As forecasted, the third calendar quarter of 2014 was a stellar quarter for Mac shipments, with Apple gaining ground on its competitors in the US. According to IDC's quarterly PC tracker (via Re/code), Apple reached its highest PC market share ever reported, a metric that accounts only for Mac shipments and does not include the iPad.
The company gained ground with 13.4 percent of the US PC market, edging out Lenovo (10.7 percent) to grab the number three spot behind HP (27.7 percent) and Dell (24 percent). Shipments in the US climbed to more than 2.26 million in the third calendar quarter of 2014.
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Globally, Apple's market share climbed 5.7 percent year over year, with the company selling a record-breaking 5.5 million units in the just ending quarter. Apple now sits in the number five spot when it comes to global PC shipments, behind Lenovo, HP, Dell and Acer.
Apple refreshed its MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro earlier this year with updated processors and other minor improvements. The company also dropped prices on some models and heavily promoted the desktops during the back-to-school season with a $100 gift card along with a discounted purchase price for both students and educators.
Next year may see even stronger Mac sales as Apple prepares to update its Mac lineup with Intel's Broadwell processors. A 12-inch MacBook with an ultra thin chassis, a Retina display, and an Intel Core M chip may be one of the first Broadwell machines to ship in the new year.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Is there a way Apple can catch up past the others?
Yes, when they sell more than 5 models of computers, allow more BTO customization, use high performance desktop components in desktops, make an affordable tower and don't r*** customers on upgrades and planned non-upgradable obsolescence.
But they won't because sky high margins are more important than volume, full model category coverage and affordability for customers.
It's a plan that has worked well for Apple and there is no reason for them to change.
Is there a way Apple can catch up past the others?
The only ways Apple can catch up with others are by coming up with cheaper options and getting Corporate acceptance.Post PC era my ass...
Seriously, if I were to look at tablet vs PC usage in college, it would look like the future generations are NOT using tablets. Every single person has a PC. They're not going away, and it's a good thing because tablets suck.Is there a way Apple can catch up past the others?
Yes, but it's not what Apple wants to do.
These lists count how many computers are sold. Whether the computer is £200 or £2,000 doesn't make a difference, it's one computer. The new Retina iMac starts at £1,999 ($2,499). Apple isn't going to sell gazillions of them. But someone else selling £200 computers must sell ten for every Retina iMac to make the same revenue.
Apple could easily build cheaper computers and sell lots of them. So what good would that do them? None at all.
Marketshare doesn't matter remember? It's profits :)
When Apples market share goes down it doesn't matter, when it goes up it's party time.