According to IDC, Apple’s PC market share (those are Macs, or Macintoshes as we old-timers call them) is now at 10.6 percent, nudging Acer from the number three spot in the US. As Engadget reports, “Two million Mac shipments during the period represented an increase of 24.1 percent relative to last year, while the overall PC market turned in a somewhat morose 3.8 percent growth.” Bear in mind that Fortune suggested this week that Apple may ship four million Macs in Q4. That’s exuberant growth for a platform some called dead a decade ago.
Gartner released numbers showing Acer was still barely in the third spot, but either way, what you’re seeing is Mac growth outpacing other PCs by healthy margins. The profit margins for each Mac, likely the best in the business, are helping line Apple’s coffers as well. While HP still holds a comfy lead at the top, I’d say they are lucky to sell in volume — there’s little doubt that Apple makes more per Mac sold.
This is good news for all Apple fans, although one wonders if increasing market share will lead to more attacks by malware developers. Apple has always compared their market share to BMW and Mercedes, so I don’t see them worrying about being number one any time soon. At least not while they still have a commanding lead in MP3 players and a sizable chunk of the smartphone market.
Apple is the third largest PC vendor in the US originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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