On the same day, two big companies that track the computer market released reports about how many Macs were shipped in the last 3 months of 2023. But the reports had very different results.
One company, called Canalys, said Mac shipments grew by 9.3% compared to the same time last year. They estimate that 6.5 million Macs were shipped. This would give Apple a 10.1% share of the overall computer market.
However, another company called IDC said Mac shipments actually fell by 18.4% compared to last year. They reported a lower number of 5.7 million Mac shipped. This works out to 8.5% of the computer market.
The reports also disagreed on how the whole computer market did. Canalys said shipments of laptops and desktops together grew slightly by 3%. However, IDC reported an overall decline of 2.7%.
Both companies use different methods like surveying stores and companies to come up with their numbers. It can be hard to track Apple accurately since they sell directly too. The lines are also blurring as some devices can be laptops or tablets.
While the reports conflict, they agree that the computer market has stopped shrinking and will likely start growing again this year. We’ll have to wait until February 1st to get a clearer picture of when Apple announces its earnings and shares Mac sales data.
Only time will tell which one was closer until Apple provides its own data later this month.
