Apple shipped 22.6 million PCs in 2020, an increase of 16 percent over 2019's 19.4 million, but the company remains well behind rivals, according to a new report by Canalys.
The report, which excludes tablet computers, shows that worldwide PC market growth accelerated significantly in the final quarter of 2020. Shipments of desktops, notebooks, and workstations increased by 25 percent year-on-year to reach a record 90.3 million units. The fourth quarter of 2020 was the third consecutive quarter of sequential growth, bolstered by strong holiday season demand.
For the whole of 2020, PC shipments grew 11 percent to reach 297 million units, which is the highest full-year growth since 2010 and the highest shipment volume since 2014. Canalys notes that PC market growth in 2020 was "singlehandedly driven" by notebooks and mobile workstations, with these devices increasing in shipments by 44 percent to reach 235.1 million units. Desktop and workstation shipments fell 20 percent from 2019 to reach 61.9 million units.
Apple placed fourth for PC shipments over the course of 2020 with 22.6 million devices. HP and Dell shipped over twice as many PCs as Apple, and Lenovo led the market with 72.6 million units. Nevertheless, Apple shipped 16 percent more devices than it did in 2019.
Looking toward 2021, Canalys predicts that the PC market will become even more competitive. The industry as a whole is reportedly reorienting toward a broader range of customers with "new behaviors and use cases," though it is expected to be constrained to some extent by supply shortages for the first half of the year.
In an effort to capitalize on increased demand from 2020, vendors are expected to put chipset innovations and operating systems at the forefront. A particular trend that Canalys expects to emerge is a fierce rivalry between Apple and Microsoft in the domain of custom silicon, but there may also be attention on updates to Chrome and Windows in an effort to lure users away from rival platforms.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
This is actually extremely impressive given the fact that Apple only sells premium (>$1000) machines. Probably 80% or more of those Lenovos are budget models with inferior screens and weak hardware.
