Apple computers have long been the bellwether of the economic health in the technology space in the United States of America, and the rest of the world. However, the shock drop in shipments of one of their key product lines has technology watchers on edge.
The absolute number of Apple Computer personal computer shipments declined by 40.5% in the first quarter, making it the worst drop since the final three months of 2000, after sluggish demand and an industrywide glut hit the Mac maker especially hard.
Shipments by all PC makers combined slumped 29% to 56.9 million units — and fell below the levels of early 2019 — as the demand surge driven by pandemic-era remote work has disappeared.
The report is a particular blow to Apple, whose shipments had largely held up since the onset of the pandemic. That said, Apple had been preparing investors for weaker results in some of its hardware, with a rocky economic backdrop threatening to dampen enthusiasm for Apple’s products.