Gartner adds their Mac Q1 estimate to the pile
by Horace Dediu
Historic growth?
The Omdia research group says Mac sales grew 10.7% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, while the IDC research system says the growth was 9.1%. Now Gartner says Mac sales grew 12.7% year-over-year.
This research group says Apple sold approximately 6.7 million Macs in the first quarter of 2026 for 10.6% global market share. That compares to sales of 5.9 million Macs and 9.8% market share in the first quarter of 2025.
Apple remains in fourth place among worldwide PC vendors. Ahead of it are Lenovo (26.5% market share), HP (19.3% market share), and Dell (10.6% market share). Note that none of the research groups count tablets, even the iPad Pro, as PCs.
“Apple grew 12.7% year-over-year, which was the largest jump among the major vendors and resulted in a 0.8% increase in market share,” said Rishi Padhi, research principal at Gartner. “This performance was primarily driven by robust demand for the MacBook Neo, particularly among new Mac users and buyers in the education sector. This strategic positioning enabled Apple to attract cost-conscious consumers seeking high-performance devices, further solidifying its competitive advantage in the segment.”
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 62.8 million units in the first quarter of 2026, a 4% increase from the first quarter of 2025, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.
Source: MacTech.com
NB: I have historically tracked Gartner's estimates.
Not necessarily because they are the most accurate--accuracy cannot be determined--but because Gartner has the broadest history and I can review it for decades.
The quarter is shaping up to be quite astonishing for the Mac, whether it's 9% or 13% growth. It has potential to continue.
2 comments
Sacto Joe ·
That's a huge spread and indicates to me that, like most analysts, statisticians are shooting behind Apple's actual path. Don't know if the data is available, but it would be interesting to see how the various statistical data tracks to what has actually happened.
Of course, the past data for Apple ended several years ago, but it should be able to plot that against income and margin changes for the various segments.
deemery ·
Seems to me, based on my anecdotal experience, that the -quality ranking- would be Apple, then Lenovo, then Dell, and HP last. I wonder about average selling price for those 4 brands, and consumer sales vs business sales.
Generally, my observation over the last 30 years was that, if people had their choice, they'd pick Apple or Lenovo for quality, and be OK if the corporation handed them a Dell. I wonder how much -demand- there is for HP, versus 'that's what the company got at the best price and I didn't get a choice.'