Apple bucks the trend in the shrinking PC market

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While the global PC market is shrinking for the first time in over two years, Apple is the only major manufacturer to see strong growth. New figures from IDC show Mac sales growing by a good ten percent – in a quarter where rising prices are slowing down the entire industry.

The PC market is going through a difficult period: Global memory shortages are driving up costs, and many manufacturers are passing these increases on to their customers. Ironically, in this environment, Apple is selling more Macs than last year – a success closely linked to the launch of the unusually affordable MacBook Neo. The new market figures paint a picture in which Apple and the rest of the industry are moving in opposite directions.

Apple as the only winner among the big players

According to IDC, global PC sales fell by 4.9 percent to 68.2 million units in the second quarter of 2026 – the first decline in over two years. Almost all major manufacturers reported losses. The ranking of the top five remained unchanged.

Manufacturer	Market share Q2 2026	Sales compared to Q2 2025
Lenovo	24,4 %	-2.1 %
HP	19,1 %	-9 %
Dell	13,6 %	-5 %
Apple	9,9 %	+10,1 %
ASUS	7,4 %	+0,2 %

Apple is thus the only manufacturer with a significant increase: Mac sales rose by 10.1 percent, and its market share climbed to 9.9 percent. Lenovo remains the clear market leader, but, like HP and Dell, experienced declines.

Why the market is shrinking

IDC cites the ongoing storage shortage and the resulting price increases as the main reason for the decline; geopolitical factors also played a role. The same shortage has already led Apple to raise prices across a large portion of its product range.

A remarkable observation by market researchers is the growing gap between unit sales and revenue. Sales volume is declining, but revenue is rising – because manufacturers are raising prices faster than demand is decreasing. The market is therefore shrinking in terms of the number of devices sold, but growing in terms of monetary value.

What makes Apple different

Apple's price increase coincides with the launch of the MacBook Neo, which cost €699 at its market launch, making entry into the Mac world more affordable than ever before. This low entry price apparently attracted buyers in the spring, while prices elsewhere were rising. However, the Neo has since become more expensive: at the end of June, Apple raised the starting price by €100 to €799. While Apple also increased its prices in line with the market, according to IDC, the company remains in a strong position compared to competitors facing the same cost pressures.

The success of the Neo is no guarantee: Demand exceeded Apple's own projections, and the readily available supply of chips, which enabled the competitive price, is limited. How Apple can maintain this entry point in the long term is the truly intriguing question behind this quarterly success.

The outlook is becoming clouded

Despite the strong quarter, the forecast is cautious. IDC expects the storage shortage to ease noticeably only at the beginning of 2028. For the second half of 2026, analysts anticipate a significant slowdown in growth because the effect of advance purchases will disappear. Manufacturers are already preparing for further price increases in 2027.

The underlying concern is that if price pressure remains high, users might hold onto their devices longer and postpone new purchases – even if interest in local AI on computers grows. At the same time, the largest manufacturers could extend their lead because smaller providers suffer more from the storage shortage.

Strong quarterly performance, cautious outlook

For Apple, the quarterly report is a remarkable success: growth in a falling market, driven by a clear entry strategy. However, the overall environment remains challenging – the storage crisis is affecting everyone, and whether Apple can maintain its momentum depends on how long the favorable entry point can be sustained. The success in the second quarter is real, but so are the headwinds for the coming quarters. (Image: Shutterstock / BadPixma)