Apple Could See 20% On-Quarter Growth in 3Q20 MacBook Shipments

Apple will "significantly increase" MacBook Pro orders with suppliers in the third quarter of this year as the back-to-school season kicks off, according to supply chain sources.

macos catalina imac macbook pro
DigiTimes reports that Apple is also set to respond to increasing sales in the creative market, with the number of professionals working from home expected to remain strong in the second half of the year as some countries begin re-imposing regional and city lockdowns in response to the continuing global health crisis.

The upstream supply chain originally believed demand from the work-from-home group would only be short-term, but is now expecting the momentum to last much longer than anticipated, the sources said.

Apple shipped 3.2-3.5 million MacBooks in the second quarter of 2020, and the volumes are expected to grow to around four million units in the third quarter, according to DigiTimes sources. Apple will see its overall MacBook shipments rise over 20 percent in the third quarter as a result.

Apple has said it plans to deliver the first ‌Mac powered by Apple Silicon by the end of the year, as the two-year-long transition away from Intel commences, but we don't know for sure when the first Arm-based Mac will arrive or which model it will be.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a 13.3-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with a form factor similar to the current 13.3-inch ‌‌MacBook Pro‌‌ could be the first Mac to get an Arm-based chip designed by Apple.

Kuo expects the ‌‌Apple Silicon‌‌ 13.3-inch ‌‌MacBook Pro‌‌ to go into mass production in the fourth quarter of this year, but he also predicts we will see an Arm-based MacBook Air either in the same quarter or in the first quarter of next year.

Apple is also expected to launch a redesigned ‌iMac‌ this year, although it's not expected to be an ‌‌Apple Silicon‌‌ machine. Apple has said it still has Intel-based Macs in the pipeline, suggesting they are likely to arrive before the year's end.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...

Top Rated Comments

ericwn Avatar
71 months ago
Yeah, they're getting bought by all the power users that wish to have a cross-platform professional computer before they become glorified walled-gardened toys. Of course they won't care about this signal from the market and see it as positive.
Oh, a coat of new paint on that old APPLE IS DOOMED!!! sign? Splendid!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yellow8 Avatar
71 months ago
I predict a sales boost when macbooks with Apple silicon will be available.
Call me a visionary :p
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Woochoo Avatar
71 months ago

Well, someone has to buy up all the Intel-based Macs before their Arm-based replacements hit the market.
They won't stop selling many Intel Macs until 2021 at least: if rumours are true MBP 14" and 16" aren't going ARM at least until April 2021.
So that's not the reason, the reason is covid raising overall laptops demand. I've read some days ago that the demand this year went as high as back in 2009 (just before it started slowly declining yearly). Now add that to the "back to school" season where most laptops (bud iPads and iPhones aswell) are sold, and there you go.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PickUrPoison Avatar
71 months ago

Yeah, they're getting bought by all the power users that wish to have a cross-platform professional computer before they become glorified walled-gardened toys. Of course they won't care about this signal from the market and see it as positive.
MacOS computers are transitioning to Apple silicon regardless of next quarter’s sales. It’s been in process for many years.


yawn. digitimes. ignore them and move on. they're almost never right with their rumors.
I think (maybe) they’re better lately than they’ve been in the past, but they’d almost have to be considering their miserable track record say >2 years ago
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ericwn Avatar
71 months ago
I predict a sales boost when macbooks with Apple silicon will be available.
Call me a visionary :p
Those with visions should see a doctor. :D
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
71 months ago

Or maybe the sources are true but fooled by Apple.
i'd still equate that as wrong
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)