The initiation of a current market study should soon be viewed with caution after this week’s events. It said Apple’s “stable pricing” led to increasing market share in the largest hardware segments. This was certainly confirmed until a few days ago, as many competitors increased their prices much earlier and in some cases significantly more. However, Apple was able to take a little more time here. Since the company operates almost exclusively in premium sectors with particularly high margins, it has larger buffers. However, the storage crisis has particularly drastic consequences for products in the low to medium price segment. Difficult market situation – when stagnation is a success
The record values forecast by Counterpoint for 2026 are therefore partly the result of an unusual market situation. Apple doesn’t even have to grow particularly quickly to gain significant market share. Even stagnation would be more than many other manufacturers can show – that is exactly the expectation for this year’s iPhone sales.
MacBook Neo as a hit
Things are currently looking particularly good for Apple’s notebooks – the number of units worldwide is reportedly increasing by 23 percent, while the overall market is shrinking. A key factor is the MacBook Neo, which is no longer offered quite so cheaply, but remains aggressively priced compared to the market environment.
iPad and Apple Watch
In the tablet market, Counterpoint expects its share to increase from 35 to 39 percent. A comparatively up-to-date iPad portfolio that covers several price and performance classes contributes to this. At the same time, other manufacturers are coming under much greater pressure because, according to Counterpoint, tablet buyers are particularly price sensitive. The Apple Watch also performed successfully and improved from 20 to 23 percent. This market sector is currently relatively unaffected by developments in the memory market; intelligent watches usually only have very little internal memory.
