Apple is already winning the AI PC wars

Does anyone else out there remember the hype around how AI PCs were going to reinvigorate the PC industry? Well, they have, but it’s Apple that is seeing the benefit.

Canalys shows the pattern

This is the story within the latest Canalys data, which tells us that 14% of all PCs shipped globally in Q2 2024 were AI-capable – and that Apple’s already AI-capable Macs grabbed 60% of that chunk.

An estimated 8.8 million AI-capable PCs shipped during the period. Canalys defines these devices as “desktops and notebooks that include a chipset or block for dedicated AI workloads, such as an NPU.”

“With its entire Mac portfolio incorporating M-series chips with the Neural Engine, Apple boasts the highest AI-capable PC shipments and share of the portfolio currently,” Canalys said.

“The announcement of Apple Intelligence, which is now in the developer beta stage in the US, brought greater clarity to AI use cases for Mac. When the features go live, they will be compatible with the vast majority of the existing Mac installed base, providing Apple with rapid scaling of users’ exposure to its AI experiences.”

Windows under threat

There are several other take aways.

The first is that Window PC makers are using the move to AI as a way to drive customers to higher-priced ($800+) computers. The second is that Windows Copilot systems are now more widely available. The third is that a significant portion of existing Windows users will be upgrading their devices as part of the ongoing Windows upgrade cycle. The fourth is Crowdstrike…

“The market performance of AI-capable PCs has largely aligned with expectations and the industry remains on track to ship around 44 million units in 2024 and 103 million units in 2025, according to Canalys forecasts,” said Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys.

What the analysts didn’t say (and perhaps should) is what it means that Apple now offers highly performant systems quite capable of running AI at prices under $800 (hello Mac mini), making its AI PCs a value proposition on price, as well as everything else.

And with that in mind, as the Windows replacement cycle takes place, how plausible is it to predict Mac sales will also continue to grow as a proportion of the total PC industry, given the many other factors that mean Mac sales have grown at a higher than industry rate for years now. I think this is what is going to happen.

Furthermore, if you need a full scale, mobile, tablet, computer AI service, Apple is now the only game in town. And its future Mac sales are going to reflect this reality.

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