Mac Shipments Soar While the Rest of the PC Market Slumps

New data collected and shared by technology intelligence company IDC shows that Apple was the only major computer maker to post significant growth during the second quarter of 2026. Mac shipments rose by more than 10% as the broader PC market declined for the first time in two years. 

Mac Shipments Up, PC Shipments Down

IDC’s report, published on Wednesday, shows global PC shipments falling 4.9% year over year in Q2 2026, with total units shipped falling to 68.2 million units, down from 71.7 million units in the same 2025 quarter.

While the numbers were down, the top-five computer vendor rankings were identical to the Q2 2025 rankings, although only Apple and ASUS showed year-over-year increases in shipments.

Lenovo kept a firm grip on the number one slot, with a 24.4% share of the market, even though it saw a 2.1% year-over-year decline in PC shipments. HP snagged second place, with a 19.1% share and a 9% slide in shipments, while Dell held on to third place with a 13.6% share and a 5% decline in shipments.

Rounding out the top five were Apple, which saw Mac shipments jump an impressive 10.1% year over year, accounting for a 9.9% share of total shipments, and ASUS with a healthy 7.4% share but only a tiny 0.2% increase (but any progress is good progress, I suppose).

“Apple’s share gain coincided with its latest product launch, the MacBook Neo, and while the company did raise prices in line with the broader market, it still remains well positioned against rivals facing the same cost pressures,” noted the report.

IDC pointed to the ongoing memory supply shortage and resulting price increases as driving the market-wide drop in shipments, although it also mentioned “geopolitical issues” as playing a role.

“The real story here is the disconnect between units and dollars: shipments are falling, but revenue is climbing because vendors are pushing through price increases faster than demand is dropping,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research director for consumer devices at IDC. “Given worsening macro conditions and a memory shortage that isn’t expected to ease until early 2028, we don’t expect another round of inventory pull-forward, which points to a sharp slowdown in growth rates in the second half of 2026. Vendors are bracing for further price hikes into 2027, and channels are already flagging concern about elevated inventory at these higher price points.”

IDC also warned of two factors that could weigh on PC upgrade cycles in the future, starting with sustained price pressure, “as interest in on-device AI processing continues to grow.” The firm also pointed out another risk, saying that the biggest PC makers could gain an even larger share of the PC market as smaller rivals struggle with the memory crunch.

IDC pointed out that larger PC makers, such as Apple, Dell, and Lenovo, can take advantage of their scale of operation, which includes adjacent business lines, like smartphones and servers, to better secure memory supply, while squeezing out smaller companies.

Q2 2026 showed the first year-over-year decline in PC shipments since 2024. Only time will tell whether the decline will continue in the coming quarters, although things aren’t looking good in the near term.

“As market conditions continue to worsen, the importance of supply chain management and capabilities are increasingly important. The largest vendors, with their buying power and long-standing supplier ties, are best positioned to take share from smaller rivals,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, vice president for consumer devices at IDC.