16-inch MacBook ProSource: Rene Ritchie / iMore

What you need to know

  • The worldwide PC market saw 3.6% year over year growth in Q3 of 2020.
  • The Mac grew at 7.3%, more than doubling the pace of the overall market.
  • Apple did, however, fall behind the overall market growth in the United States.

In a press release on its website, research firm Gartner has reported that the Mac has doubled the growth of the worldwide PC market in the third quarter of 2020.

Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner, says that the quarter has seen the strongest consumer demand in personal computers that Gartner has recorded in the last five years. The director attributes the growth in the market due to consumers and businesses purchasing laptops for personal, school, and work use during the pandemic.

"This quarter had the strongest consumer PC demand that Gartner has seen in five years. The market is no longer being measured in the number of PCs per household; rather, the dynamics have shifted to account for one PC per person. While PC supply chain disruptions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic have been largely resolved, this quarter saw shortages of key components, such as panels, as a result of this high consumer demand. The business PC market had a more cautious dynamic this quarter. Businesses have continued to buy PCs for remote work, but the focus has shifted from urgent device procurement towards cost optimization. However, enterprise spending remained strong where government funding for distance learning and remote work has fueled device purchases, such as in the U.S. and Japan."

Gartner Worldwide Pc Shipments Q3Source: Gartner

Gartner noted that both Apple, Acer, and Asus all saw growth that outpaced the rest of the PC market. Apple specifically saw a 7.3% growth year over year, more than doubling the market's growth of 3.6%.

The top three vendors in the traditional PC market remained unchanged from the previous quarter, although Lenovo widened its lead over HP after a quarter of record shipment volume. Consumer-oriented vendors such as Apple, Acer and Asus saw growth that outpaced the rest of the market in the third quarter of 2020.

Gartner Us Growth Q3Source: Gartner

The PC market in the United States also saw an overall growth of 11.4% year over year. Apple, despite doubling worldwide growth, fell behind the rest of the market with a 7% growth year over year. Kitagawa attributes the growth in the country to the major shift in both consumer and business spending from desktop to laptop PCs.

"Mobile PC demand in the U.S. market surged as the shift from desktop to mobile PCs became a common practice across public and private businesses, even with many companies partially bringing their workers back to the office. PC demands in the U.S. were also backed by the gradual economic recovery throughout the quarter, including a rebound in employment and an improved consumer confidence index."

Apple is set to announce its first Apple Silicon Mac by the end of this year, with an event to announce the new laptop potentially happening in November.