Research firm Gartner just released its numbers for PC shipments during the second quarter of 2012, and Apple was the only company in the top 5 vendors to see an actual increase in PC shipments. Every other PC manufacturer suffered a significant decline, totaling a 5.7% drop in overall U.S. PC shipments.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, tablet and iPad sales are increasing exponentially. A recent report even estimated that tablet shipments will surpass the PC in the next 4-5 years.
“In the second quarter of 2012, the PC market suffered through its seventh consecutive quarter of flat to single-digit growth,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Uncertainties in the economy in various regions, as well as consumer’s low interest in PC purchases, were some of the key influencers of slow PC shipment growth. Despite the high expectations for the thin and light notebook segment, Ultrabooks, shipment volume was small and little impact on overall shipment growth.”
Apple sold 11.8 million iPads during the last fiscal quarter, a 151% year-over-year increase. The Cupertino-based company currently sits as the third largest PC vendor in the U.S., according to Gartner. Out of the top PC makers, Apple is the only company that’s grown in market share since 2011.
“Consumers are less interested in spending on PCs as there are other technology product and services, such as the latest smartphones and media tablets that they are purchasing,” Gartner’s Kitagawa said.
Apple will hold its Q3 2012 earnings call on July 24th to discuss its current financial state, including recent sales for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Source: Gartner
