The coronavirus and the new, stay-at-home economy have been a boon for tech companies, including Apple.
The tech giant is expected to set a new record in 2021 for MacBook sales, increasing by 10 percent to 17.1 million computers shipped, Cult of Mac reported Wednesday (Dec. 30), citing data from Finaria.
That is on top a big surge in MacBook sales in 2020, which, when the numbers are all tallied, are expected to reach 15.5 million units for a 23 percent increase year-over-year, the report says.
In fact, demand for personal computers has been strong across the board in 2020, with manufacturers now months behind in filling new orders. The pandemic fueled demand as schools switched to remote learning at the same time companies shifted to remote workforces.
Helping drive sales higher has been Apple’s release in November of new Mac models carrying tech company’s new Apple Silicon M1 processor.
Apple’s new homegrown processors will replace Intel x86 CPUs, which will cut back on power consumption while at the same time extending the battery life of the new MacBook, according to reports.
Apple’s new M1 processor is also expected to have faster processing power as well, according to the report.
Apple’s expected MacBook sales surge in 2021 will also likely significantly outpace the industry as well, with global notebook computer shipments set to rise just under 2 percent in 2021.
A November report in TrendForce on the expected increase in MacBook sales cited performance, saying, “At the moment, 13.3-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are the only products equipped with M1. The Apple Silicon M series processors are expected to see integration in 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros starting next year. As Apple integrates the Apple Silicon M series of processors across various product ranges, and the processor’s performance improves, consumer demand for MacBooks is expected to remain strong in the future.”
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