Is the PC dead? – sales of PCs vs Macs – PC Mac sales – Do people buy more Macs than PCs?

Macs sell more than PCs, right?  Before answering this question, we most appreciate the volume of different PC manufacturers there are for consumers versus just one being Apple.  Apple is still one little guy against the world.  Macs are made just on Apple supported computers unlike Windows that are installed on Dell, Sony, HP, Lenovo, IBM, Gateway, Toshiba, Asus, Acer, and more.  So, it’s really not a fair fight.

That being said, let’s forge on and check out the tale of the tape here.  A market analyst firm, Asymco, has not seen such a PC sales decline since the 1990s.  The chart above doesn’t even take into account any iPad or iPhone sales which is really extraordinary.  If we dissect this chart, you’ll see that the PC was dominant in 2004.  Windows XP was released in 2001 so that wasn’t the push.  What is striking in 2004 is that Apple support first introduced the iMac G5.  Were Windows service customers not impressed?  I think the real ingredient for PC success here was the drop in desktop prices that helped accelerate sales.

Do more people buy Macs than PCs?  By mid-2012, the market share is at almost 12% for Macs.  HP is the leader at 23% and then Dell at 22%.  I’m actually surprised Apple hasn’t taken over Dell or HP yet.  It’s pretty incredible they just have half of their market share.  But, then again, these PC support manufacturers had a foot in the industry before Apple did.  Also, we have to note that Apple has been a sales machine the last few years due to its iPhone and iPads which are not counted towards the PC market share calculations.

So, on a manufacturer level (i.e. Dell vs. Apple) and operating system level (Mac vs. Windows (Dell, HP, IBM, and all computers installed with Windows), the PC still rules according to the numbers.  But, the rise of iOS devices, such as iPhones, iPads, and iPods are knocking on the door and will continue to push consumers to buy those products.

I believe Apple, or at least Steve Jobs, was a visionary and a shape-shifter in the computer service industry, seeing that tablets and touch-screen devices is where the future is headed.  There may be a day when tablets, or iPads, will replace laptops.  When that day comes, Apple will be the real ruler of the PC land.  Then, its Apple TV and the rest of home devices will all be interconnected and it will be hard not to consider going fully Mac on all platforms.