Demand for Apple computers has dropped 40% since last year

Apple has seen dropping PC sales this year. Jim WATSON / AFP

• A recent International Data Corporation report outlined global PC shipment data from Q1 of this year.
• Demand has dropped across the industry, with a 29% decrease compared to last year.
• Apple, in particular, has suffered from a 40.5% drop off in demand for its computers.

People are buying up fewer Apple computers as demand for PCs has moved away from COVID-era highs.

According to a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), the global shipments of PC devices dropped 29% in the first quarter of 2023, when compared to the same period last year.

Among the five biggest manufacturers, Apple was impacted the most: The number of Apple PCs shipped dropped 40.5% from the first quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023.

Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Asus experienced similar levels of decline, ranging from 24.2% to 30.3%. 

The data compiled by the IDC draws from more than 90 countries around the world. Global shipments include shipments to end users and distribution channels, like BestBuy and other electronics retailers.

This report speaks to a reversal from 2021, when demand for personal computing surged amidst the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supply chain issues that plagued electronic manufacturers two years ago did not play a role in waning demand. In fact, there has been excess inventory.

Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC, noted in the report that despite "heavy discounting" and sale pricing, PC-makers could expect this excess supply to "persist into the middle of the year and potentially into the the third quarter." 

Global shipment volume is now bearing more resemblance to pre-COVID levels. During the first quarter of 2023, 56.9 million units were moved, compared to the 59.2 million and 60.6 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2019 and 2018, respectively. 

Linn Huang, a research vice president at IDC, made a prediction that demand in 2024 would be tied to the general wellbeing of the economy, stating that if it's trending upward then we can "expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11."