Macs fell less than the PC market in Q3, but prices are staying high
IDC says Mac shipments fell 11.3% in Q3 2026 as the PC market dropped 20.1%, and expects prices to stay elevated.
Industry · Macfolio · 9 October 2026
IDC's preliminary figures, published October 8, put worldwide PC shipments at 62.7 million units in the third quarter of 2026. That is down 20.1% from 78.5 million a year earlier and 9.1% below the second quarter. It is the second yearly decline in a row and far deeper than the 3.8% drop in Q2. IDC's chart above shows the usual third-quarter lift failing to appear.
Where Apple landed
- Apple: 5.9 million Macs, down 11.3% from 6.7 million
- Apple share: 9.5%, up from 8.5%, still fourth
- Lenovo: 14.9 million, down 22.6%
- HP Inc: 10.3 million, down 30.9%
- Dell Technologies: 7.6 million, down 25.0%
- ASUS: 5.5 million, down 8.6%
IDC blames inventory that vendors and channels bought early in the year to get ahead of memory-driven price hikes, plus ongoing supply constraints and higher prices it links to the AI data center build-out. Lenovo, HP, and Dell together gave up 4.2 points of share.
This does not mean demand for Macs grew. Apple shipped fewer Macs; it simply lost less ground than the three largest vendors, and ASUS fell less than Apple did.
What it means for hardware budgets
IDC research director Jitesh Ubrani said channels worried about carrying too much inventory could run promotions, "but we don't expect pricing anywhere near what it was a year ago." IDC's outlook adds that prices will stay well above year-ago levels.
That matters most to small studios and IT teams with Macs due for replacement. Waiting for prices to fall back is not a plan IDC's numbers support.
Our take: if a refresh is already budgeted, take a good channel deal when one appears, but set 2027 budgets on the assumption that today's higher prices stick. Buying on a schedule is likely to beat waiting for a drop IDC does not expect.
These are preliminary tracker estimates, not figures reported by Apple, and IDC rounds them. Shipments count units sent to distribution channels as well as to end users, so they are not the same as sales. IDC also warns that weaker economic conditions could darken the outlook for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. Apple's own quarterly results will give a firmer read on Mac sales.