End of Windows 10 support: Will Apple benefit from corporate customers?
Apple's computer market share in North America is increasing. The reason for this may be that companies are replacing PCs with Macs – because of Microsoft.
Illustration of a mixture of Apple and Windows logos: Apple can gain market share.
(Image: Erstellt mit Midjourney durch Mac & i)
In October, Microsoft officially stops support for Windows 10, making older computers that no longer support newer operating system versions virtually e-waste unless you switch to Linux or other alternatives to continue receiving (security) updates. In the US, this now seems to be having an interesting effect for Apple, as the latest figures from market research company Canalys for the fourth quarter of 2024 show: Apple had a decent boost in Mac sales. There is now speculation whether corporate customers are not using the Windows 10 outage to switch to a new platform. After all, Apple has been making efforts in the enterprise sector for years.
26 percent growth – well above the overall market
While the overall PC market excluding tablets only grew by 6 percent in the fourth quarter in the United States, Apple managed to achieve growth of a whopping 26 percent compared to the previous year. According to Canalys, this equates to more than three million computers sold. "The Windows refresh cycle provides Apple with fertile ground to target both consumers and businesses that may be open to switching operating systems," the market researchers write.
Many of the management and compatibility issues that have traditionally plagued Macs have now been addressed by Apple. "In addition, more competitive pricing and an overhaul of the channel partner program [by the company] later this year." Accordingly, the Mac market share could continue to grow in 2025, although the overall PC market is only expected to grow by 2 percent this year thanks to the Trump administration's tariffs, according to Canalys.
Apple now in 3rd place in the US market charts
In terms of overall US market share, Apple landed in third place in the fourth quarter of 2024 with 17.1%, overtaking Lenovo. In the fourth quarter of 2023, it had a market share of just 14.4 percent. HP remains the market leader with 25.5 percent, followed by Dell with 20.8 percent. Both recorded declines in market share (by 3.6 and 2.4 percent respectively).
Another positive factor for Apple in its home market could be that the company is once again increasingly focusing on US production. TSMC in Arizona (also) builds SoCs for Apple and at least some Mac models could (again) be produced in the USA. This was previously the case with the Mac Pro, for example. Apple has promised the Trump government billions in investments.
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