Gartner has released preliminary market share numbers for 3Q 2006 (calendar, Apple's financial 4Q) which show Apple seeing substantial industry growth at 1.5%. Apple now ships 6.1% of all U.S. "PCs", 4th in the industry behind Gateway (6.4%), HP (23%), and Dell (32.1%). Apple did not place in the top-5 in worldwide PC shipments, so that data was not available.
"Two factors that contributed to the poor performance in the U.S. market were continued weakness in the professional desk-based market, and the carry-over effect from strong sales in the second quarter. Strong sales to the home market, fueled by solid back to school sales and mobile PCs could not offset the decline in other areas." -- Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst for Gartner Dataquests Client Computing Markets Group.
Apple indicated yesterday that while reaction to the Mac Pro has been positive, the professional community may be holding off until an Intel-native Creative Suite ships (expected spring 2007). On the flip side, a recent article in a Princeton University newspaper indicates that Apple is indeed doing very well in the growing education market.
Recent research has indicated that Apple is poised to grab even more "switchers" this holiday season, which promises to translate into even more market share.
Of interest, Dell has consistently been losing market share to rival HP in both U.S. and Worldwide markets, and HP took the #1 spot on the Worldwide market with 16.3% compared to Dell's 16.1%.
Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch.
The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Monday December 2, 2024 2:57 am PST by Tim Hardwick
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process.
From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
Monday December 2, 2024 4:04 pm PST by Juli Clover
The foldable smartphone market has stalled with customer interest in foldables waning, but that could change when Apple debuts a foldable iPhone, according to display analyst Ross Young.
In a report on the current foldable smartphone market, Young says that Apple is expected to "enter the foldable market" in the second half of 2026. Apple's "dominant position in flagship smartphones" could...
Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
WIRED today shared in an in-depth interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, asking questions about AI, Vision Pro sales, pre-recorded keynotes, and more.
The wide-ranging interview covers Apple's pivot toward AI technology, including what Apple Intelligence features Cook finds most useful, Apple's partnership with OpenAI, and the environmental impact of AI. For example, WIRED asked Cook about...