Shipments surged by 21% in the second quarter! Apple leads the global PC market recovery

Research firm IDC data shows that in the just past second quarter of this year, the global personal computer (PC) market continued to recover, with Apple's PC shipment growth being the strongest.

On Tuesday, July 8th, Eastern Time, IDC released preliminary data on quarterly PC device tracking, showing that including desktops, laptops, and workstations, the total global PC shipments in the second quarter reached 64.9 million units, a year-on-year increase of 3%, double the growth rate of the first quarter.

IDC pointed out that compared to last year, the overall performance of the global PC market this year has been good, but the market performance of desktop PCs in the largest consumer country, China, remains weak, continuing to drag down the overall market. Apart from China, global PC shipments in the second quarter increased by over 5% year-on-year.

According to IDC data, among the top five PC manufacturers globally, Lenovo shipped 14.7 million units in the second quarter, maintaining the top spot with a 3.7% year-on-year growth; HP ranked second with 13.7 million units shipped, a 1.8% increase; Dell, in third place, shipped 10.1 million units, a 2.4% decrease year-on-year; Apple shipped 5.7 million units in the quarter, ranking fourth in shipments, accounting for only 56% of Dell's shipments, but with the largest year-on-year growth of 20.8%; Acer followed closely with 4.4 million units shipped, a 14% year-on-year growth.

In terms of market share, in the second quarter, Lenovo accounted for 22.7% of the PC market, slightly higher than 22.5% a year ago; HP's share decreased slightly from 21.3% a year ago to 21.1%; Dell's share dropped from 16.4% to 15.5%; Apple's share increased from 7.5% to 8.8%; Acer's share rose from 6.2% to 6.8%.

IDC's Vice President of Global Device Tracking, Ryan Reith, stated that the PC market undoubtedly faces challenges in the short term, similar to other technology sectors, due to maturity and headwinds. However, two consecutive quarters of growth, along with significant market hype around AI PCs, and less appealing but potentially more important commercial upgrade cycles, seem to be what the PC market needs. Attention is clearly focused on AI, but there have been many changes in the purchase of non-AI PCs, showing positive signs in this mature market.

IDC pointed out that in recent months, most participants in the PC industry have formulated initial strategies for AI PCs, focusing mainly on components and the potential of the commercial market. IDC believes that in the PC industry, AI has the greatest short-term impact on the commercial PC market, but the AI PC story for consumers has not been fully told yet Everyone is focusing on Apple's expected product release later this year to convey this information, but we should not overlook the potential impact that Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD may have in the consumer AI PC and commercial AI PC sectors.

Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, stated that in addition to commercial update cycles, promotions targeting consumer brands and channels are also helping to drive the development of the consumer PC segment. The market has also moved beyond the price lows caused by excess inventory last year, with an increase in average selling prices for PCs due to richer configurations and reduced discounts