New sales data shows that we need some new Macs NOW

Apple better get some new Macs out the door ASAP. Mac sales were down in the third quarter of 2018 — even more than the industry average, which is unusual.

According to the IDC research group, shipments of traditional PCs (desktops, notebooks, and workstations, but not tablets) totaled nearly 67.4 million units, marking a decline of 0.9% in year-on-year terms. Unlike quarter two of 2018, which grew, the third quarter results nonetheless outperformed the forecast which called for a decline of 3.0%.

However, Apple, which finished the quarter in fifth place worldwide, declined over 11%, and was the only top five company to underperform the overall market. Apple sold approximately 4.8 million Macs during the quarter for 7.1% market share. The top four and their market share, per IDC, were Lenovo (24%), HP (22.8%), Dell (17%), and Acer (7.2%).

Meanwhile, things were a bit brighter overall, according to Gartner. This research group says worldwide PC shipments totaled 67.2 million units in the third quarter of 2018, a 0.1% increase from the third quarter of 2017. 

Still, Gartner says that Mac sales were down more than the industry average: by 8.5%. The research group places Apple fourth globally with 7.3% of the PC market. Gartner says the top three are Lenovo (23.6% market share), and HP (21.8%), Dell (16%). The research group says that, in the U.S., the Mac has 13.7% market share.

The clock is ticking, but Apple is expected to host an October event in which new MacBooks, new iMacs, new iPad Pros, and perhaps a new Mac mini will be announced.