IDC is out with a new report detailing PC shipments for the holiday quarter. Here’s how Apple did compared with the rest of the market.
However, Apple’s shipments outpaced the market in 2025
According to IDC’s preliminary report, the PC market grew 9.6% year-over-year last quarter, with a total of 76.4 million units shipped.
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) accounted for the strongest growth at 14% year-over-year, followed by the Asia-Pacific (AP) region with 12%, and the Americas with 4%.
This was the first quarter since Q3 2024 that the EMEA region led the pack, and the third consecutive quarter that the Americas trailed behind all other regions.
IDC says that memory shortages contributed to last quarter’s strong shipment numbers, as they “led buyers and brands to secure inventory ahead of anticipated price increases in 2026.”
Still on memory shortages, Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said that IDC expects this to keep affecting and reshaping the industry over the coming years:
“Large consumer electronics brands are well positioned to leverage their scale and memory allocations to capture shares from smaller and regional vendors. However, the severity of the shortage raises the risk that smaller brands may not survive, and consumers, particularly DIY enthusiasts, may delay purchases or shift their spending to other devices or experiences.”
As for Apple, the report says the company shipped 7.1 million units last quarter, the same total as in Q4 2024. Despite flat shipments, Apple’s market share slipped from 10.2% to 9.3%, as the broader market expanded 9.6% year over year.
On the other hand, IDC also released full-year figures for 2025, during which the PC market saw an 8.1% shipment increase. Apple outpaced the market, achieving 11.1% growth and shipping 25.6 million units. That was still behind Lenovo at 14.5%, and ASUS at 13.4%.
For the year, IDC noted that the end of Windows 10 support and early-year tariff concerns contributed to a rise in demand.
As for what to expect for 2026, here’s Jean Philippe Bouchard, research vice-president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers:
“IDC expects that the PC market will be far different in 12 months given how quickly the memory situation is evolving. […] Beyond the obvious pressure on prices of systems, already announced by certain manufacturers, we might also see PC memory specifications be lowered on average to preserve memory inventory on hand. The year ahead is shaping up to be extremely volatile.”
Did you get a new Mac this year? Let us know in the comments.
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