MacBook Neo Helps Apple Gain PC Share as Market Shrinks 21%
Apple's PC market share rose to 9.8% in Q3 2026 even as Mac shipments fell 11%, with Counterpoint crediting the MacBook Neo during a sharp market downturn.
Apple grew its share of worldwide PC shipments in the third quarter of 2026, and Counterpoint Research says the MacBook Neo helped the company hold up better than most rivals in a shrinking market.
According to the firm's preliminary estimates, Mac shipments reached 5.6 million units, down 11% from the same quarter a year earlier. Worldwide PC shipments fell much faster, dropping 21% to 57 million units. That gap lifted Apple's share from 8.7% to 9.8%.
Costs weigh on buyers
Counterpoint points to rising production costs as the main drag. Higher memory and component prices have fed through to PC prices, making replacement machines harder to afford and prompting consumers to delay purchases. Business fleet replacements and Windows migration supported some demand, but not enough to prevent an overall contraction.
How the top vendors compare
Apple stayed the fourth-largest PC vendor by shipments. Lenovo led with a 26.3% share, followed by HP at 18.1% and Dell at 13.3%. Their shipments fell 23%, 31% and 25% respectively, all steeper than Apple's decline.
ASUS, in fifth place, was the only top-five vendor to post a smaller annual drop than Apple. Its shipments declined 7%, giving it a 9.2% share.
What comes next
The outlook remains difficult. Counterpoint expects global PC shipments to fall 27% year over year in the fourth quarter. For 2027, it forecasts broadly flat shipment volumes compared with 2026, suggesting the market may stabilize at a lower level rather than rebound quickly.
For buyers, the data signals that component-driven price pressure is still shaping the market. For Apple, the MacBook Neo appears to be giving it a cushion that many competitors lack, even though Mac shipments themselves are declining.
