What you need to know
- Apple is expected to introduce new 14 and 16-inch MacBooks in 2021.
- TrendForce estimates that these devices will raise Apple's share of the CPU market to 7%.
A new report says that new MacBooks coming in the second half of 2021 will help boost the CPU market share of Apple silicon by up to 7%.
TrendForce notes that "continued high demand" for Chromebooks has resulted in shifts in both the OS and CPU markets:
With regards to operating systems, Windows remains the dominant choice in the notebook market. However, due to the rapid growth of Chromebooks in 2020, Windows' market share dropped below 80% for the first time ever. Windows is unlikely to recover its lost market shares in the short run, since its decline is expected to persist going forward. TrendForce expects the market shares of Windows, Chrome OS, and macOS to each stabilize at about 70-75%, 15-20%, and below 10%, respectively.
TF notes that AMD's Zen+ microarchitecture-based CPUs "saw a major uptick" in notebook adoption last year, particularly the Ryzen 3000 series.
On Apple, the report claims that Apple's M1 silicon processors, launched at the back end of the year, haven't yet made much of a dent in the market, accounting for less than one percent of CPU market share. However, TrendForce notes that Apple is expected to release new devices later this year which could boost the fortunes of Apple silicon:
Apple adopted the ARM architecture primarily to optimize MacBook performances. Along with the release of Apple Silicon M1, Apple has also completed the integration between its hardware, software, and SaaS platforms. The company is expected to release 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, both of which will be equipped with Apple's in-house CPUs, after 2Q21, raising Apple's notebook market share to about 7%. The 7% and 20% market shares from Apple and AMD, respectively, mean that Intel will be faced with increasing competitive pressure in the market and need to deliver an appropriate product strategy in response.
It is likely TrendForce is citing previous reports and rumors Apple will release two new Macbooks in the aforementioned form factors later this year. The report notes that this will put pressure on Intel, with Apple and AMD combining to take 27% of the CPU market share.
A December report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman noted that following the release of Apple's M1 chip in November, it is now testing new chips with up to 32 cores. Gurman hinted that Apple's next series of chips are planned for release as early as the spring and also later in the fall in new MacBook Pro models, new iMacs, and then a new "half-size" Mac Pro in 2022.
