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Canalys estimated that Apple shipped about 5.5 million Macs worldwide in the second quarter of 2024, a 6% year-on-year increase. The broader desktop-and-notebook market grew 3.4% to 62.8 million units, so Apple expanded faster than the market while remaining its fourth-largest vendor. These are analyst estimates of sell-in shipments from a historical quarter—not Apple’s fiscal-quarter revenue, retail sales, or a current 2026 growth rate.
What the 6% figure actually measures
The figure comes from Canalys PC Analysis and compares calendar Q2 2024 with Q2 2023. It measures worldwide desktop and notebook shipments into the channel, rather than completed purchases by end users. Canalys’ later reporting explicitly describes this type of data as sell-in shipments, which can include deliveries to distributors and retailers: Canalys’ Q4 2024 market report.
Apple does not normally disclose quarterly Mac unit sales by model, so the approximately 5.5 million figure is an outside estimate. It cannot be used as a direct measure of Mac revenue, profit, installed base, or customer sell-through. Nor should it be compared directly with Apple’s fiscal-quarter financial statements without accounting for the different reporting calendars.
Canalys’ Q2 2024 snapshot
| Measure | Canalys estimate |
|---|---|
| Total desktop and notebook shipments | 62.8 million units |
| Overall market growth | 3.4% year on year |
| Apple shipments | Approximately 5.5 million units |
| Apple growth | 6% year on year |
| Apple share | Approximately 9% |
| Apple ranking | Fourth among vendors |
The figures were reported from Canalys data by 9to5Mac. Apple therefore grew at nearly twice the market’s rate, but it did not lead the market in absolute shipments. Lenovo, HP, and Dell remained ahead, and a 9% share is not evidence that Windows had stopped dominating global PC volume.
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Why the PC market was recovering
Q2 2024 followed a severe PC downturn. Several forces were supporting a gradual recovery rather than a sudden structural boom:
- Replacement demand: households and organizations had delayed purchases during the downturn, creating a pool of aging devices.
- Improved inventories: manufacturers and channel partners were moving closer to normal stock levels.
- AI-PC promotions: vendors were marketing processors and systems with on-device AI capabilities.
- Windows 10’s scheduled end of support: Microsoft set October 14, 2025 as the end date, creating a potential commercial refresh cycle. Canalys identified that deadline as a demand catalyst in its later market analysis.
- A weak comparison quarter: growth rates were measured against depressed Q2 2023 shipment levels.
Canalys characterized 2024 as a stabilization and recovery year, while IDC also linked the second-quarter increase to recovery conditions and interest in AI-capable devices. Neither description means that every region or customer segment was growing equally.
What may have helped Apple
Apple silicon and the upgrade pool
Apple’s transition from Intel processors to its own Apple silicon gave the Mac line a consistent performance-per-watt and battery-life narrative, alongside on-device machine-learning capabilities. Intel-based Mac owners were a natural potential upgrade pool, although the shipment data does not identify how many buyers came from that group.
Rank #2
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Product breadth without model-level proof
The MacBook Air addresses a large mainstream laptop audience, while MacBook Pro and desktop models serve higher-performance and professional segments. Apple does not publish a quarterly model-by-model unit breakdown, so no particular Mac model can be credited with the 6% increase on the available evidence.
Premium positioning
Apple can grow faster than a recovering market without becoming a mass-market volume leader. Its pricing and ecosystem appeal tend to concentrate demand among customers who value macOS integration, battery life, and continuity with other Apple devices. Those advantages do not remove barriers such as Windows-only applications, gaming compatibility, enterprise software requirements, or procurement budgets.
Analysts did not agree on the size of Apple’s gain
IDC published a substantially different contemporaneous estimate. Its Q2 2024 analysis put the traditional PC market at 64.9 million units, up 3.0%, and estimated Apple shipments grew 20.8%: IDC’s Q2 2024 release.
Rank #3
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
| Tracker | Apple growth | Total market | Market growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canalys | 6% | 62.8 million units | 3.4% |
| IDC | 20.8% | 64.9 million units | 3.0% |
The direction is consistent: both trackers showed Apple growing faster than a recovering PC market. The magnitude is not. Different shipment databases, channel inputs, product definitions, treatment of notebooks, desktops and workstations, regional weighting, and preliminary-data revisions can produce different results. The published material does not provide a complete apples-to-apples reconciliation, so the estimates should be attributed rather than averaged or treated as interchangeable.
AI was a forward-looking factor, not a proven cause of Q2 shipments
Apple announced Apple Intelligence on June 10, 2024, but the quarter ended before those features became broadly available and before their effect could be measured. Apple Intelligence may have strengthened the future sales story and encouraged some Intel-Mac owners to consider Apple silicon, yet the Q2 shipment data cannot establish that it drove purchases.
The same distinction applies to AI-PC marketing across the industry: an AI-capable processor or feature can influence product positioning without proving why a particular customer bought a computer.
Rank #4
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
Did Apple take meaningful market share?
Under Canalys’ estimate, Apple held about 9% of worldwide shipments and ranked fourth. Growing faster than the market implies some relative share improvement mathematically, but the reported figures do not support a claim of a dramatic takeover. Under IDC’s estimate, Apple was the fastest-growing major vendor in the quarter; that stronger characterization belongs to IDC’s methodology and should not be blended with Canalys’ 6% result.
Shipment share is also different from operating-system share or installed-base share. A quarter of channel deliveries cannot show how many people switched from Windows, how long devices remain in use, or how much revenue Apple generated.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Did the quarter mark a lasting Mac boom?
Later Canalys full-year data argues for caution. Worldwide PC shipments rose 3.8% in 2024 to approximately 255.5 million units. Apple shipped about 22.8 million units for the year, up 2.0%, and retained fourth place with approximately 8.9% share. In Q4 2024, Apple shipments rose 3.1% to about 5.9 million units. The figures appear in Canalys’ full-year and Q4 report.
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- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 15.3-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
That follow-through does not erase the strong Q2 comparison, but it shows why one quarter should be described as outperformance during a recovery rather than proof of uninterrupted acceleration.
What this means for buyers and IT teams
Market growth describes vendor shipments, not whether a current computer is right for a particular user. A Mac can be a strong fit for people invested in Apple devices, seeking macOS integration and long battery life, or using software that supports macOS. Windows remains the safer choice where an organization depends on Windows-only applications, specialized peripherals, extensive PC gaming, or established enterprise-management tooling.
For a Windows-to-Mac switch, verify application support, file formats, security controls, device management, warranty coverage, and required peripherals before purchase. For businesses responding to the Windows 10 deadline, a refresh is a market-wide opportunity—not an automatic reason to move every employee to macOS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 6% figure Apple’s Mac revenue growth?
No. It is Canalys’ estimate of worldwide Mac unit shipments in calendar Q2 2024 versus Q2 2023. Revenue and Apple’s fiscal-quarter results answer different questions.
Which Apple growth estimate should readers use: 6% or 20.8%?
Both are contemporaneous tracker estimates using different data and market definitions. Canalys reported 6%; IDC reported 20.8%. The defensible conclusion is that Apple outgrew the recovering market, while the exact magnitude is uncertain.
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