented in the top 10 with four places and also secures 2nd place, which went to the NVIDIA Quadro P2200, an optimal graphics card for entry-level workstations. At €480, it is one of the more affordable graphics cards in the top 10.

However, with a total of around 17,000 clicks for the top 10 products, the click numbers have dropped significantly compared to the previous quarter, where the top products reached a total of almost 24,000 clicks. Is this still down to the worldwide chip shortage? Our number 1 in this ranking, the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SUPRIM X 8G, is currently not available, for example. The MSI RTX 3090 SUPRIM X 24G in 4th place or the PNY XLR8 GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming EPIC-X RGB in 5th place are also scarcely available. Despite this, a price increase cannot be observed within the top 10, with the average WSP even dropping slightly.

Processors: new desktop APUs from AMD are well received

In the processor category, this summer quarter brought little change. The previous 3rd-placed AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is the new number 1 with 1,500 clicks: having been listed for about a year, this CPU impresses with its speed in applications as well as in gaming, and is currently considered the fastest eight-core on the market.

AMD and Intel share the top 10 ranking very fairly this time with five places each - except that AMD secures 1st and 2nd. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, which is considered a great price/performance pick among everyday and gaming processors, lands in 2nd. This mid-range CPU has six cores with multithreading and clock speeds from 3.7 to 4.6 GHz.

Two newcomers from AMD are also represented in the ranking: the Ryzen 5 5600G in 14th place, which also makes it into the Highflyer Charts, and the Ryzen 7 5700G in 34th place. Both are processors with an integrated graphics unit, so-called APUs. With the 5000G series, AMD adds Zen 3-based desktop APUs to its portfolio - good processors with high application performance and a good gaming performance. The 5 5600G has a WSP of €230, while the 7 5700G will set you back €320.

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