Apple’s Mac sales rocket 335.5% in India

The India traditional PC market (inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations) continued its growth streak with shipments growing 73.1% year-over-year (YoY) in 1Q21 (Jan-Mar), and Apple’s Mac sales surged 335.5% YoY and 45.3% from the previous quarter, according to new data from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. A total of 3.1 million PCs were shipped, recording the highest ever first-quarter shipments to India. Again, notebooks remained the driving category with more than three-fourths share of the PC category, registering a stellar 116.7% YoY growth in the first quarter of 2021. Additionally, the desktop category remained steady and showed initial signs of recovery.

PCs were in high demand as enterprises, SMBs, and consumers continued their purchases. Supply has been inconsistent over the past few quarters, and demand continued to outstrip the supply allocation for the country. At the closing of the quarter, vendors were able to manage better allocations from their headquarters. Additionally, the lower than usual shipments in 1Q20 due to the response to COVID-19 aided the annual growth as it looks more favorable due to the lower base.

“Many companies remained fully remote or had adopted a hybrid working model to manage the growing concerns of the pandemic within the country. As cases continued to rise, a few large enterprises procured PCs in bulk to manage their workforces, adopting these new working models for the long haul,” said Bharath Shenoy, Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India, in a statement.“The demand for virtual learning is still strong, alongside a stronger demand for affordable PCs. This is evident from the recovery of desktops in the consumer segment, which grew 49.5% YoY in 1Q21, despite the growing trend of notebooks replacing desktops.”

Top 5 Company Highlights: 1Q21

HP Inc. returned to the top position, replacing Dell in the overall PC market as its shipments grew 102.1% YoY in 1Q21. The vendor also led both consumer and commercial segments with shares of 33.0% and 32.8%, respectively. Key customer wins and better supplies in this quarter helped HP to regain the leading position.

Dell Technologies moved to second position with a 21.8% share with 45.4% YoY growth in 1Q21. Dell also slipped to 3rd position in the consumer segment as its shipments declined 49.5% from the previous quarter. However, it maintained its lead in the enterprise segment with a 40.9% share and secured the second position in the overall commercial segment.

Lenovo maintained the third position and recorded 73.4% YoY growth in 1Q21. Lenovo also witnessed supply challenges; however, it was able to get allocations on time that helped it to register impressive growth in the consumer and SMB segments.

Acer Group retained the fourth position with a 7.7% market share in 1Q21, which further dipped from 8.5% in 4Q20. Delayed supplies of commercial desktops increased its woes. While it led the category in 4Q20, it dropped to the third position in 1Q21.

ASUS* tied with Apple for the fifth position with a share of 5.4% in 1Q21. Its shipments saw an 83.9% YoY growth but declined 10.9% sequentially. Additionally, it slipped to the fifth position in the consumer segment.

Apple* recorded its biggest quarter for Mac shipments in India and tied for the fifth position with ASUS. Its shipments grew 335.5% YoY and 45.3% from the previous quarter. It also replaced ASUS for the fourth position in the consumer segment.

*IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide PC market when there is less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) difference in the unit share of two or more vendors.

MacDailyNews Take: Granted, Apple’s Mac sales were virtually nil in India Q120, but still, going from 0 to 60 is a notable improvement!