Mac sales are slowing down, but don’t blame Apple

By

21.5-inch iMacs might be coming soon.
PC sales are on the downturn, and Apple's not exempt.
Photo: Apple

Apple just announced record-breaking iPhone 6s sales, but according to a new report, the Mac may not be showing quite the same upward trajectory.

Research firms Gartner and IDC both claim Mac sales have slowed to their lowest rate since late 2013, although they disagree about the extent.

IDC suggests that Mac sales have fallen 3.4 percent year-over-year, while Gartner thinks Apple saw a marginal increase of 1.5 percent. Both of these figures would mean a slowing in sales for Apple’s non-iOS and Apple Watch devices.

But it’s not Apple’s fault.

According to researchers at both firms, Apple has been hurt by the strong U.S. dollar, which has made its computers more expensive to overseas customers, while the market has been weaker than usual in both Europe and Japan.

Even if Mac sales are slowing, it’s also a whole lot less than the rest of the PC industry, which has declined 11 percent to 71 million units sold this quarter, as per IDC’s figures. That means that, while the overall pie is shrinking, Apple is grabbing a bigger piece of it.

We’ll find out for certain later this month when Apple reports its Mac sales figures on October 27.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.