Mac market share is growing faster than the top three PC brands. Apple is leading in AI

The new Market Intelligence Report shows that Mac’s market share grew faster than the top three PC brands in the last quarter of last year.

Apple also dominates the AI-enabled computer market, with a 45% share of its nearest Windows PC competitors…

Mac Market Share

While Apple holds only 10% of the overall PC market share, it ranks fourth behind Lenovo, HP and Dell, Canalys says it enjoyed the biggest growth in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company believes it is also suitable for future growth in the corporate sector.

“Apple was stronger in the fourth quarter of 2024, significantly surpassing the top three vendors, achieving a 10.2% market share across the PC market and a 45% share in the AI-enabled PC market,” Jessop added. “Apple’s channel strategy continues to evolve as it unveiled the Apple Partner Network and launched later this year. This improved program aims to gain share in the enterprise segment while simplifying partner tiers and providing the services needed to handle customers. The program highlights compatibility and scalability of Macs within an enterprise environment.

Canalys says Lenovo is leading the entire PC market.

• Lenovo: 25%
• HP: 20%
• Dell: 15%
• Apple: 10%
• ASUS: 7%
• Acer: 6%
• Huawei: 2%
• Microsoft: 0.4%
• Other: 15%

Apple is leading the way with AI-enabled PCs

Apple controls AI-enabled PCs, defined as having AI-specific chips.

For the full year of 2024, 17% of PCs shipped were AI-enabled, with Apple being the biggest winner being 54% (sic?) stakes, followed by Lenovo and HP having a 12% share each.

According to Canalys, a decline from 54% in the last quarter to 45% reflects the growth of Windows’ AI PCS, rather than Apple’s shipments.

The company believes AI capabilities are no big deal right now, but it hopes it will play an increasingly important role over time.

Although AI features are not the main purchasing drivers, we expect an increasingly important and important personalized experience and productivity gains when AI processors improve performance. Over time, this could impact brand loyalty and shape customer decisions about future device upgrades.

But Trump’s tariffs could threaten PC growth

While the overall PC market is strong, the support of Microsoft Ending Support for Windows 10 has been driven primarily by enterprise companies being forced to replace older models, but Trump’s 10% tariff on all imports from China is a threat.

The looming changes in trade policy in the US (…) could hinder the upcoming commercial refreshment cycle and undermine the outlook for already-sedged consumers. So far, the Trump administration has placed a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports, which accounts for the majority of laptops shipped to the US.

Arvind Menon by Arvind Menon on Unsplash