Microsoft killing Windows 10 has led to Apple Mac shipments increasing by 15%

Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 in October 2025 led to an increase in global PC shipments in Q3 2025, and one of the biggest winners was Apple.

Microsoft killing Windows 10 has led to Apple Mac shipments increasing by 15%
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TL;DR: Global PC shipments grew 8.1% in Q3 2025, driven by Windows 10's end-of-support and evolving US tariffs. Apple's Mac shipments rose 15%, benefiting from OS migration alongside Lenovo, ASUS, and HP. The PC market anticipates further growth with AI PC adoption expected to accelerate after 2026.

With official support for Windows 10 ending and the popular operating system reaching end-of-life, not everyone is making the jump to a new Windows 11 rig. But, people are buying new PC and laptops, with a new report from Counterpoint Research showing that global PC shipments grew 8.1% year-over-year in Q3 2025. The report cites "end-of-support for Microsoft Windows 10 in October 2025" and evolving US tariff policies as the main drivers of growth.

Windows 10 hitting end-of-life has been the main driver for global PC shipment growth in Q3 2025, image credit: Counterpoint Research.
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Windows 10 hitting end-of-life has been the main driver for global PC shipment growth in Q3 2025, image credit: Counterpoint Research.

As Windows 10 support ends, both enterprise and consumers are replacing older systems with new ones, and this process will continue to serve as a "catalyst for PC market growth" in the years ahead. However, once you take a closer look at the OEM data, it appears that one of the biggest winners from Windows 10's departure is Apple. Apple's Mac and MacBook shipments for Q3 2025 grew 15% year-over-year, second only to Lenovo.

On the PC side, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo experienced double-digit growth, while Dell's shipments saw a slight decline. Naturally, part of Apple's continued growth in the PC and notebook sector comes down to the company releasing new MacBook models; however, like others, it's benefiting from ex-Windows 10 users buying something new.

"While the current growth is primarily driven by OS migration, the industry is poised for an even more profound transformation with the rise of the AI PC," Senior Analyst Minsoo Kang says. "However, this next wave of growth has not yet fully materialized in the Q3 2025 numbers."

Interestingly, the report notes that the significant ramp-up in AI PC shipments will occur after 2026, driven by new chips such as Qualcomm's Elite X2, Intel's Panther Lake, and hardware set to arrive from NVIDIA's partnerships with Intel and MediaTek. Of course, Microsoft is all-in on the AI PC shift, with its notebook strategy now focused solely on selling Windows 11-powered Copilot+ PCs. However, even though the first Copilot+ PCs arrived in 2024, adoption has been slow, capturing only 0.5 percent of the total PC market in a year.