Apple’s Mac shipments fell in the third quarter, but figures from market research firms show that Apple is weathering a difficult period for computer makers far better than its biggest rivals.
Mac shipments dropped about 11% in the July-through-September period, but that is barely a blip compared to huge declines from Lenovo, HP and Dell. The result is that PC shipments worldwide plunged about 20% year over year.
Rising memory costs push down PC demand
Blame the shipments’ decline on RAMageddon, the global steep rise in the cost of memory chips caused by a huge buildup in AI-related data centers.
PC makers built as many units as they could earlier in 2026 to get ahead of expected supply shortages and price increases , but that now leaves them overstuffed with inventory. Hence the drop in shipments in Q3.
Still, these companies were wise to make as many units as they could before the price hikes. The analysts at Omdia said that DRAM and solid-state drives typically account for around 15% of a PC’s component costs, but with RAMageddon that share has now climbed to nearly 40%.
Plus, the crisis is being compounded by shortages of processors, graphics cards and other components brought about by the mass buildout of AI servers.
Higher prices are discouraging some consumers and businesses from buying new computers — another reason manufacturers are scaling back production.
Apple gains PC market share as rivals struggle
IDC market analysts estimate that Apple shipped 5.9 million Macs during the third quarter of 2026, down 11.3% from 6.7 million a year earlier. Omdia’s estimate is higher at 6.8 million units, representing an 11% decline.
Although the research firms differ on the total number of computers shipped, both show Apple losing considerably less ground than the overall market. Lenovo remained the world’s biggest PC maker, but its shipments fell 22.6% year over year, according to IDC. HP suffered an even worse decline of 30.9%, while Dell shipments dropped 25%.
Apple’s smaller decline helped it gain market share. Omdia put Apple’s share of the worldwide PC market at 11.7% last quarter, up from 10.4% in the same quarter last year. IDC also reported that Apple gained more than a percentage point of market share.
PC market outlook remains grim
With RAMageddon not ending anytime soon, neither research firm expects the PC market to recover quickly. Omdia forecasts worldwide PC shipments will fall another 24% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2026, with a further 7% decline expected for 2027.
And IDC also warns that high PC prices, supply constraints and worsening economic conditions globally could be a drag on demand into 2027.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
