Mac Hits Market Share Milestone in U.S. (What Post-PC Era?)

Four years ago, the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs famously predicted that the computing industry was entering a post-PC era in which handheld devices would take over tasks once reserved for desktops or laptops.

That forecast appears to be coming true — though the Mac is more than holding its own in an anemic global computer market, based on the latest numbers from researcher the International Data Corp.

Apple’s Macs now enjoy their highest-ever market share in the United States, according to IDC’s third-quarter report: The Mac is the third-largest PC seller in the U.S., with a 13 percent share.

IDC Senior Analyst Jay Chou said the Apple has been showing steady momentum as consumers grow more comfortable with Apple’s products. Price cuts on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops also helped spur sales.

As recently as the 2012 holiday quarter, Apple’s share of the PC market was below 10 percent, he said.

Apple still trails domestic-market leader Hewlett-Packard, with a 28 percent share of the PC market in the U.S., and second-place Dell, with a 24 percent share.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook trumpeted the performance of the Mac during the company’s September quarter earnings call. He told Wall Street that Mac desktops and laptops set a quarterly sales record, and saw 18 percent revenue growth from a year earlier.

“We’re especially proud of our Mac results considering the overall contraction of the global PC market this year,” Cook said during the investor call. “And we achieved our highest quarterly market share since 1995.”

The company reported it sold 5.5 million Macs, an increase of almost a million over last year, thanks to a strong back-to-school season for the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The Mac saw a double-digit increase across most markets around the world, with sales especially strong in the emerging markets.

Apple has been gaining market share for 33 of the last 34 quarters.

IDC’s Chou said Apple has managed to carve out a premium niche at a time when the U.S. PC market has seen modest growth thanks to the popularity of inexpensive computing devices like the Google Chromebook, several of which retail for less than $300.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via