Apple's Q1 Mac shipments increased by 9% year-on-year, significantly outperforming the overall PC market

According to the latest estimated data released by market research firm IDC, Apple's Mac shipments in the first quarter of 2026 will increase by 9% year-on-year, and the growth rate is significantly higher than the overall growth rate of 2.5% in the global PC market during the same period. IDC pointed out that the main driving force for this round of growth comes from the M5 chip MacBook Pro model launched by Apple at the end of last year. At the same time, Apple has recently updated its MacBook Air and higher-end MacBook Pro product lines, but these new models were launched late and will have limited impact on actual shipment data in the first quarter of 2026.

Judging from manufacturer rankings, Apple ranks fourth in the global PC market, with quarterly shipments of approximately 6.2 million units, higher than 5.7 million units in the same period last year. The three manufacturers ahead of Apple are Lenovo, HP and Dell, with shipments of approximately 16.5 million units, 12.1 million units and 10.3 million units respectively. IDC data shows that, with the exception of HP, most major PC manufacturers experienced varying degrees of growth in shipments this quarter.

In terms of market share, Apple’s share of the global traditional PC market this quarter was approximately 9.5%, up from 8.9% in the first quarter of 2025. IDC analysis believes that the rebound in PC shipments this quarter is mainly driven by factors such as expected increases in component costs and the intensive launch of new products. As the growth rate of overall PC shipments gradually slows down in the future, the ability to stably obtain key components such as storage will become one of the keys for manufacturers to maintain their competitiveness.

IDC statistical caliber includes traditional PC devices such as desktops, laptops, and workstations, and does not cover tablet products such as iPads. It should be noted that the data disclosed by IDC are third-party estimates, and Apple no longer discloses the specific sales of each hardware product in its financial reports. Therefore, the outside world can only measure the Mac business trend through data from research institutions.

According to Apple's previously announced schedule, the company's next quarterly financial report will be released on April 30. At that time, the market will further pay attention to the specific performance of the Mac business in terms of revenue and profit.