IDC has today published its latest report concerning the PC market, and once again, it shows Apple outpacing the rest of the industry, albeit at a slightly slower pace this time around. According to the data, Apple saw its total market share increase during the first quarter of 2016, though it actually saw total sales fall year-over-year.
The report says that total PC shipments worldwide hit 60.6 million during the first quarter of 2016, which is a decline of 11.5 percent year-over-year. This is a slightly worse drop than analyst predictions of 11.3 percent. Specifically in the United States, shipments fell 5.8 percent to 13.6 million units.
In terms of Apple specifically, the company saw shipments rise 5.6 percent year-over-year to 1.8 million in the United States, although its global shipments fell 2.6 percent year-over-year. Despite global shipments falling, however, Apple gained in terms of market share, increasing its share to 7.4 percent worldwide to 13 percent in the United States.
With it now holding 7.4 percent of the worldwide PC market, Apple is now the holds the fourth spot in the industry as it continues to outpace the rest of the market, despite its annual decline in worldwide shipments.
Apple is expected to introduce a refreshed Mac lineup at some point in the near future, although specific details are unclear. In the most recent OS X Server build, there were references to an “early 2016 12-inch MacBook,” though Apple has made no official announcements regarding its Mac lineup yet. Some rumors have suggested Apple will work to make the rest of the MacBook lineup much thinner, while the 12-inch MacBook will get an under-the-hood refresh.
Last month, IDC predicted that Apple Watch will lead the smartwatch market through 2020, while noting that Android Wear was starting to close the gap. In 2020, IDC expects Apple Watch will sell 31 million units for 37.6% of the market while it estimates Android Wear to sell 28 million units and grab 35% market share.
