Apple Mac sales remain strong despite decline in PC market

Apple Mac sales continue to remain strong despite a major drop in the PC market. Notably, PC sales have become stagnant, if not on a steady decline.

Apple is the only tech company that witnessed an increase in computer shipments during the quarter to June. According to the data shared by IDC, global PC shipments saw a significant decline of 13.4 per cent year over year.

In fact, PC shipments have been declining for about a year and a half now. The report attributes the sixth consecutive quarter of contraction to macroeconomic headwinds, and weak demands from the consumers, as well as commercial sectors.

Moreover, the report suggests the decline is a result of a "shift in IT budgets away from device purchases." While Apple too has recently seen a fall-off in Mac sales, the company as a whole has managed to breathe new life into its Mac lineup with the powerful series of M-x processors.

Aside from this, a recently spotted patent suggests Apple is gearing up to bring Face ID to Mac devices. Last year, revenue from the Mac reached record-breaking levels. This is an extraordinary feat given that Apple has been focusing more on iPhones for the last 15+ years.

PC sales decline did not affect Apple

Also, it is worth noting that the Cupertino-based tech giant has been selling the Mac for more than three decades. As far as the specific quarterly shipments are concerned, IDC suggests Apple shipped 5.3 million Macs during the recent quarter.

For comparison, the company shipped 4.8 million Macs in the same quarter in 2022, according to a BGR report. So, there was a significant 10.3 per cent increase in a 12-month period. As a result, Apple's share of the global PC market skyrocketed from 6.8 per cent to 8.6 per cent.

In terms of market share, Lenovo continues to retain the top spot with a 14.2 per cent share. Interestingly, Lenovo managed to occupy the top spot even after its PC shipments dropped by 18.4 per cent year over year.

Notably, Lenovo shipped 14.2 million PCs last quarter. However, the Chinese technology company shipped 17.4 million PCs during the same quarter last year. HP and Dell are trailing behind Lenovo, shipping 13.4 and 10.3 million PCs last quarter, respectively.

HP witnessed about 8 per cent decline in shipments, while Dell shipments went down by 22 per cent. Apple and Acer Group were among the top 5. This is likely to change since Apple is reportedly prepping to unveil a myriad of exciting products later this year.

More Apple devices are in the pipeline

To recap, the company unveiled a 15-inch MacBook Air, a Mac Pro, and a new Mac Studio at the recently concluded WWDC. The word on the street is that Apple is planning to launch a new iMac with an M3 chip later this year or in early 2024.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the tech behemoth is on the verge of launching revamped 13 and 15-inch MacBook Air models. These purported models are expected to pack M3 chips under the hood when they make their debut early next year.

Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests the M3 chip is likely to enter mass production in the second half of 2023. Also, Kuo believes mass production of the M3 Pro and M3 Max will begin soon.

Gurman echoed the same sentiment, claiming the M3 Pro and M3 Max will hit the store shelves in late 2023 or early 2024 in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

These predictions align with Apple's track record of releasing new products. To recap, Apple decided to switch from Intel processors to its own Silicon chips in June 2020, according to a Techlusive report. The company had set a two-year timeline to complete the transition.