Apple was the best-performing major computer company during the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, even though the global PC market experienced a noticeable decline. While most leading PC brands shipped fewer computers compared to last year, Apple managed to increase both its Mac shipments and its market share.
According to a new report from market research firm IDC, Apple shipped 6.7 million Mac computers during the second quarter of 2026. This is a 10.1 percent increase compared to the 6.1 million Macs the company shipped during the same period in 2025. Thanks to this strong performance, Apple’s share of the global PC market increased from 8.5 percent to 9.9 percent, making it one of the biggest winners of the quarter.
Although Apple recorded the strongest growth, Lenovo remained the world’s largest PC manufacturer. The company shipped 16.6 million computers during the quarter, slightly lower than the 17 million units it shipped a year earlier. Even with fewer shipments, Lenovo’s market share increased from 23.7 percent to 24.4 percent because the overall PC market declined at a faster rate than Lenovo’s sales.
HP continued to hold the second position in the global PC market. The company shipped 13 million computers, down from 14.3 million units in the second quarter of 2025. As a result, HP’s market share also dropped from 19.9 percent to 19.1 percent.
Dell ranked third after shipping 9.3 million computers, compared with 9.8 million units during the same period last year. Like most other PC makers, Dell also experienced lower demand and reduced shipments.
Apple secured the fourth position among the world’s largest PC manufacturers, while Asus finished fifth. Asus shipped around 5 million computers during the quarter. The company recorded only a small growth of 0.2 percent, but its market share still increased slightly from 7 percent to 7.4 percent.
Overall, the global PC market had a difficult quarter. According to IDC, worldwide computer shipments fell by 4.9 percent year over year, decreasing from 71.7 million units in the second quarter of 2025 to 68.2 million units during the same period in 2026.
IDC said the biggest reason behind this decline is the ongoing global memory shortage. The shortage has increased the prices of important computer components such as RAM, SSD storage, and other hardware parts. As manufacturing costs have gone up, PC companies have been forced to increase the prices of their computers. Higher prices have made many customers delay or cancel their purchases, leading to weaker demand across the market.
Apple’s strong performance was largely driven by the popularity of the MacBook Neo, which attracted many buyers and helped the company grow while most competitors experienced declining sales. The strong demand for this new MacBook allowed Apple to gain a larger share of the global PC market.
Another reason Apple performed well is that it delayed its Mac price increases until the end of June, which was almost the end of the reporting period. This meant that most of the quarter’s sales were not affected by higher prices. Analysts believe the real impact of Apple’s price increases will become clearer when third-quarter sales figures are released.
Looking ahead, IDC expects the PC market to remain under pressure during the second half of 2026. The research firm believes the memory shortage will continue, keeping production costs high for computer manufacturers.
IDC also warned that many PC companies are preparing to raise prices further, and these higher prices could continue into 2027. According to the research firm, the supply of memory chips is not expected to improve significantly before the end of next year. Until then, both manufacturers and consumers may continue to face higher prices and slower demand in the global computer market.
Despite these challenges, Apple has shown strong momentum by increasing Mac sales and expanding its market share, making it the strongest-performing major PC brand during the second quarter of 2026.
