Image courtesy of eWeek
Apple's PC market share may still be in the single digits in the US and worldwide, but Q1 2008 numbers continue the company's trend of respectable and sometimes explosive growth over the last few years. From Q1 2007, Apple's share grew 32.5 percent to 6.6 percent in the US, but new numbers from NPD Group offer more insight into Apple's position in the portion of the market where it choses to cater to and compete for: high-end PCs.
According to NPD's numbers recounted by Apple Watch, Apple snags a much larger share of the market when you focus on brick-and-mortar sales of "premium" PCs; desktops and notebooks that cost $1,000 or more. It is an admittedly narrow scope when you consider the big picture—a world where businesses and enterprise order cheap PCs in bulk via the web from giants like HP and Dell. Speaking of cheap PCs, retail shelves aren't exactly bursting at the seams with $1,000 boxes either. Typically, you'll find one of these premium PCs alongside at least three to five cheaper or bargain-bin brethren.
Still, in this space, Apple enjoys a 70 percent share in desktops and 64 for notebooks. Combined, that's a 66 percent ownership of the US market for premium brick-and-mortar PC sales.
To be sure, the fact that Apple only offers one computer under $1,000 (the Mac mini) helps its position in this space. If you need a full desktop or notebook setup, you can't walk out of an Apple retail store without spending more than a grand. Still, it's nice to see positive numbers like these speak for Apple's choice to stay out of the loss-leading game of bargain-bin PCs. Apple choses to build quality machines, and as far as retail shoppers who actually get to experience a Mac before buying it are concerned, that choice is paying off well.
Further Reading
- Found via Apple 2.0
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