Mac Shipments Down in Q4 2019 Amid Overall PC Market Growth

[Appleman3546]

This statistic is only shipments, not profit. If you look at each manufacturer hardware profit for android v iPhone hardware profit, Apple is the leader by a lot. I am more interested to know what the profit per manufacturer (for the PC market only) actually is rather than units, since other manufacturer’s may be at cost just to compete.

 

[atomwork]

I never see PC laptops in the wild - who are these ppl?

I have a 2019 RAZER Blade with OLED and RTX2080, 64GB RAM and 2TB flash drive.. Its brilliant screen and performance are making my 2019 MacBook Pro feel outdated. Although I enjoy OS over windows. I personally don't understand Apple not using OLED screens. The brightness (nits) and clarity of the screen is far greater than LCD.

 

[Bill Av]

I never see PC laptops in the wild - who are these ppl?

As always, businesses and their employees. Apple can't touch that market with their tendency to drop support for legacy equipment without even warning that it will happen - and not even acknowledging when it does happen. Case in point: Apple dropped the ability to fax from the OS a few years ago. Hey, who needs to fax anymore, right? Well, insurance companies and the medical community still do. So Apple drops the ability to add stand alone USB fax modems to your printer list and informs NO ONE. People spend days trying to figure out why their modems no longer work. Calling up Apple sheds no light. Months go by and see on some forum that some guy talked to someone at Apple and, yeah - apparently you can't do that anymore.

Apple does this constantly. Microsoft did it once (with ample warning) and the world collectively **** itself.

 

[now i see it]

these are the results when people keep using their Macs for 10 years & counting

 

[calstanford]

Comes from utter neglect. Their cash cow the 13" hasn't seen a real update in years (design/screen). MB 12" dead. 13" MBA almost.

It's not Apple's fault that intel innovation is non-existent but Apple could have innovated on their own (new form factores, screens, sizes, touchscreen instead of retarded touch bar, replaceable SSD/RAM, different design/chassis...) God. Anything really. But no. It's the same for years and years and years.

 

[44267547]

Drop the price and we will buy.

‘We?’ Have you considered other alternative/ cheaper solutions for your needs? There are some professionals who have no problem paying those prices given what the Mac delivers for various professional fields.

 

[Scottsdale]

I never see PC laptops in the wild - who are these ppl?

You probably see them but don’t notice them. It’s like when you see the same car you’re driving all the time once you get a new car. You are trained to hear your name, and see things you’re interested in pretty much exclusively. So you see other Apple products because that’s what you’re interested in... simple psychology. I cannot stop seeing AirPods in the wild. Every person wearing some cans, I don’t even notice. But if someone has AirPods, I think wow AAPL must be selling a lot of these things.

 

[wigby]

Good. It's about time Apple's arrogance and complacency caught up with them.

Except Apple might see it as "Hey, we fixed the keyboard and delivered pro Macs just like everyone said they wanted and look where it got us. Let's do things our way again."

 

[XXPP]

Windows 7 end of support is an answer (for PC market.)
[automerge]1578958079[/automerge]

Doesn’t surprise me at all. The top makers of Windows laptops are building incredible machines now that are full of innovative features that are actually useful. They also offer multiple, reasonably-priced display and accessory options. I’ve been a Mac user for years, but I’m currently finding it difficult to justify a Mac purchase.

LOL. ha ha ha ha

 

[citysnaps]

Good. It's about time Apple's arrogance and complacency caught up with them.

That's some weird anger raising its head...

There are handful of products I don't care for. Chevrolet automobiles are just one example. With that said, I'd never hope and be happy that a company take a hit on sales because of my views.

 

[victorm1]

I have a 2019 RAZER Blade with OLED and RTX2080, 64GB RAM and 2TB flash drive.. Its brilliant screen and performance are making my 2019 MacBook Pro feel outdated. Although I enjoy OS over windows. I personally don't understand Apple not using OLED screens. The brightness (nits) and clarity of the screen is far greater than LCD.

Do you also have that weird backlight bleed issue? I have a 2019 Razer Blade Advanced with the 4K touchscreen and the light spots on a dark background are horribly distracting.

 

[Brandhouse]

If you're going to compare units of Macs shipped then you can't compare it to all makers under the banner of PC's. You have to brand vs brand.

For what it's worth I don't care about numbers, but you have to use data correctly without bias, so the headline is just wrong.

 

[BWhaler]

Why, oh why, people ask?

1. Mainstream laptops still saddled with junk keyboards

2. Catalina still is buggy, not to be trusted in critical workflows. and is not recommended install for enterprises, pros, (and some consumers) Heck, they still haven’t released all the promised features yet, and we’re 5 months away from them announcing the NEXT release.

I could stop there. Bad hardware and software. So no surprise, sales are faltering. But the list goes on....

3. Prices high for old components. I appreciate a lot of this is Intel’s fault, but Apple chooses to wait to upgrade when better chipsets and components are available.

4. Quality issues, even on the new 16”. Apple has trained us to take a wait-and-see approach before trusting Apple and spending considerable money on new kit or downloading an update.

Gruber was right. The damage Apple did to the Mac line with the junk keyboards and the infrequent anemic updates is not fully understood by execs at the company. People have learned not to trust Apple’s new hardware and now, new OS releases.

Repairing this brand damage through high quality, innovative hardware and software—“it just works” not “it’s not a regression”—should be focus 1 at Apple right now.

VR and the spring line of Apple Watch bands can wait.

 

[victorm1]

Why, oh why, people ask?

1. Mainstream laptops still saddled with junk keyboards

2. Catalina still is buggy, not to be trusted in critical workflows. and is not recommended instal for enterprises, pros, (and some consumers) Heck, they still haven’t released all the promised features yet, and we’re 5 months away from them announcing the NEXT releases.

I could stop there. Bad hardware and software. So no surprise, sales are faltering. But the list goes on....

3. Prices high for old components. I appreciate a lot of this is Intel’s fault, but Apple chooses to wait to upgrade when better chipsets and components are available.

4. Quality issues, even on the new 16”. Apple has trained us to take a wait-and-see approach before trusting Apple and spending considerable money on new kit or downloading an update.

Gruber was right. The damage Apple did to the Mac line with the junk keyboards and the infrequent anemic updates is not fully understood by execs at the company. People have learned not to trust Apple’s new hardware and now, new OS releases.

Repairing this brand damage through high quality, innovative hardware and software—“it just works” not “it’s not a regression”—should be focus 1 at Apple right now.

VR and the spring line of Apple Watch bands can wait.

Catalina was Apple’s Vista. Change my mind.

 

[Michael Sanford]

Bring us a fair-priced Mac mini and we will buy. Not everyone needs or wants a new screen to come with their computer. The current Mac mini is too costly (although it's also a powerhouse... more than the average consumer needs).

You don’t need a new monitor with the new Mini. I’m still using my eight year old Apple 32” monitor with mine. You just need the right adapter. Plus, it’s not that expensive unless you load it up, in that case you need an iMac.

 

[urnotl33t]

Aside from a small drop in Asus shipments, Apple was the only major PC vendor to see Q4 2019 shipments fall.

Good grief, this Macrumors and now even we're starting to paint the numbers as selectively-negative for Apple? "Aside from the famine and plague, families are doing well this week." !!??

"Asus and Apple were the only major PC vendors to see Q4 2019 shipments fall." At least that's more neutral in tone and not painting selective bias. Man...the Apple Hate just spreads like the fumes of a big fart. Dang...

 

[Michael Sanford]

Apple's worldwide Mac shipments were down in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to new PC shipping estimates shared this afternoon by Gartner.

Apple shipped an estimated 5.26 million Macs during the quarter, down from 5.43 million in the year-ago quarter, a decline of three percent.

Gartner's Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q19 (Thousands of Units)

​

Apple's market share was also down, dipping from 7.9 percent in Q4 2018 to 7.5 percent in Q4 2019. The drop in Apple's shipments comes as the overall PC market saw growth for the first time since 2011, driven by demands for Windows 10 upgrades.

Apple maintained its position as the number four PC vendor in the world, trailing behind Lenovo, HP, and Dell, all of which saw year-over-year growth.

Lenovo was the top PC vendor with 17.5 million shipments and 24.8 percent market share, followed by HP with 16.1 million shipments and 22.8 percent market share and Dell with 12.1 million PCs shipped and 17.2 percent market share.

Asus and Acer came in after Apple with around four million PCs shipped each and 5.8 and 5.7 percent market share, respectively. Aside from a small drop in Asus shipments, Apple was the only major PC vendor to see Q4 2019 shipments fall.

Apple's Market Share Trend: 1Q06-4Q19 (Gartner)

​

Apple fared a bit better in the United States, with shipments that were about stagnant. Apple shipped 2.13 million Macs in the U.S., up 0.8 percent from the 2.11 million that it shipped in the fourth quarter of 2018. Apple is the number four vendor in the U.S., coming in after HP, Dell, and Lenovo, with Microsoft coming in behind Apple. Overall U.S. PC shipments were also up 4.6 percent year over year.

Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q19(Thousands of Units)

​

For all of 2019, Apple's worldwide Mac shipments were down 0.9 percent, with Apple shipping an estimated 18.4 million Macs during the year compared to 18.5 million in 2018. Apple's overall 2019 market share came in at 7 percent, with Apple securing the number four spot after Lenovo (63 million PCs shipped), HP (58 million PCs shipped), and Dell (44 million PCs shipped).

Gartner's Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2019 (Thousands of Units)

​

In the future, Gartner believes the PC market will continue to decline, despite the growth this year, though new technologies like foldable PCs are "something to keep an eye on."IDC also released its own shipment estimates this afternoon, noting a similar decline in sales from Apple. IDC's data suggests Apple shipped 4.72 million Macs in Q4 2019, down from 4.98 million in the year-ago quarter.

IDC also notes the same decline in total 2019 shipments compared to 2018, suggesting Apple shipped an estimated 17.7 million Macs during the year, down from 18 million in 2018.

It's important to note that data from Gartner and IDC is estimated and not reflective of Apple's sales, though historically, it has not been far off. We used to be able to check estimated shipment data when Apple provided quarterly earnings releases with actual Mac sales information, but Apple no longer breaks out unit sales for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, making it impossible to determine exact sales numbers.

Apple's sales were down in 2019 despite the release of multiple new MacBook models, including the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the new Mac Pro. It's not yet clear what Apple is planning for 2020, but thus far we haven't heard rumors of Mac upgrades that suggest a significant boost in sales is on the horizon.

Article Link: Mac Shipments Down in Q4 2019 Amid Overall PC Market Growth

I laugh at articles like this. Apple has never had more market share than they do now and never will. The price point is way too high, as we all know. The quality though, is so much superior to windows crap and we also know it. Industry still purchases windows crap only because most of the IT idiots can’t do anything but windows and they are afraid to change because most of them won’t have a job. Apple doesn’t care about commerce, that has never been their interest. The phone is their money maker. Look how long it took to bring out a real MacPro desktop. Even my son, who is a lawyer, says that his office has gotten far away from Windows primarily because of security. His office runs Linus with a proprietary software package.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I get by with my late 2013 macbook pro, stunning machine for it's time, but I'm in the market for a new Mac of some sort

See, I’ve always seen it as... if the performance of a 2013 MacBook Pro suits your needs (features and everything), then why would you be in the market for a new Mac? I’ve always seen folks running older hardware as being in a particularly advantageous position in that they can look at newer/lesser hardware and have a chuckle at those that DO need the performance but, as a result, have to put up with Apple’s tradeoffs.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Looking at that chart, this is what I see: strong sustained linear growth up until 2012, sustained slow linear growth 2012-2016, sustained slow linear decline 2016-now.

2012 was the introduction of the Retina MBP, a brilliant machine, but with a huge jump in total cost of ownership, one because of the soldered in RAM, and two because of the early switch to SSDs which were (and still are) hugely expensive and tiny in size.

2016 was the introduction of the butterfly keyboard MBP, a controversial machine with yet another huge jump in total cost of ownership due to soldered in SSDs on top of the already soldered in RAM.

The soldering in of RAM and SSD has a huge effect on the total cost of ownership. These are the two parts that need constant upgrading in short time periods, and the price of them decreases rapidly over time, so the ability to upgrade them incrementally is paramount to total cost. The only solution now is to prematurely upgrade at time of purchase, which means not only do you miss out on the rapid price decreases over time, but you have to pay Apple's extraordinary Apple Tax on these pre-upgrades.

So, not withstanding all the problems the butterfly keyboard models have, my conclusion is that the soldering in of RAM and SSDs is the primary cause of the decline of market share.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I never see PC laptops in the wild - who are these ppl?

At home plugged into the wall? I kid! I kid! I think it’s more that Apple laptops have such a distinctive look, that you kinda notice every one you see, even when the Apple is covered with a sticker. PC laptops I would most likely notice are the Razer and Alienware ones, but I can’t say that I’ve seen either anywhere in the wild.

 

[urnotl33t]

Doesn’t surprise me at all. The top makers of Windows laptops are building incredible machines now that are full of innovative features that are actually useful. They also offer multiple, reasonably-priced display and accessory options. I’ve been a Mac user for years, but I’m currently finding it difficult to justify a Mac purchase.

I'm an IT security nerd. Your justification for Mac is summed up with one word: ransomware.
One hit and you would have just paid for the defense against that with your Mac. Get a Mac. Don't look back. You can't buy enough anti-Crap for Windows to avoid today's harsh landscape.

 

[SSDGUY]

Obligatory "Fire Cook / this would have never happened under Jobs" post.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

These are the two parts that need constant upgrading in short time periods

For only a very small subset of folks. The vast majority of folks never upgraded their memory because what they had in it when they bought it was already over what they needed.

my conclusion is that the soldering in of RAM and SSDs is the primary cause of the decline of market share.

I think the more interesting story here is that folks are finding that other, cheaper solutions fit their needs just fine. It’s no mistake that the number of non-Mac options (including iOS) are increasing as the sales of the Mac are decreasing.
[automerge]1578961237[/automerge]

Obligatory "Fire Cook / this would have never happened under Jobs" post.

Thanks! I was beginning to feel uneasy and didn’t know why. I feel better now.

 

[GregH31]

Drop the price and we will buy.

I totally agree. The only reason I'm still using my 7-year old MacBook Pro is the totally outrageous replacement cost. I used to buy a loaded MBP every 3 years. Good thing they build a good machine and the software to run it!

 

[thadoggfather]

I never see PC laptops in the wild - who are these ppl?

Hold onto our still somehow working Macs. 2016 nTB 13" checking in