PC makers are not only facing a global memory shortage – resulting in rising prices for not only RAM, but other chip and components – they’re also facing pressure on the low-end of the PC market from Apple’s MacBook Neo.
Market research firm IDC has released its Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, and the firm expects to see conditions get more dire for PC maker through the rest of 2026, with PC shipments projected to plunge 20% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. The PC makers are struggling to maintain their broad product lineups, as they are having the squeeze put on them by rising RAM costs and price hikes and shortages for other components. IDC forecasts an overall 11.3% decline in global shipments for 2026. The firm doesn’t expect to see any relief for the industry until late 2027.
While there was a slight 3% sales bump in the first quarter of this year, that increase turned out to be providing false hope, as it turned out to be due to consumers and business buyers buying a bit earlier than usual, as they wanted to stay ahead of price hikes and supply shortages.
While second quarter numbers are showing a bit of momentum from the first quarter’s bump, IDC expects to see the last two quarters of 2026 show slipping numbers. This is due to rising costs, resulting in higher retail prices. The rising costs of RAM, CPUs, and other components are expected by some to raise laptop prices by as much as 40%
While Apple has also been forced to deal with the pressures brought on by the global memory shortage, as it has been forced to restrict supplies of its Mac mini and Mac Studio models, the company is the lone bright spot in the PC market’s downhill slide, thanks to its recently-introduced MacBook Neo. The $599 Mac notebook has proven to be even more popular than Apple had expected, and is driving better-yhan-expected notebook demand.
The MacBook Neo launched in March with a base price of $599. That buys a 256GB SSD, 8GB of memory, and the A18 Pro chip, which was previously used in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The model allows Apple to target the sub-$700 notebook tier, a niche that the company had previously ignored, leaving it to be dominated by the cheap, plastic, and mostly disposable Windows and ChromeOS manufacturers.
IDC says the MacBook Neo is “putting real pressure on the entire PC ecosystem,” and expects rivals to respond with new silicon, more efficient operating systems, and loss-leader promotional pricing. The Neo has also forced PC makers to continue to offer some of their low-priced notebook options to hold on to their dwindling share of the market, even as rising costs push retail prices ever higher.
