The latest report by Counterpoint Research reveals that global PC shipments fell by 27.8% in Q4, 2022, a record-high Y-o-Y decline. However, Apple survived the slump cycle because of the success of Macs powered by the M series Apple Silicon.
In 2020, the Cupertino tech giant kicked off the transition of the Mac lineup from Intel processors to Apple Silicon and since then, Apple Silicon Macs, especially MacBooks have driven the company’s growth in the computer market in the United States and worldwide.
Previously, Counterpoint Research reported that shipment of Apple Silicon MacBook models grew by 8% Y-o-Y in Q1, 2022 at a time when global PC shipments saw a 4.3% Y-o-Y decline to 78.7 million units in the same quarter.
Recently, a Consumer Intelligence Research Partner’s (CIRP) survey of the 2022 computer market revealed that MacBook Pro models were Apple’s most-sold laptops in the U.S. with MacBook Air close behind.
Apple only saw a 3% dip in Q4, 2022 thanks to high Macs powered by M series chips
The report explained that the global PC market suffered a huge Y-o-Y decline in shipments due to macroeconomic issues, high inflation, and weakening demand in Q4, 2022. In addition to consumers not rushing to upgrade their latest computers, enterprises also did not buy new computers which hurt the PC market.
Macroeconomic headwinds, increasing inflation pressure and frozen PC demand affected the global PC market in 2022, with shipments declining 15% YoY. Besides, consumers who bought new PCs were still enjoying the latest models, whereas enterprises were working more carefully on their budgets. Also, the lack of appealing functions and financial support could not bring in incremental demand in 2022, not to mention the aggressive inventory digestion target of OEMs since H1 2022.
Although Apple secured the fourth spot in PC market share based on worldwide PC shipments in Q4 2022, it suffered the least decline in shipments than its rivals.
- Lenovo dominated the PC market with a 23.7% share but suffered a 29% decline in shipments.
- HP secured the second position in the PC market with a 20.3% share but suffered a 29% decline in shipments.
- Dell secured the third position in the PC market with a 16.7% share but suffered a 37% decline in shipments.
On the other hand, Apple captured the fourth position with only a 3% decline in shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022 thanks to its custom M series chips.
Apple’s comparatively tiny 3% YoY shipment decline in Q4 2022 helped the company close the book with a flattish shipment volume performance for 2022. Apple kept gaining market share at the expense of x86-based vendors and recorded a double-digit share in the second half of 2022 and 9.4% in the full year. Arm-based M-series models helped the company weather the slump cycle in both consumer and commercial devices in 2022.
Earlier this week, Apple introduced next-generation 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models powered by M2 Pro and M2 Max chips and Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro chips.
