Shipments of Macs plunged 22.4% in 2023, according to a market research firm. While every PC maker also had a weak year, Apple did a bit worse than its rivals.
The drop in macOS demand probably explains why Apple launched the M3 family of processors in the fall, less than a year after the release of their predecessors.
Mac shipments tanked in 2023
People working and taking classes from home spurred Mac sales during the pandemic. And while shipments of Windows computers dropped off in 2022 as the pandemic waned, Apple saw growth in shipments of macOS-based laptops and desktops that year.
But the trend didn’t hold true in 2023, according to new IDC data. In fact, Apple did usually bad. Compare its 22.4% year-over-year drop to Lenovo’s 13.2% decline and HP’s 4.3% reduction. Still, Dell did almost as poorly last year, experiencing a 19.6% plunge.
But there’s hope for 2024. “While the market was down again in 2023 in terms of shipments, there is a lot of positive momentum for PCs looking forward,” said Ryan Reith, group VP with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.
Bring on the Apple M3
Apple unveiled the M2 processor family in January 2023, and — as figures for the following year indicate — potential buyers stayed away in droves. Mac shipments during 2023 totaled 21.7 million, down from 27.9 million in all of 2022.
Then the Apple M3 family launched in October, just nine months later. It’s very unusual for the company to introduce a new chip family twice in one year, but CEO Tim Cook may have been hoping that speedy new chips would help spur demand.
If so, Mac shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023 surely didn’t live up to hopes. Year over year, shipments of Macs in the December quarter dropped 18.4%, according to IDC.
