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Microsoft Passes Acer To Become Top 5 PC Vendors In the US (venturebeat.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the top-five dept.

During the 3rd Quarter of 2018, Microsoft reportedly broke into the top five list of PC vendors in the U.S. for the first time, thanks to its line of Surface computers, laptops, and tablets. VentureBeat reports: Q3 2018 was flat; it did not continue the growth we saw in the previous quarter. Gartner estimates that worldwide PC shipments increased 0.1 percent to 67.2 million units while IDC counts a 0.9 percent decline to 67.4 million units. Gartner's top five vendors were Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, and Acer (in that order) while IDC's were Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer, and Apple (also in that order). But Gartner also provides a U.S. breakdown every quarter, and Q3 2018 was the first time that Microsoft made an appearance, displacing Acer.

Microsoft is still a far cry from the other players in the top 5, and its shipments were in fact only up slightly by 11,000 units, gaining just 0.1 percentage points (to 4.1 percent market share). Still, Dell and Apple were down, and the overall U.S. market was flat (down some 50,000 units) in Q3 2018, so in that context, Surface sales are doing just fine.

49 comments

  1. Of course by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't know about the others, but if you follow Apple's hardware releases, there is a simple reason their sales are down.

    - Four years since they barely updated the MacBook Air. Very old tech at today's prices. A minuscule CPU speed bump does not equal an update.

    - Four years since they updated the Mac mini. Very old tech at today's prices. Can't even upgrade the RAM anymore. A downgrade from the 2012 models, so six years since the last real update.

    - Three updates to a useless no-travel low profile keyboard that nobody asked for. This is the primary input method for a laptop and it got butchered because their industrial designer wanted to make the laptop one millimetre thinner. Also, they removed the function keys including the escape key for a stupid and expensive touch bar that, again, nobody asked for.

    - Mac Pro trash that nobody asked for. Real pros are asking Apple to bring back the tower Mac Pro, we'll see in a few months if Apple really ditched pros to sell toy phones and tablets instead.

    - Expensive Macbook that doesn't have enough ports to be of any use, ditched USB type A ports about five years too early. Very expensive for a low-power CPU.

    After all that bullshit, I hope nobody at Apple is questioning why Mac sales are down.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re:Of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Desktops and laptop sales are down globally. They are a big player in the mobile market, and make much more profit per device than anyone else.

    2. Re:Of course by tsqr · · Score: 2

      I have a new MacBook Pro at work. For my use case, the keyboard and touch bar are mostly irrelevant, as it's connected to a large external monitor, keyboard, and mouse; I have a large and expensive dock that turns the USB-C ports into something actually useful. Same setup at home. But on the rare occasions when I have to use it as a, you know, laptop computer, I have to say that the keyboard is one of the worst ones I've ever come across in 30 years. And the enormous trackpad - even the cheap little Dell I use for Linux has a setting that disables the trackpad while you're typing, so an accidental trackpad touch doesn't send your cursor off to God knows where.

      tl;dr: the MBP is a nice computer as long as you can keep the lid closed while you're using it.

    3. Re:Of course by dfghjk · · Score: 0

      which not only supports the claim that it's a poor notebook, but it also testifies to how bad Apple's support of the desktop is.

  2. Shipments by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

    Gartner must be talking about shipments, not sales. Microsoft isn't selling any of that Surface stuff, which is why they keep redoing the lines every six months.

    1. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah right. they are spending billions over many years on something that isn't selling. why do you find it so hard to accept that the surface line is actually very successful? hell I see more surfacebooks and surface pros than Macs in the hands of IT pros now.

    2. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      gartner and IDC don't use shipped numbers as they have no access to those, they base everything off retailer sales. Not sure why you think they aren't selling them. I see Surface devices everywhere nowadays.

    3. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would help if the OP left their dark basement on occasion

    4. Re:Shipments by Your+Average+Joe · · Score: 1

      I have not seen any surface devices, lots of Mac's and iPads. Your mileage may vary. This is the same company that blew close to 22 billion on Nokia, $2 billion on Kin phone and is finding that they have to give 12 months of Cloud/Clown services to get users hooked on the subscription. All those corporate enterprise licenses get counted as clown sales even if the end users are banned from storing company documents in the clown.

      Sometimes we only get the statistics that skew the appearance of a subject.

      Heck I bet during the Ford Pinto years there were tons of propaganda on how great the car was, how well it was selling and how safe it was...

      --
      Your Average Joe
    5. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      really? I almost never see ipads in the enterprises I work at anymore, pretty much they are a pointless device nowadays with so many good lightweight laptops or hybrid machines. still see a good assortment of Mac pros, loads of HP elitebooks and a good smattering of surfaces.

    6. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdotters falling into the common pattern:

      First they ignore you, then they fight you, then you win.

      Microsoft, no matter how you feel about them, are certainly adaptable.

    7. Re: Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too funny

    8. Re:Shipments by David_Hart · · Score: 1

      I have a personal Surface Pro 4 tablet and use for work and personal travel. Rarely do I take it with me around town because most of the time my cell phone and Kindle do just fine.

      For work travel, I use it as a second screen for my work laptop using a j5create USB 3.0 wormhole switch USB cable. When I am involved in a network refresh at a remote site, it's nice to have a second monitor, especially for new sites that have no monitors that I can borrow.

      For personal travel, I use it to access travel information, surf the internet, and to backup photos.

      The Surface Pro tablets are relatively expensive compared to an Apple iPad, which limits sales to people who are willing to spend the money (i.e. business users). Also, until recently, you couldn't get a Surface Pro tablet with LTE. And iPads have been around a lot longer.

      Basically, just because you haven't seen a lot of Surface devices doen't mean that they aren't selling well. It's like me saying that I see a lot more people on cell phones than iPads. It doesn't mean that iPads aren't selling, it just means that cell phones are more portable.

    9. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gartner must be talking about shipments, not sales. Microsoft isn't selling any of that Surface stuff, which is why they keep redoing the lines every six months.

      Yeah that must also be the reason Apple is refreshing it's iPhones every 12 months too, they just aren't selling. But at least this year is the Year of the Linux Desktop ::rollseyes::

    10. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the only 'surface' i've seen was an 'RT' one someone had me look at. not only was it slow as fuck, but it couldn't even run anything (that the user wanted to).

    11. Re:Shipments by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      Really? Cuz I've been seeing tons of Surfaces, specially in the SMB and medical markets, hell even my local hospital is running Surface units across the board and that place usually takes 3 damn forevers to update anything and still had XP units damn near to the release of 8.1. The reason why they are all grabbing surface is simple, all that third party Windows only software from the diagnostic tools to the billing software all run on Windows, not Apple or Android.

      Never underestimate the power of Windows X86 lock in, they weren't competitive before because they really didn't have any products in a tablet form factor that were any good or decently priced but these new Surface units are light and affordable and ez pz for your average nurse of line worker to just carry around tapping in data. Hell I just got done setting up a bunch of Wifi extenders for a doctor that got tired of trying to get all the software her office needs running on iPads so she just shitcanned the whole bunch, now everyone from the receptionist to the RNs to the doc herself are all carrying Surface units and all her software "just works".

      There is literally millions of highly specialized programs that simply do not run on any other OS and if MSFT keeps down this route of making them easy to use and affordable? I can see a lot of the companies that sell these programs just telling customers "just get a Surface" instead of wasting all the time and money trying to port and I can't say I blame 'em, as they really are nice light responsive little things and gave me a better experience than the last time I messed with an Android tablet.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    12. Re: Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Adaptable... haha. More like they use their enormous bank balance to keep throwing shit at the wall until it sticks or they get bored and move into something else.

    13. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly this. Who the hell uses macos crap in the real world.
      Its a joke.

    14. Re:Shipments by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 3, Funny

      As people have been pointing out since the Microsoft Mouse, MS do pretty good hardware. If only they'd stick to that, their strong point, rather than trying to do software as well, which they really aren't that good at.

    15. Re: Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That is in fact a way to adapt.

    16. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As people have been pointing out since the MS mouse, MS makes crap hardware. With their monopoly power, they assuredly could leverage better than sixth place with even mediocre kit. Their kit is crap and only lauded by paid shills.

    17. Re:Shipments by Notabadguy · · Score: 1

      My company issues Surface tablets instead of laptops these days.

    18. Re: Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Thats called innovation. Something apple claims but never achieves

    19. Re:Shipments by jeauxkewl · · Score: 0

      My client is loaded with Surface Pro 4's. As someone who uses one from time to time, they are absolute junk for anyone that has to do real work. If you are a casual, email and web browser only user they might suffice but they are otherwise underpowered.

    20. Re:Shipments by tsqr · · Score: 1

      why do you find it so hard to accept that the surface line is actually very successful?

      Probably because of things like this. And this. And this. And this.

    21. Re:Shipments by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

      We have been purchasing Surface Pros for the last couple years for some of our executives at work of course there are a lot more HP Elitebooks so this isn't even a surprising turn of events, HP in the top spot and MS finally taking the last spot.

    22. Re: Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, just how did they get this enormous bank balance if it is true as you say that they just throw shit against the wall? Something must be sticking.

    23. Re: Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Adaptable... haha. More like they use their enormous bank balance to keep throwing shit at the wall until it sticks or they get bored and move into something else.

      Well they've certainly shifted from being a predominantly Windows business to having a successful hardware business and cloud computing business. Just because you don't like it doesn't make it false.

    24. Re:Shipments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well at least Microsoft innovated and put 2 buttons on their mouse. Took another company years to work out that advanced tech.

    25. Re:Shipments by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      gartner and IDC don't use shipped numbers as they have no access to those, they base everything off retailer sales. Not sure why you think they aren't selling them. I see Surface devices everywhere nowadays.

      I have yet to see a Surface device outside of a CBS show.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  3. Fuck off Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At least release Windows in 2 tiers.

    The first is your consumer-grade Windows 10. This, for whatever reason, contains all the spyware that business users hate, and is cheap/free.

    The second is an enterprise-grade Windows 10. This has no spyware, and has a yearly cost attached to it.

    Windows for the enterprise is your biggest remaining cash-cow, and you are in danger of losing it, especially in your non-US markets.

    1. Re: Fuck off Microsoft by cyber-vandal · · Score: 1

      You mean Windows Enterprise?

    2. Re: Fuck off Microsoft by rossdee · · Score: 1

      >You mean Windows Enterprise?

      I'm. waiting until Windows Enterprise reaches version 1701E

  4. I'm considering a Surface Laptop by Hrrrg · · Score: 2

    I'm considering buying a Surface Laptop, but I'm reluctant because they are full of glue and irreparable. (Per ifixit.com "The Surface Laptop is not a laptop. It’s a glue-filled monstrosity. There is nothing about it that is upgradable or long-lasting, and it literally can’t be opened without destroying it.")

    My current laptop is 8 years old and runs well - i would expect my new laptop to be in use for a similar length of time... The reason I'm considering the surface laptop is they have a taller screen - their screen ratio is 3:2 rather than 16:9 that everyone else (except Apple) uses.

    So I am torn... If I buy one, i will need to also buy an extended warranty of at least 4 years...

    1. Re:I'm considering a Surface Laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By the time any major hardware needs repair it will be obsolete and need replacement anyway. Your main concern with the surface is software settings. You have to disable the gamut of Windows 10 junk, but once that is done the hardware is really fast and responsive. Make sure you get a Surface 2017 (the model after 4) or the latest Surface 6 - avoid the RT stuff, it is low power but also low performance, and RT also ships with Windows 10 Starter, so you'd have to upgrade that to get a function system.

    2. Re:I'm considering a Surface Laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By the time any major hardware needs repair it will be obsolete and need replacement anyway.

      We would like that to be true. But, sometimes substandard components gets used, and something breaks anyway. Or the user breaks a replaceable part, such as the display, the on-button, a keyboard key, cracked casing or the charging port.

      Repair-able hw means the only way they can prevent repairs, is by using quality components that works until truly obsolete. Non-repairable hw means they can use shoddy components and force you to buy new when devices break early.

    3. Re:I'm considering a Surface Laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "So I am torn... If I buy one, i will need to also buy an extended warranty of at least 4 years..."

      Which is exactly why you shouldn't. You vote with your money. Loosing the right to repair, or in this case, a non-repairable computer in order to sell extended warranties is a vote in the wrong direction. I think of repairing and reuse, as a type of recycling. Non-repairable equipment leads to more toxic materials in landfills and oceans. Landfills ultimately leak leachate back into the environment.

    4. Re:I'm considering a Surface Laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're just making up excuses for yourself to talk yourself out of it.

      I've been building my own computers (desktops, towers, etc) since my teens--I'm now in my mid-40s--and *never* in all that time have I ever made a laptop's "repairability" index a factor in any purchase decision. Laptops internals are flimsy by nature, the guts are all proprietary anyway, and you couldn't pay me enough to open one up except perhaps when it's already trashed and you just want to salvage the RAM or hard drive (*if* they still have any value). What would be the point of trying to salvage the SSD from a Surface or other tablet? They're small (relatively speaking), it doesn't make sense to hook them up to a computer, and any newer laptop/tablet will come with its own anyway, unlike a barebones PC case.

      I have the original, first-gen Surface Pro, purchased when they were still a new thing, and it's still going strong today. I've never had a need to "repair" anything, and I never purchased it with the intent of doubling the RAM or storage space. As a portable device, I don't delude myself into thinking I should be running VMs or store my movie library on it.

    5. Re:I'm considering a Surface Laptop by bryanbrunton · · Score: 1

      People buy new cheap laptops everyday and the first thing they do: replace the HD with an SSD.

      A SSD is the #1 performance benefit for upgrading a system.

      In fact, I would never buy a laptop that cannot be opened and doesn't allow replacing the HD with a SSD.

      SSDs are plummeting in price. You can get a 256 GB SSD for 25 bucks.

      Why pay Apple or Microsoft $500 for an SSD upgrade that you can perform for $25?

    6. Re:I'm considering a Surface Laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some people don't mind opening/fixing laptops. "Proprietary" doesn't imply hard/impossible/expensive to repair.
      I use a Thinkpad X230, bought a second broken one for €40 for parts. If you don't want to spend €40 on having spares for nearly everything, you can find cheaper parts on eBay. There is a maintenance guide describing how to replace every single part.
      Then again I don't upgrade much, perhaps I use this machine another 5-10 years, thanks to good repairability.

  5. Lenovo, HP up, Apple down by Tough+Love · · Score: 0

    Lenovo up 22%, that's the news. Apple off nearly 8% yoy, RIP Macs.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  6. "To Become Top 5 Vendors in the US" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not like Linux having become "top 100 supercomputer operating system", namely occupying all top 100 places. Microsoft has become one of the Top 5 Vendors, or a Top 5 Vendor.

    1. Re:"To Become Top 5 Vendors in the US" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft could be 100th and it would still be more significant sales than all the top 100 supercomputers combined. honestly it is assume that Linux has all 100 and is a testament to its flexibility and adaptability, but as for volume of sales it doesn't mean shit.

    2. Re:"To Become Top 5 Vendors in the US" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Woosh

  7. Microsoft better then Acer for sure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I had only a choice between a Surface and something from Acer. I would definitely choose a Surface product, that's not saying much because Acer just makes really marginal stuff these days.

    1. Re:Microsoft better then Acer for sure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are being very generous by calling Acer's products "marginal".
      Most people that buy Acer are first-time buyers looking to save money.
      They usually become first and last time buyers.
      People have offered to give me Acer laptops for free - no, thanks.

  8. But but by cyber-vandal · · Score: 1

    Someone on here said no-one was buying them because they hadn't seen one in public so this must be fake news.

  9. 18 years and $30 billion lost. How's the Lumia? by raymorris · · Score: 0

    > yeah right. they are spending billions over many years on something that isn't selling.

    Yeah Microsoft would never spend 18 years
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik... and lose $30 billion
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik... on a platform that wasn't selling well. It's guaranteed to be a success https://www.theverge.com/2016/... if Microsoft spends billions on it.

    Did you type that in a Lumia?

  10. There are more 3:2 laptops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really, if 3:2 is the only reason, plenty of others besides MS make those:

    Huawei Matebook X (the only non-convertible I'm aware of)
    Acer Switch 7 / Alpha 12
    HP Elite x2 1012 G2, 1013 G3, Pro X2 612 G2
    Dell Latitude 5290 / 5285
    Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Tablet, Miix 700/720
    Samsung Galaxy Book 12
    Asus Transformer 3 Pro
    (also some Chromebooks but I assume you don't want one)