Apple Maintains Third Place Ranking with 11.6% of U.S. PC Shipments in 4Q 2011 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Maintains Third Place Ranking with 11.6% of U.S. PC Shipments in 4Q 2011

Research firm Gartner today released its preliminary personal computer shipment data for the fourth quarter of 2011, offering up a picture of market performance during the quarter. With year-over-year unit growth of over 20%, Apple was the only one of the top five U.S. vendors to see an increase in shipments in an overall market that shrank by nearly 6%.

gartner 4Q11 us trend
Apple's U.S. Market Share Trend: 1Q06-4Q11 (Gartner)

Apple's share dipped from 12.9% in the third quarter, which is routinely the company's strongest quarter due to a heavy presence in education. But the performance marks a distinct improvement over Apple's 9.0% share in the year-ago quarter and continues a long-term trend of increasing market share.

gartner 4Q11 us
Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q11 (Thousands of Units)

As usual, Gartner did not cover Apple's worldwide market share for the quarter, as the company does not rank among the top five vendors on a worldwide basis. PC shipments shrank 1.4% year-over-year on a worldwide basis, with strong growth from Lenovo and Asus being offset by declines from HP and Acer.

Update: IDC has also released its numbers for the fourth quarter of 2011, yielding results similar to Gartner's. As is typical, IDC pegged Apple's market share slightly lower than in Gartner's data, with IDC showing Apple with 10.92% of the U.S. market on 18% year-over-year growth.

IDC also released numbers for full-year 2011, showing Apple in third place in the U.S. market at 10.73%, up from 8.83% in 2010. Apple's full-year growth of 16.41% easily outpaced the other top-five manufacturers in an overall U.S. market that declined by nearly 5% from 2010.

Popular Stories

apple pro tell logo

Apple Launching Five New Products Today

Thursday November 5, 2026 12:59 am PST by
Apple is launching five new products on Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models. The following new products will be available from today: iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip iMac with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen 16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
silver iphone 18 pro

Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year

Friday November 6, 2026 6:07 am PST by
Apple plans to merge the iPhone's Action button with the Camera Control starting next year, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker claimed that a single press of the combined button would open the camera, while a long press would trigger the function assigned to the Action button. They explicitly clarified that the dedicated Action button would ...
hero medium 2x feature1

Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera

Thursday November 5, 2026 4:22 pm PST by
Apple is sending email surveys to some iPhone Duo buyers to get feedback on display size, crease, under-display camera, and other features. The first question asks why the buyer chose the iPhone Duo now, with answers like "I wanted to try Apple's first foldable," "It was an impulse purchase," and "I expect smartphone prices to increase." Other questions ask about the size of the iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

MacNewsFix Avatar
193 months ago
With year-over-year unit growth of over 20%, Apple was the only one of the top five U.S. vendors to see an increase in shipments in an overall market that shrank by nearly 6%.

I guess that helps explain why CES 2012 looks an awful lot like MacWorld 2008........





....and MacWorld 2009.





:p
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
linux2mac Avatar
193 months ago
Just because it has a black border around the screen and black keys doesn't make it an exact copy...

Oh sure, the Macbook Pro had no influence on this design. :rolleyes:
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BaldiMac Avatar
193 months ago
Im not surprised its going backwards.

The price of the Macbook pro is beyond a joke now.

having owned 2 15" pros im seriously thinking of moving away as upgrading is way to expensive.

When a laptop costs over £2000 with a half assed GPU inside and upgrades which have to be bought with blood diamonds your market share is going to drop.

Time apple started charging average prices for average spec laptops or actually spec them up to what they are trying to charge.

Goes to show that some people only see what supports their own opinion. :)

Apple is the only one of the top 5 vendors to NOT be going backwards year over year.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacOG728893 Avatar
193 months ago
Just because it has a black border around the screen and black keys doesn't make it an exact copy...

Edit: Wow at all the people who disliked this post and think Apple was the first with that design...
Honestly, because they try to make it as close as possible with out getting slammed with some lawsuit.

I will say this again and again, every company copies ideas from one another. Humans do it do other humans and it's pretty clear that's the way things have been and the way things are.

Apple has stolen ideas (Android notifications for one) and I do acknowledge that. But I don't believe they do it as much or as direct (physical designs) as companies are doing it to Apple today.

Companies usually try to mimic Apple's design (both software and hardware) but often just usually make a worse product. When apple does steal an idea (usually never design) they tend to polish and perfect the idea that the original company "never" could have done.

Is Apple the only company that innovates or comes up with original ideas that consumers like? Of course not! However, there is trend gaining momentum that seems to be the moto, "let Apple do most of the innovation and we'll pick off that."

Begin the downranking or bashing of this fanboy, which I'm not, but it is so blaten these days, I can't believe people try to even deny it.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
193 months ago
It probably did. But it doesn't look exactly like a MBP. Similar, yes. But not exactly.

You're right, they need to slap on the MacBook/Apple logo and THEN it'll look exactly like a MBP.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
193 months ago
The impressive part is the growth (or decline) column. It is humorous, all the buzz going to the "ultra-portable" laptops this year, as if it were something new.

While the ultra-portables want to kick Apple's MBA to the curb (kerb, in some other English-speaking countries), the analysts think they will only make about a 10% inroad, combined. Why, you might ask? They will cost as much as the MBA or up to 40% more. Some will be thinner than the MBA, but since that's the standard, you also can't charge more. If Apple refreshes the MBA early in this year, as expected, they could blow the wannabes out of the water with something like a retina display, or adding Siri, or some other compelling "next big thing." ...OR a combination of those things.

I'm tickled to see that it's still Apple's ball game and the wannabes are still in a catch-up mode.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
13 hours ago
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
14 hours ago
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
14 hours ago
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
16 hours ago
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
19 hours ago
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
19 hours ago
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
19 hours ago
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
19 hours ago
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
20 hours ago
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
20 hours ago
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
22 hours ago
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
22 hours ago
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
22 hours ago
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
23 hours ago
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
1 day ago
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
2 days ago
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
2 days ago
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
2 days ago
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
2 days ago
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
2 days ago
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
2 days ago
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
2 days ago
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
2 days ago
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
2 days ago
Instagram's Edits Video Editor is Now Available on Mac
Instagram's Edits Video Editor is Now Available on Mac
2 days ago
Prevent Siri and Search From Accessing Specific iPhone Apps
Prevent Siri and Search From Accessing Specific iPhone Apps
2 days ago
Best Early Black Friday Deals on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo
Best Early Black Friday Deals on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo
2 days ago
MacBook Pro PROLED XDR Reviews Are In: Is the Touchscreen Worth It?
MacBook Pro PROLED XDR Reviews Are In: Is the Touchscreen Worth It?
2 days ago
Early Black Friday Accessory Deals at Amazon Include TVs, Headphones, and Charging Devices
Early Black Friday Accessory Deals at Amazon Include TVs, Headphones, and Charging Devices
2 days ago
Apple Creator Studio App Updates Rolling Out, Starting With Logic Pro
Apple Creator Studio App Updates Rolling Out, Starting With Logic Pro
2 days ago