It’s an achievement that would have been laughable to even suggest only a few short years ago.
Apple is poised to replace Microsoft in a category that it has dominated for as long as it has existed. Nonetheless, Apple will soon surpass Windows in global personal computing units sold annually.
As consumers increasingly pick mobile devices over traditional desktop PCs, Apple has gained an immense advantage over its longtime tech rival.
“In Q4,” says analyst Benedict Evans, “Apple sold 75 million iOS devices and 4.1 million Macs. Most estimates of total PC (including Mac) sales in the same period were around 90 million. In other words, Apple is now (in peak quarters) selling as many computing devices as Windows. This trend is not going to change.”
Apple’s quarterly unit sales have already approached 90 percent of Microsoft’s. Before long, Apple’s numbers will be firmly in control.
“Almost as interesting as this milestone is how, well, boring and predictable it feels,” Evans writes. “That war was over a long time ago.
