Apple’s M1 processor line is a big deal and good for sales, according to a report from Canalys. As Windows Central first reported, PC sales overall have grown in both 2020 and 2021. According to the report, PC sales last year were “15% higher than last year, 27% higher than 2019, and the largest shipment total since 2012.”
Apple far and away had the largest gains percentage-wise. Annual growth came in at 28%, and the company shipped 7.8 million units in 2021. While Apple’s growth is impressive, it still has a comparably small market share compared to its competitors. Though Lenovo and HP’s market share fell overall, they still make up a combined 45.8% of the market and shipped over 153.3 million units.
Source: Canalys
A 28% jump in one year is still impressive, though. Part of that massive growth is no doubt thanks to the popularity of the M1 series processors. The buzz around M1 in 2020 was massive, and the releases of the redesigned iMac and overhauled MacBook Pros definitely contributed to that growth.
Even in a market where all computer sales went up, Apple still handily outperformed its competitors. Lenovo, the largest in terms of market share, only had a 13.1% increase over 2020, and HP only went up 9.5%. Of course, that “only” is in the context of huge growth for all of them. Dell led the way in Windows-based PC growth with 18% year-over-year growth.
Even with the unprecedented growth, Apple only makes up 8.5% of the market.
The report covers all sales of PCs, including desktops and notebooks, and it has some pretty interesting data. For one, individuals owning more than one PC is becoming the norm in more developed markets, and the market is becoming more saturated as younger and older consumers get their hands on PCs.
As Ishan Dutt, a Canalys Senior Analyst, said:
“Taking a long-term view, the most important developments in 2021 were the large increases in PC penetration and usage rates. PCs are now in the hands of both young students and older family members, while ownership of two or more PCs per person has become more common in developed markets. Since the onset of the pandemic, a larger than normal proportion of PCs shipped have been new additions to the installed base rather than replacement devices, especially in areas such as education and remote work.”
It will be interesting to see how PC sales continue in 2022 as the silicon shortage gets shorted out and more components and devices are more readily available.