Apple’s Mac unit sales grew 5.1% as worldwide PC shipments totaled 64.8 million units in the second quarter of 2020, a 2.8% increase from the second quarter of 2019, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. After a significant decline in the first quarter of the year due to COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions, the PC market returned to growth as vendors restocked their channels and mobile PC demand increased.
“The second quarter of 2020 represented a short-term recovery for the worldwide PC market, led by exceptionally strong growth in EMEA,” said Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner, in a statement. “After the PC supply chain was severely disrupted in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the growth this quarter was due to distributors and retail channels restocking their supplies back to near-normal levels. Additionally, mobile PC growth was particularly strong, driven by several factors including business continuity for remote working, online education and consumers’ entertainment needs. However, this uptick in mobile PC demand will not continue beyond 2020, as shipments were mainly boosted by short-term business needs due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Table 1. Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q20 (Thousands of Units)
Source: Gartner (July 2020)
Regional Overview
The U.S. PC market grew 3.5% year over year, registering its fifth consecutive quarter of growth. Double-digit mobile PC growth was offset by a 44% decline in deskbased PCs.
“Strong mobile PC demand in the U.S. was driven by shelter in place rules enforced as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak,” Kitagawa said. “While some states eased restrictions during the second quarter of 2020, many businesses continued to prepare for a potential resurgence of the virus, resulting in strong demand for mobile PCs as a precautionary measure.”
In the U.S, Mac unit sales grew 4.3% in the second quarter.
Table 2. Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q20 (Thousands of Units)
Source: Gartner (July 2020)
PC shipments in EMEA rose 20% in the second quarter of 2020, representing the strongest growth in this region in over 10 years. The exceptionally strong market demand was driven by the requirement for remote work and online education due to COVID-19, as well as a boom in consumer demand and increased vendor supply to the region as channels depleted during the first quarter of the year were restocked.
The Asia/Pacific market declined 8.1% year over year in the second quarter. While the consumer PC market was strong, driven by both replacement and first-time purchases to address stay at home requirements, the business market was weak, reflecting demand challenges and budget constraints in certain verticals, such as government and education.
Source: Gartner, Inc.
MacDailyNews Take: Of course, if Gartner would wake up, enter this decade, and, along with Mac sales, count iPads, which are most definitely personal computers, Apple would be far and away the No.1 personal computer vendor in the world (which is likely why they don’t count iPads).
