[to3m]

I'd have expected most people to have a laptop at home. Maybe I'm unusual, or maybe the people I know are unusual, but I don't know many who use a desktop PC at home any more.

Desktop work PCs are still common, but you're not going to spend your own money on them.

[kbenson]

I have a home workstation because I do a lot of work from home. Working from a laptop is a sub-par experience because of the form factor. Right now, I'm using a Dell XPS 15 laptop at home, but it's docked to a desktop keyboard and mouse, and a 40" 4K TV I use as a monitor. Prior to the laptop (which I almost never move, bit like that I can if needed take with me), I had a desktop at the same desk. So, right how I'msort of hybrid, but prior to that I had a desktop at home (and a separate, older laptop that I almost never used).

As for "most people", it's important to consider different types of situations, such as families in which there might be a shared computer, or a desktop in the room of one or more children because it's sometimes more economical.

[khedoros1]

I don't know many, either. Even mine has been sitting idle for a while, because it's in my (toddler) son's room, I don't have anywhere else to put it, and it's honestly begging for an upgrade at this point anyhow.

Which is too bad. It's got a nicer keyboard+mouse, sound system, screen, storage, network connection, and graphics than my laptop. There's a dedicated desk and chair. The only place the laptop wins out: Convenience.

[snuxoll]

I'm the only person in my family that owns a desktop myself, but my group of friends is mostly a bunch of desktop users since one of our primary use cases is PC gaming (although mine is also a workstation for software development and some light video editing).

Regardless of their quality, you can get a basic no-frills laptop for $400 and be able to carry it with you - or you can spend that much on an equally no-frills (though still arguably better specification-wise) desktop and have it stuck wherever you put it. More people tend to favor the portability, they can have it at the kitchen table or in front of the TV - some people don't even own a proper computer and rely entirely on smartphones and/or tablets.

Desktop computing outside of the workplace is increasingly a niche, one that isn't going away as long as PC gaming remains but to argue it's not shrinking is delusional.

[gozur88]

I have a desktop at home. I despise tiny laptop screens and tiny laptop keyboards. And touchpads. Desktops have advantages when it comes to performance and cooling, which is a big deal for a gaming system.