Apple's share of U.S. PC market jumps to 6.1 percent

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
First on AI: Sales of Apple's Macintosh computers over the past twelve month's have grown faster than any other major PC manufacturer, boosting the company's share of the U.S. PC market to 6.1 percent, according to data released by Gartner on Wednesday.



Between the third calendar quarter of 2005 and the third quarter of 2006, Apple's U.S. Mac unit shipments grew 31 percent from 744,000 units to 975,000 units, preliminary data from the firm shows.



Apple's 6.1 percent share puts it right behind Gateway, whose 6.4 percent share allowed it to maintain its No. 3 position for U.S. PC shipments.



Dell held onto the No. 1 position in the U.S. PC market with a 32.1 percent share despite a 7.1 percent decline in shipments year-over-year. It was followed by HP, which grew its share of the market from 21.2 percent to 23 percent.



Behind Apple in fifth place was Toshiba, which shipped 813,000 units during the third quarter -- good enough for 5.1 percent share.



On the other hand, Apple did not place within the top five PC manufacturers worldwide, and therefore data on its worldwide market share and PC shipments was not included in Gartner's preliminary third quarter results.



"Since these are preliminary figures, we only have the top 5 vendors worldwide at this time and Apple was not in the top 5," a spokesperson for the firm told AppleInsider.



Gartner said Hewlett-Packard regained the No. 1 position for worldwide PC shipments in third quarter for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2003.



HP's 16.3 percent share was followed by Dell with 16.1 percent. Lenovo's 7.5 percent share, Acer's 5.9 percent and Toshiba's 4.3 percent rounded out the top five.



In total, Gartner said worldwide PC shipments totaled 59.1 million units in the third quarter of 2006, a 6.7 percent increase from the same period last year.



At the same time, the U.S. PC market experienced a year-over-year shipment decline of 2 percent. The last time the U.S. PC market suffered a decline in PC shipments was the second quarter of 2002, the firm said.
«1345

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 88
    Nice. And remember this is computer sales not installed base. Mac users arguably hang on to their Macs longer than PC users which would suggest that the installed base is most likely somewhat larger than 6.1%
  • Reply 2 of 88
    I think that Apple should do some serious research to establish a stat on percentage of HOME Users. Just talking about the entire Domestic/World PC penetration includes huge corporations whose MILLIONS of employees did not actively CHOOSE to use WinTEL boxes, but instead dictated what they must use. How about touting

    the penetration numbers of people that have free choice...and excluding the boat loads of Dell's shipped to biz's? Seems more relevant to me.
  • Reply 3 of 88
    Apple is clearly pacing thier technology releases so that they do not grow too quickly. It will be intersting to see how well they are able to forecast these growth trends and if they correctly estimate supply and demand for this first Intel-based holiday season. I like how Apple always leaves me wanting every Mac they make, yet always wanting more. I think that is part of thier secret formula. 8)
  • Reply 4 of 88
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rebel_without_a_pc


    Apple is clearly pacing thier technology releases so that they do not grow too quickly. It will be intersting to see how well they are able to forecast these growth trends and if they correctly estimate supply and demand for this first Intel-based holiday season. I like how Apple always leaves me wanting every Mac they make, yet always wanting more. I think that is part of thier secret formula. 8)



    IMO, this is key because I worked for Gateway in the late 90's/early 2000 and they did grow too quickly, as a result, the product fell far below quality standards and the company itself got too big and ended up having to restructure itself (ultimately costing me my job).
  • Reply 5 of 88
    rainrain Posts: 538member
    I think these numbers are wrong. I think the entire way of calculating 'Market share' is wrong.

    Imagine Apple computers are diesel Volkswagons, and PC's are Ford Festiva's.

    When you buy the VW, you know that car is going to last 15 years plus. The Ford on the other hand, will be dead after 4 years.

    This means the Ford buyer will be buying on average, 3 vehicles to the one VW. Since market share is mostly based on sales, does this mean Ford has 3 times the market share? I don't think so.



    Apple computers last on average, twice as long as a PC.

    I'm still running a G3 350mhz as a server with the latest OS on it. How many 8 year old PC's can run Windows XP smoothly? (how many PC's will be able to run Vista... none, without upgrades.)



    To use the same car analogy, you get way way more milage out of the Apple then a PC.

    So maybe we should ask; Is there a difference between 'market share' and 'user base'?

    I would think so, and if Apple's do last twice as long, I think we can safely say that Apple has a %12.2 market share / user base.



    Just a thought.
  • Reply 6 of 88
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    "Apple's share of U.S. PC market jumps to 6.1 percent"



    From what??
  • Reply 7 of 88
    This is the same Gartner who on Tuesday this week claimed that Apple would not gain any significant market share and their best bet for success was to quit the hardware business and licence the Mac to Dell...



    http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18102006/15...-business.html



    Got to love analysts.
  • Reply 8 of 88
    slugheadslughead Posts: 1,169member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aegisdesign


    This is the same Gartner who on Tuesday this week claimed that Apple would not gain any significant market share and their best bet for success was to quit the hardware business and licence the Mac to Dell...



    http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18102006/15...-business.html



    Got to love analysts.





    Holy crap..



    "Gartner: Apple should quit hardware business"



    Did I really just read that?
  • Reply 9 of 88
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rain


    I think these numbers are wrong. I think the entire way of calculating 'Market share' is wrong.

    Imagine Apple computers are diesel Volkswagons, and PC's are Ford Festiva's.

    When you buy the VW, you know that car is going to last 15 years plus. The Ford on the other hand, will be dead after 4 years.

    This means the Ford buyer will be buying on average, 3 vehicles to the one VW. Since market share is mostly based on sales, does this mean Ford has 3 times the market share? I don't think so.



    Apple computers last on average, twice as long as a PC.

    I'm still running a G3 350mhz as a server with the latest OS on it. How many 8 year old PC's can run Windows XP smoothly? (how many PC's will be able to run Vista... none, without upgrades.)



    To use the same car analogy, you get way way more milage out of the Apple then a PC.

    So maybe we should ask; Is there a difference between 'market share' and 'user base'?

    I would think so, and if Apple's do last twice as long, I think we can safely say that Apple has a %12.2 market share / user base.



    Just a thought.



    The way they are calculating market share actually makes Apple look better. The 6.1% looks pretty good until you see 975,000 units. Dell and HP control market share with Apple, IBM,Fujitsu/Siemens and Acer all between 7-3.5%.



    At the WWDC to hint that Apple is targeting Dell is a joke, they have to see another 15 million units a year to even hit the same ballpark.



    The reason Mac users hold onto their computers longer has nothing to do with hardware its the fact that Macs are in a bubble when it comes to software upgrades. The fact is third party software for the Pc sees constant upgrades and additions for the exception of the OS, third party software is next to nothing for Mac users.



    Macs are like the AOL of computers, you can't upgrade them even if you have a minor problem you have to send the unit back in for repair. As long as Apple continues to keep their hardware intergrated along with the software they will never see real market share.



    Users have been asking for an upgradable mid range tower for years, Jobs will never allow one to go into production. Its pathetic.
  • Reply 10 of 88
    pt123pt123 Posts: 696member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jadams


    Nice. And remember this is computer sales not installed base. Mac users arguably hang on to their Macs longer than PC users which would suggest that the installed base is most likely somewhat larger than 6.1%



    Unfortunately, not for me. The L2 cache on my Powerbook G3 Lombard died after 3 years so I got a Powerbook G4. The LCD backlight died after 3 years so I had to get a Macbook. While my wife's Sony Vaio keeps chugging along, though I wish it would die.
  • Reply 11 of 88
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    The way they are calculating market share actually makes Apple look better. The 6.1% looks pretty good until you see 975,000 units. Dell and HP control market share with Apple, IBM,Fujitsu/Siemens and Acer all between 7-3.5%.



    At the WWDC to hint that Apple is targeting Dell is a joke, they have to see another 15 million units a year to even hit the same ballpark.



    Your maths is way off.



    975,000 represents 6.1% of US marketshare.

    Dell have 32.1% of marketshare, which is 5,130,000 units roughly.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    The reason Mac users hold onto their computers longer has nothing to do with hardware its the fact that Macs are in a bubble when it comes to software upgrades. The fact is third party software for the Pc sees constant upgrades and additions for the exception of the OS, third party software is next to nothing for Mac users.



    And you base that on what exactly?



    Microsoft Office gets updated MORE often on the Mac. Adobe's apps come out at the same time on both platforms. Apple's apps get updates every year at least and quite often during the year there's significant updates too.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    Macs are like the AOL of computers, you can't upgrade them even if you have a minor problem you have to send the unit back in for repair. As long as Apple continues to keep their hardware intergrated along with the software they will never see real market share.



    That's funny, I could have sworn I've added extra RAM and a new hard disk to this Mac. Less screws than my PC too.



    Sales up 30%, Laptop sales up more. Which other computer company is gaining sales at that rate?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    Users have been asking for an upgradable mid range tower for years, Jobs will never allow one to go into production. Its pathetic.



    Ah, gamer trolls again. Every bloody thread.
  • Reply 12 of 88
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Great news for those who complain that Apple needs to sell sub-$1000 computers to increase marketshare. Apple is doing something no one else is doing. Increased marketshare and made half a billion in profit.



    Quote:

    I think the entire way of calculating 'Market share' is wrong.



    This is true from the standpoint that their are many submarkets that Apple does not compete in at all. If marketshare was divided into video, graphics, music, publishing, web design. Mac marketshare would be quite different.
  • Reply 13 of 88
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aegisdesign


    Your maths is way off.



    975,000 represents 6.1% of US marketshare.

    Dell have 32.1% of marketshare, which is 5,130,000 units roughly.







    And you base that on what exactly?



    Microsoft Office gets updated MORE often on the Mac. Adobe's apps come out at the same time on both platforms. Apple's apps get updates every year at least and quite often during the year there's significant updates too.







    That's funny, I could have sworn I've added extra RAM and a new hard disk to this Mac. Less screws than my PC too.



    Sales up 30%, Laptop sales up more. Which other computer company is gaining sales at that rate?







    Ah, gamer trolls again. Every bloody thread.





    Actually Dell has approx 16-17% and HP approx 14% , this comes directly from AI's June report on this site. This year alone HP has seen a 22% growth in sales and Acer a 53% growth in sales.



    You just made my point about software being upgraded more often on a pc, that was my point, Apples upgrades come very slow for the exception of their OS which gets upgraded everytime you turn around.



    As far as Mac's lasting longer or users holding on to them longer I would have hated to by a G5 iMac in Jan seeing in less than a year its third gen already.



    By the way everyone that has something negative to say about Apple is not a troll, history has proven their hardwar has issues, mostly heat related because they would rather look cute than be functional.



    I use both platforms the pc side has many issues as does the mac.
  • Reply 14 of 88
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aegisdesign


    This is the same Gartner who on Tuesday this week claimed ...



    Got to love analysts.



    They are the experts, their heads are in the subject-matter 24/7. Nobody knows anals like analysts.
  • Reply 15 of 88
    No one in their right mind should pay attention solely to an analyst for investing advice. These guys are only concerned about short play investors. Weasels.
  • Reply 16 of 88
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    One other thing to consider is that in the PC world, the OS and the boxes are split. For every % of Dell's market share, MS gets a nice cut. Apple is both the Dell and the MS for their customers.
  • Reply 17 of 88
    macgregormacgregor Posts: 1,434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    By the way everyone that has something negative to say about Apple is not a troll, history has proven their hardwar has issues, mostly heat related because they would rather look cute than be functional.



    I use both platforms the pc side has many issues as does the mac.



    Okay, you're not a troll ... your arguments are flawed and you choose stupid, out dated criticisms. And Georgia got punked.
  • Reply 18 of 88
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    Actually Dell has approx 16-17% and HP approx 14% , this comes directly from AI's June report on this site. This year alone HP has seen a 22% growth in sales and Acer a 53% growth in sales.



    You're moving the goalposts.



    The original article mentioned 975,000 Macs and 6.1%. Dell having 32.1% of the US market. It's Gartner's figures we're discussing here not those from 5 months ago in a different article.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    You just made my point about software being upgraded more often on a pc, that was my point, Apples upgrades come very slow for the exception of their OS which gets upgraded everytime you turn around.



    Huh? I thought I'd made exactly the opposite. Who else comes out with major releases every year and point releases in between?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    As far as Mac's lasting longer or users holding on to them longer I would have hated to by a G5 iMac in Jan seeing in less than a year its third gen already.



    That's technology for you, ever marching on. I imagine there's people with Pentium M laptops thinking the same.



    However, I have a G5 iMac. It runs Photoshop quicker than any of the Intel Macs still. I don't hate that.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    By the way everyone that has something negative to say about Apple is not a troll, history has proven their hardwar has issues, mostly heat related because they would rather look cute than be functional.



    As do many other PC manufacturers. The iMac G5 had exactly the same poor quality capacitor issue that hit Dell. The battery recalls are all Sony's fault.



    In context, Apple's problems are small.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater


    I use both platforms the pc side has many issues as does the mac.



    Sure. They're built in the same factories using the same components.
  • Reply 19 of 88
    zunxzunx Posts: 620member
    Apple, license Mac OS X to run on PCs from Dell and HP to make Mac OS X gain 50% of market share. Then Windows will be history.



    Related: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,3...9284186,00.htm
  • Reply 20 of 88
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zunx


    Apple, license Mac OS X to run on PCs from Dell and HP to make Mac OS X gain 50% of market share. Then Windows will be history.



    Related: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,3...9284186,00.htm



    Do keep up.



    Apple's hardware sales would also be history. Guess where they make most of their profits.
Sign In or Register to comment.