The new M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chipsets were accompanied by a host of Macs that included both desktop and portable machines. Apple made some key decisions regarding its approach to a somewhat competitive pricing structure and hardware specifications with the latest launch. However, given that these releases did not happen in the third quarter, it is still refreshing to see that the company experienced a convincing shipment growth in the third quarter of this year. According to the latest data, Apple saw a 13 percent year-over-year increase, becoming the second-largest PC vendor during this period.
Acer was the winner out of all the PC vendors for the Q3 2024 period, as it saw a 15.6 percent shipments increase compared to the same quarter a year ago
As reported by Canalys, Acer, Apple, and Lenovo were the top PC vendors for Q3 2024 in the U.S. market. With its 13 percent shipment growth, the California-based giant now has a 15.8 percent market share for the desktop and notebook category, which is an impressive figure, considering that the majority of Apple’s machines are on the expensive side. This year, two of the biggest changes that the company introduced were in the M4 Mac mini, and these improvements should be reflected positively when the Q4 2024 figures arrive.
Featuring a redesign that makes the computer significantly more compact than the previous iteration, Apple stamped an unbelievable $599 starting price, which would give you a new SoC with a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 16GB of unified RAM, and a 256GB SSD. In terms of value, no other computer can compete with the M4 Mac mini in ‘price to performance’ at this time, and for those complaining that Apple charges a hefty premium when bumping up the RAM and storage, Amazon has discounted the 512GB storage model by $100, bringing its price down to just $699.
The same approach was followed with the M4 MacBook Pro, as it, too, features a lower price tag and upgraded internals. At the time of writing, the base model with 16GB unified RAM and 512GB storage is going for just $1,399 after a $200 discount. However, even at $1,599, the portable Mac commanded better value as Apple not only reduced the starting price but doubled the RAM count and storage compared to the M3 models. We are confident that Apple listened to various customer complaints and made the necessary adjustments.
Looking at what we were greeted by in the fourth quarter, it will not be surprising to see Canalys post increased growth figures from Apple’s side because the latest lineup now targets a larger customer base rather than concentrating on just the affluent people.
News Source: Canalys
