According to market research firm Sigmaintell, Apple will become the world's third largest notebook computer manufacturer by the end of 2026, and overall MacBook shipments are expected to surpass Dell, a traditional PC manufacturer, further improving its ranking in the global notebook market. According to the agency's calculations, Lenovo will still rank first in the world with 43 million notebook sales in 2026, HP will rank second with 39 million units, and Apple is expected to sell 28 million MacBook units, a significant increase from its sales of approximately 23 million units in 2025.
The report pointed out that an important driving force for Apple’s sales increase this time came from the newly launched affordable model MacBook Neo. This product is expected to contribute approximately 10 million units to sales in 2026, with the remaining approximately 18 million units being sold by products such as MacBook Air and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. In terms of product coverage, Apple has currently formed a complete layout from entry-level to high-end professional level. The starting price of MacBook Neo is US$599, and the student discount price can be as low as US$499. The mid-range market is dominated by the thin and light MacBook Air, and high-end professional users correspond to the MacBook Pro series.
Analysts believe that this product combination across multiple price ranges has enhanced Apple's visibility in the notebook market and allowed consumers at more budget levels to find suitable choices in its product line. Especially for MacBook Pro products, the unified memory architecture adopted by Apple's self-developed chip platform is considered to have greater flexibility in parts procurement and supply chain deployment, and is also more suitable for local AI reasoning and development scenarios, so it is favored by some AI enthusiasts and researchers.
Unlike most notebook manufacturers, Apple does not rely on AMD, Intel or Nvidia to provide core hardware platforms. While other manufacturers often need to plan new product releases around the pace of CPU and GPU updates, Apple relies on its own Apple Silicon system to maintain greater independence in product decisions and release schedules. This is also seen as one of the important factors in its ability to continue to expand its market share.