Apple apparently gained some market share in the fourth quarter of 2016 thanks to the refreshed MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar built in.
The latest data from research firms Gartner and IDC show Apple gaining ground in the PC industry, despite the market continuing to slow as a whole. IDC’s new data shows that 70.2 million PCs shipped in the fourth quarter of 2016, marking a 1.5 percent year-on-year decline, but showing a continued stabilization of the market.
For the year, IDC says that PC shipments hit 260 million, down 5.7 percent compared to 2015. Worldwide, Apple saw its marketshare rise from 7.4 percent in Q4 2015 to 7.5 percent, though overall shipments fell by .9 percent for the year as a whole. Overall, Apple ranks as the fourth largest PC vendor worldwide, with Lenovo coming in at the top, followed by HP and Dell.
The rise in Apple’s market share seems to have been boosted by the late 2016 MacBook Pro.
On the whole, 2016 represented a slow start for the computer industry, IDC blaming high inventory, free Windows 10 upgrades, and a lack of enticing hardware for consumers. Towards the middle of the year, however, the growth rate started picking up.
However, mid-2016 and particularly the recent fourth quarter have moved beyond these inhibitors and seen stabilizing commercial demand. Contraction of the consumer PC market has also slowed as growth and competition from tablets and phones has eased up. Recent quarters have faced some tight supply of components such as SSDs, displays, and memory.
Gartner’s data skewed a bit differently, the research firm stating that Apple’s market share increased from 7 percent in Q4 2015 to 7.5 percent in Q4 2016. Gartner’s data shows more growth in terms of shipments, as well, increasing worldwide by 2.4 percent year-over-year for a fifth place finish worldwide. Apple lags behind Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Asus.
Ultimately, Apple continues to combat against a slowing PC market and the new MacBook Pros only further that, especially considering the fact that sales were slowing considerably at the end of Q3.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac