Apple shipped an estimated 5.7 million notebook computers in the first calendar quarter of 2021, according to new notebook PC shipping estimates shared today by Strategy Analytics.
Apple was the number four worldwide notebook vendor, trailing behind Dell, HP, and Lenovo, with all three companies shipping between 10 and 16 million notebooks during the quarter.
Apple's 5.7 million notebooks shipped is up 94 percent from the 2.9 million that it shipped in the year-ago quarter, with the strong growth coming from continued Mac demand as people work from home and begin the transition to hybrid home working models.
Apple's market share for the quarter was at 8.4 percent, up from 7.8 percent last year. Lenovo and HP continue to be market leaders, shipping a variety of PC notebooks running Windows alongside Chromebooks, which saw strong growth in the education sector.
Total notebook PC shipments were up 81 percent year over year among all major vendors, but Apple in particular may have seen major growth thanks to the November launch of the M1 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, both of which vastly outperform prior Intel models without price increases.
Apple will likely sustain its Mac growth as it prepares to introduce even more powerful Apple silicon machines later in the year. Rumors suggest there are upgraded 16-inch MacBook Pro models in the works, plus we're still waiting on a higher-end larger version of the iMac. Apple is also expected to introduce a new MacBook Air and a new MacBook Pro, but those might not come until 2022.
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch.
Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More
Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Monday January 26, 2026 3:56 pm PST by Juli Clover
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released.
iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Tuesday January 27, 2026 2:39 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available.
Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...
Thursday January 29, 2026 2:40 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
On an earnings call with equity analysts today, Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to fast-rising RAM and SSD storage chip prices in the supply chain.
Prices for RAM and NAND storage chips are surging lately due to high demand from companies building out AI servers, resulting in supply constraints.
Cook said that rising memory chip prices had a "minimal impact" on Apple's gross margin in the...
My M1 MBA is just fu@<ing awesome! Funny (and sad) thing is, I bought an i7 MBA in 2020 also, so I was able to directly compare them and can easily conclude that the i7 in the same "class" doesn't hold a candle.
I will say that running iOS apps is mostly gimmicky, but a couple games work ok on it.
No surprise. Apple delivered $999-$1299 laptops that have, practically speaking for most users, 16” MacBook Pro level performance, better battery life. I never thought I would buy a MacBook Air, but I order one because at the cost, it’s a heck of a laptop.
At first glance I thought think was great achievement. Then I realized that Lenovo, HP, Acer and "other" all achieved comparable growth. So, nothing to see here.
Ha! We've come a long way Apple lovers. Some years ago, one of my duties in higher education was administering exams. The exam software we used was not yet available on Macs. As I was checking a packed exam room I noticed a glowing Apple among the "dull" Dells ;)
I immediately checked out the student who was running a Windows machine cabled to a Mac. He was cheating by overriding the exam software's Wifi block, and using his Mac to access the Internet. That was a big NO, NO! Our tech. department even confirmed this student was accessing the Internet during the exam.
Years later, I was happy to see a sea of glowing Apple logos in the classroom!
