Worldwide Mac Sales Remain Steady in 4Q 2016 Amid Continuing PC Market Decline

[MacRumors]

Amid an ongoing decline in worldwide PC shipments, Apple's Mac sales are holding steady, according to new PC shipping estimates shared today by Gartner.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, Apple shipped an estimated 5.4 million Macs worldwide, up from 5.3 million in the year-ago quarter for an estimated growth of 2.4 percent. During the quarter, Apple held 7.5 percent of the market, up from 7 percent during the fourth quarter of 2015, making it the number five PC vendor in the world.

Lenovo, HP, and Dell, the top three vendors, all saw growth during the quarter as well. Dell, which holds 14.8 percent of the market, saw 5.4 percent growth, while HP, responsible for 20.4 percent of the market, saw 4.3 percent growth. Lenovo, the number one PC vendor with 21.7 percent of the market, saw 1.6 percent growth and shipped 15.9 million PCs, up from 15.5 in the year-ago quarter.

Gartner's Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q16 (Thousands of Units)​

Asus (number 4 vendor) and Acer Group (number 6 vendor) both saw declines in growth, with Asus shipping 5.4 million PCs (down from 6 million in 4Q 2015) and Acer shipping 5 million PCs (down from 5.2 million in 4Q 2015).

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 72.6 million units during the fourth quarter of 2016, a 3.7 percent decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. For the full year, PC shipments totaled 269.7 million, a 6.2 drop from 2015. Apple is estimated to have shipped a total of 18.6 million Macs in 2016, down from 20.3 million in 2015.

"Stagnation in the PC market continued into the fourth quarter of 2016 as holiday sales were generally weak due to the fundamental change in PC buying behavior," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "The broad PC market has been static as technology improvements have not been sufficient to drive real market growth.

There have been innovative form factors like 2-in-1s and thin and light notebooks, as well as technology improvements, such as longer battery life. This end of the market has grown fast, led by engaged PC users who put high priority on PCs. However, the market driven by PC enthusiasts is not big enough to drive overall market growth."

Apple's worldwide numbers held steady, but saw better growth in the United States. According to Gartner's data, Apple shipped an estimated 2.1 million PCs in the United States for 12.8 percent of the market. That's up from 2 million shipments (and 11.8 percent market share) in the year-ago quarter.

Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q16 (Thousands of Units)​

HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Acer all saw growth in the United States, but Asus saw a sharp dip, shipping only 621,000 PCs, down from 1.2 million in 4Q 2015. Overall PC shipments in the U.S. totaled 16.5 million units, a 1.3 percent decline compared to last year.

Apple's U.S. Market Share Trend: 1Q06-4Q16 (Gartner)​

IDC also released its shipment estimates today, and as expected, its numbers tell a different story, in part because of the difference in the way Windows-based tablets are counted by each firm.

According to IDC, worldwide PC shipments totaled 70.2 million units during 4Q 2016, with Apple shipping an estimated 5.26 million Macs, down from 5.3 million in 4Q 2015 for -0.9 percent growth and 7.4 percent market share (up from 7.3 percent last year). Similar to Gartner, IDC believes Apple shipped a total of 18.5 million Macs in 2016, down from 20.5 million in 2015, for an overall decline in growth of 9.8 percent.

It's important to note that data from Gartner and IDC is preliminary and that the numbers can shift, sometimes dramatically and sometimes less so. Last year, for example, IDC and Gartner predicted worldwide 4Q 2015 shipments of 5.7 million Macs, while the actual number was 5.3 million.

We'll know more about Apple's 2016 performance and how well its new MacBook Pros have been selling following the company's next earnings release on January 31.

Article Link: Worldwide Mac Sales Remain Steady in 4Q 2016 Amid Continuing PC Market Decline

 

[Stella]

Looks like HP, Lenovo and Dell are also doing well. Despite new MacBook Pros, Apple have only managed 1% increase in marketshare.

Dell have just introduced Kaby Lake laptops, so in the same period, Dell had older laptops.

While, online orders for MacBook Pro 2016 may have broken *online* sale records, in store sales must be slower.

 

[spacebro]

This makes sense. The 2012 and 2015 MacBook pros were great updates. Looks like the bump in sales from people waiting for the 2016 release has not materialized yet in this chart.

 

[friedmud]

The lack of bumps towards the end of the marketshare graph are telling. Even with refreshed MBP the back to school and christmas bumps just didn't materialize.

I'm a ENORMOUS Apple fan... and I do want one of the new MBP's... but even I have a hard time justifying the huge price for the touch bar (it definitely falls in the "want" category

 

[Pentium]

I'm gonna be a part of the Dell chart soon, still preparing myself to the switch!

 

[Born Again]

Eh apple will no doubt stop reporting on PC sales as put it under "other stuff" like watch bands etc

Tim Cook will say the Macbook Pro was the best selling notebook from Apple. We are very pleased.

 

[dannys1]

The PC/Mac market will continue to fall as the "average" user (eg those with no interest in technology at all, but obviously everyone needs to use the internet) just use their phones for everything. A large majority of people I know on Twitter only every use their phone for all their computing needs, they have a laptop which is opened once every couple of months - they're not even on tablets, just phones.

It's alien to me, someone who spends 10+ ours a day on a Mac and rarely uses my phone for anything but thats what "the man in the street" is doing.

 

[apolloa]

And in THIS report it states Mac sales have dropped 3.5%..

http://www.techradar.com/news/mac-misery-continues-as-apples-computers-slump-to-half-decade-low

http://www.digitaltrends.com/apple/mac-market-share-drops-to-five-year-low/

so who you gonna believe, I would say considering only the overpriced laptops have been updated only it could be true?

 

[iLondoner]

Just think what Apple could achieve if its Mac business was offloaded onto a separate company that actually cared about the product and updated the Mac Mini, the Mac Pro and the Macbook Air.

I have upgrade money burning a hole in my pocket but I won't be spending it on the Macbook Pro.

 

[manu chao]

And in THIS report it states Mac sales have dropped 3.5%..

http://www.techradar.com/news/mac-misery-continues-as-apples-computers-slump-to-half-decade-low

http://www.digitaltrends.com/apple/mac-market-share-drops-to-five-year-low/

so who you gonna believe, I would say considering only the overpriced laptops have been updated only it could be true?

We'll know soon enough who is right as quarterly Mac sales is what Apple reports in its quarterly financial reports.

 

[Lankyman]

I'd like to see a further breakdown of those figures i.e. iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro sales. It's this section of the Apple market that's crying out for new improved products. We keep getting mission statements from Apple stating the Mac line is still very important to them. Well if true then I wouldn't like to see what would happen if it wasn't important.

 

[neutralguy]

Most misleading headline ever! Seems like HP and Dell have higher growth than Apple!

 

[manu chao]

Just think what Apple could achieve if its Mac business was offloaded onto a separate company that actually cared about the product and updated the Mac Mini, the Mac Pro and the Macbook Air.

I have upgrade money burning a hole in my pocket but I won't be spending it on the Macbook Pro.

There are two narratives about for example the long update cycle of the Mac Mini. One that the long cycle is deliberate because Apple thinks it makes more money overall by investing less in the Mac Mini, by using older and thus cheaper parts and by keeping the Mac Mini less attractive than the higher margin iMacs. The second is that it is not a question of money but simply human resources, including less attention given by the people making the decisions.

A separate Mac company might still decide that they make more money by not updating the Mac Mini regularly.

 

[Larry-K]

Looks like the top Three PC Makers posted gains.

Wouldn't be surprised if those came out of Apple's business.

 

[manu chao]

I'd like to see a further breakdown of those figures i.e. iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro sales. It's this section of the Apple market that's crying out for new improved products. We keep getting mission statements from Apple stating the Mac line is still very important to them. Well if true then I wouldn't like to see what would happen if it wasn't important.

Make the following thought experiment: Assume, Apple had never introduced a Mac Mini. Would we complain about Apple as much as we do now (we still would complain about other things)?

 

[Larry-K]

A separate Mac company might still decide that they make more money by not updating the Mac Mini regularly.

In that case, that separate Mac company, would be run by just as big a bunch of fools as Apple is.

 

[576316]

What are the numbers like on individual PC components? Are people building more PCs, or less?

 

[manu chao]

Looks like the top Three PC Makers posted gains.

Wouldn't be surprised if those came out of Apple's business.

You realise that Mac sales grew year-over-year globally?

 

[djcerla]

So much for the "declining Mac sales" narrative. Up YOY with market down!

 

[otternonsense]

Imagine the Mac sales boost if the iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro had received meaningful updates by fall. Imagine if the MacBook Pro was properly upgraded and not reduced to the gimmicky trainwreck we were presented with. Too much to imagine, too little to behold.

 

[cult hero]

The PC/Mac market will continue to fall as the "average" user (eg those with no interest in technology at all, but obviously everyone needs to use the internet) just use their phones for everything. A large majority of people I know on Twitter only every use their phone for all their computing needs, they have a laptop which is opened once every couple of months - they're not even on tablets, just phones.

It's alien to me, someone who spends 10+ ours a day on a Mac and rarely uses my phone for anything but thats what "the man in the street" is doing.

I think phones are a contributing factor (and tablets too, to a lesser degree) but my 6-year-old 13" MacBook Pro is still fine for my parents. The vast majority of people buying laptops don't even care what something like "Kaby Lake" is. They don't game. They don't cut 4K video. Phones are all fine and dandy for data consumption, but no one who is creating content to any large degree lives entirely on their phone. (Well, maybe someone but that's another niche group.)

The MacBook itself is some proof of that. My wife loves hers. The processor in it is dog slow compared to the i7 in my machine but virtually nothing she does in her daily routine really notices the difference. If you've got an SSD, at least 4GB of RAM, and a decent dual core processor from like like... Core 2 days, the machine is "good enough" for most people.

I think the only thing that's going to drive machines to that crowd is stuff like 5K. Not because someone like my dad is working with 4K video, but because the clarity is really nice on older (and heck, younger) eyes. That and things like the MacBook. People here can gripe about "lighter and thinner" all they want, but performance is "more than adequate" for most people. The trouble with the "Pro" market is that it's a smaller and smaller percentage of the computing market as a whole. (And "Pro" in this context doesn't mean "professional", it means someone who needs a ridiculous amount of power. Even most professionals simply don't.)

That might change as time goes on because of phones and tablets, but it hasn't yet.

 

[richinaus]

The PC/Mac market will continue to fall as the "average" user (eg those with no interest in technology at all, but obviously everyone needs to use the internet) just use their phones for everything. A large majority of people I know on Twitter only every use their phone for all their computing needs, they have a laptop which is opened once every couple of months - they're not even on tablets, just phones.

It's alien to me, someone who spends 10+ ours a day on a Mac and rarely uses my phone for anything but thats what "the man in the street" is doing.

You are totally right, but I am the same as you. On a mac most of the day and just look at my phone in breaks etc.

I did arrive at the reality the other day though when my new 13" arrived and realised that despite my thoughts, it was not that much more useful to me than my iPad pro [took me a while to change my work flow to suit the iPad]. I will keep the 13" as is still a better experience for what I want and supplement with the new 10" iPad when it arrives but I can see [depending how they grow the iPad pro with a trackpad or not] that it does replace my secondary laptop requirement soon. Still need a desktop / main laptop and can't see that changing anytime in the near future.

 

[WRChris]

Make the following thought experiment: Assume, Apple had never introduced a Mac Mini. Would we complain about Apple as much as we do now (we still would complain about other things)?

But they did make it and updated it, just not anymore.

 

[itguy06]

I'm gonna be a part of the Dell chart soon, still preparing myself to the switch!

My Condolences - Dell has always made garbage computers and their new ones are no exception.

I was part of the Lenovo chart - bought a Yoga 710 after Christmas. Then HP came out with the new Spectre x360 and I returned the Lenovo and am waiting on that. Now that's how you do a computer - congrats HP.

 

[Larry-K]

You realise that Mac sales grew year-over-year globally?

So did HP, Dell and Lenovo's sales. Since they are already selling between two and three times as many units as Apple, their growth increases are nothing to sneeze at.

And the headline is "Remain Steady", always a sure sign of increased demand.