The global PC market contracted by 4.9% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, according to preliminary IDC data. Vendors shipped 68.2 million devices, down from 71.7 million a year earlier. This was the first decline after nine consecutive quarters of growth, with analysts pointing to memory shortages, higher component prices and unstable supply chains.
Manufacturers are trying to offset weaker demand by raising prices. IDC research director Jitesh Ubrani said the market now shows a clear gap between unit shipments and revenue: volumes are falling, but sales value is rising because prices are increasing faster than demand is declining. Analysts do not expect meaningful relief from the memory shortage before early 2028. That could push the market lower in the second half of 2026 and bring another round of price increases in 2027.
Lenovo remained the market leader with 16.6 million PCs shipped, 2.1% fewer than a year earlier. HP shipped 13 million units, down 9%, while Dell fell 5% to 9.3 million. ASUS stayed close to last year's level with 5 million PCs. Combined shipments from all other manufacturers dropped 10.5% to 17.5 million units.
Apple was the only major vendor to post clear growth. The company increased Mac shipments by 10.1% to 6.7 million units, lifting its share to 9.9%. Demand for newer models, including the MacBook Neo, remained strong despite rising memory and component costs. Apple's result shows that individual products can still perform well when buyers see them as good value.
The outlook is more difficult for x86 PC makers. Dell, HP, Lenovo and ASUS are preparing laptops based on Intel Core Series 3 Wildcat Lake processors and updated AMD platforms, but many models remain scarce in retail and their pricing is not especially attractive. If the memory shortage lasts until 2028, simply waiting for the market to recover may prove risky: manufacturers will need tighter control over pricing and supply, along with more convincing products.