According to a report by industry research firm IDC, Apple saw an impressive 21% increase in Mac shipments in the second quarter of 2024. That was the largest growth among any PC maker during the second quarter of 2024.
The report says shipments of desktops and laptops worldwide increased 3% year-over-year for the June 2024 quarter. Apple and Acer were the top gainers, showing 21% and 14% increases in shipments, respectively.
The June quarter was the second consecutive quarter of growth for the PC industry, which had previously been in decline.
“Make no mistake, the PC market just like other technology markets faces challenges in the near term due to maturity and headwinds,” said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Device Trackers. “However, two consecutive quarters of growth, combined with plenty of market hype around AI PCs and a less sexy but arguably more important commercial refresh cycle, seems to be what the PC market needed. The buzz is clearly around AI, but a lot is happening with non-AI PC purchasing to make this mature market show signs of positivity.”
While AI-focused PCs are expected to drive a new wave of computer upgrades, only about 3% of PCs shipped this year were AI-optimized.
Shipments of Apple’s Mac lineup are expected to increase, thanks to the Apple Intelligence features that will be available on the Mac with the release of macOS Sequoia later this year.
While both Apple and Acer saw increases in shipments during Q2, Dell shipments slipped 2.4%, making it the only major PC maker to experience a decrease during the quarter.
Despite weakened demand for PCs in China, global PC shipments increased by over 5%, according to IDC. Lenovo held on to its 23%, while HP’s shipments gave them a 21% share of the market.
Apple’s impressive Mac shipment numbers come as a new report by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), says Mac owners are holding on longer to their machines. The percentage of Mac owners that have held onto their computers for over two years jumped from 59% in 2020 to 68% in 2023. CIRP says the trend is likely due to Apple moving its Mac lineup from Intel chips to Apple Silicon.
Apple powered its Macs with Intell processors from 2006 until 2020 when the Cupertino firm began using its own in-house Apple Silicon chips, which boast improved performance over Intel chips, meaning there is less reason for owners to feel the need to upgrade. (I know this from experience, as I purchased an M1 Mac mini in 2020 and haven’t felt the need to upgrade to a newer model, thanks to its excellent performance.)
