Worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments totaled 64.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 1.4% increase from the fourth quarter of 2023, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. And it was good news for Apple.
The tech giant sold 6.3 million Macs during quarter four of 2024 for 9.8% market share. That compares to sales of 6 million Macs and 9.4% market share in quarter four of 2023. Ahead of Apple globally are Lenovo (26.3% market share), HP (21.3% market share), and Dell (15.5% market share).
Quarter four of 2024 marked the fifth consecutive quarter of sustained shipment growth. For the year, PC shipments reached 245.3 million units in 2024, a 1.3% increase from 2023. This marks the second consecutive year shipment volume has dipped below 250 million.
“Despite the increased expectations for the adoption of AI PCs and the anticipated Windows 11 PC refresh cycle, the global PC market recorded only modest growth in the fourth quarter of 2024,” says Ranjit Atwal, senior director analyst at Gartner. “For consumers, the price of AI PCs was a deterrent to any potential strong adoption, while economic uncertainties in some regions, such as China and parts of Europe, continued to stifle PC demand. We expect PC demand to pick up and the market to see solid growth in 2025, reflecting delayed Windows 11 PC refresh demand and the increasing business value of AI PCs as use cases mature.”
The U.S. market grew 3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, but declined sequentially by 1.7%.
HP maintained the top spot in the U.S. PC market based on shipments, with 26.1% market share. Dell followed with 21.8% of U.S. PC market share, followed by Lenovo with 17.2% market share.
Apple sold 2.6 million Macs in the U.S. during the quarter for 14.9% market share. That compares to sales of 2.4 in quarter three of 2023 for annual growth of 3.8%.
You should note that Gartner doesn’t count tablets such as the iPad in its tally of personal computers.
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