Apple’s Macs are powering the PC market’s recovery

Maybe the forced Windows upgrades are to blame. Perhaps it’s the bad karma created by the Crowdstrike debacle. Or possibly, computer users have finally become convinced by Apple.

Whatever the reason, it’s Apple’s Macs that are driving — and winning — the PC sales rebound, according to the latest Canalys data.

Coming as it does on top of news that 88% of US teenagers are using iPhones, the data paints a pretty enough picture for Apple management to feel faintly confident that, despite all the outrageous economic fortune being slung hither and thither in its direction, like arrows from a bow, the company is in a pretty strong position for the coming decade of transformation and change. 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

After all, no matter how difficult those changes will be, it is at least likely that a lot of the computing will take place on devices Apple makes — including those next-generation folding iPhones, iPads, and spatial computing glasses the company’s product designers are tinkering with. As well as Apple Intelligence, I suppose. 

Stepping back from the hyperbole, what does the Canalys data show? 

Worldwide desktop and notebook shipments climbed 9.4% in the first quarter of 2025.

Apple’s desktop and notebook shipments increased 22.1%, giving it a 10.4% share of the global PC industry. 

Lenovo was the closest rival with 10.7% growth, while Dell experienced a 3% uptick.

The percentages are one thing and the truth remains that 89.6% of all the 62.75 million desktops and notebooks sold in the quarter weren’t made by Apple. But 6.54 million were – and this direction of travel’s going to mean a lot more as consumers realize that while they may have just spent all their spare cash on Apple products to avoid the tariff/not tariff threat, many are going to have to spend even more once they realize their Windows 10 PCs are end of life.

Under pressure

That last fact is coming like a cold bath on a cold day to a lot of people, according to Canalys — 14% of small and mid-sized businesses don’t even realize Windows 10 support ends in October. Another 21% know the time is nigh, but have no upgrade plans. 

In other words, around a third of the world’s Windows systems in use today could be left un-upgraded, and if left in that state will become more and more vulnerable, one new exploit at a time. 

Given the evident political tension globally at this time, you can bet your remaining tariff-avoidance dollar that hackers, adversaries, criminals, and other miscreants will be knocking at the Windows perimeters looking to exploit those machines. Have you heard the phrase, “An Accident Waiting to Happen”?

Let’s dance

That’s a happy accident for Apple, of course. Even with tariffs, Macs have never looked better. Faster than ever, more computationally powerful, using far less energy, and even capable of running on-premises generative AI tools, they are tempting anyone seeking a new PC; the Canalys data proves it. That data shows that Apple’s Mac sales account for a yuge chunk of PC recovery sales, a direct reflection of the truth that PC purchasers see the platform as viable.

The end-of-life for Windows 10 will drive even more in the same direction.

As Canalys Principal Analyst Ishan Dutt points out, this in conjunction with tariffs means those who delay plans to upgrade to secure systems are “likely to face a higher cost environment when the time comes to refresh their PC fleets.”

Given that, and with so much of the PC industry component supply chain likely to be affected by tariffs, at what point will Apple’s systems look cheap — particularly as Apple has a head start on some of the work to diversify its manufacturing base? 

Heroes

Now I’m off to play with the Mac Studio I’m testing. I am attempting to install webAI on it. It’s so impressive it reminds me of Douglas Adams and his computer, “Deep Thought.” Did you know Adams owned the first ever Mac sold in Europe? I think he’d be impressed, too.

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Source:: Computer World