Apple can make gains against Microsoft Windows with M2 chips

An apple The new laptops announced on Monday, which contain the iPhone maker’s next generation of internal chips, may pose new challenges for the Microsoft Profitable Windows Business.

Since Apple started selling Macs powered by native M1 processors in late 2020, the company’s computer business has gained momentum. Earlier this week, Apple introduced the M2, which will debut on the new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro.

The new chip will have 25% more transistors and 50% more bandwidth than the M1.

Mikako Kitagawa, an analyst at technology industry research firm Gartner, said Apple could continue to gain market share with the M2 architecture. In 2021, Apple accounted for 7.9% of worldwide PC shipments by operating system, while Windows controlled 81.8%, according to Gartner estimates. The company expects Apple’s share to rise to 10.7% in 2026 with Windows’ share dropping to 80.5%.

Kitagawa said an updated forecast that will likely make Apple’s performance look even stronger is coming in the next few weeks.

Apple’s Mac business has been revived with new hardware that uses the company’s proprietary chips as an alternative to processors from Intel Corporation. The first was the MacBook Air released last year, followed by updated iMac laptop models, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro, and a new model for power users called Mac Studio.

Newer Apple devices have longer battery life than their older Intel-based counterparts and more processing power.

Sales soared. Apple’s Mac business grew 23% in fiscal 2021 to more than $35 billion in sales. In the March quarterMac sales are up more than 14%, a faster increase than any other Apple device category. Apple CEO Tim Cook He told analysts in April that “the impressive customer response for the M1 Mac has helped drive a 15% year-over-year revenue increase despite supply constraints.”

This is not great news for Microsoft.

Most of Microsoft Windows revenue comes from the licenses it sells DelAnd the HPand Lenovo and other device makers. That represents 7.5% of Microsoft’s total revenue and about 11% of total profit, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Keith Weiss wrote in a note this week.

As Microsoft loses market share, “a lot of price control is lost in the market,” said Brad Brooks, CEO of a cybersecurity startup. senses and former corporate vice president of consumer business for Microsoft Windows.

Most of the revenue from Windows licenses to device makers comes from commercial customers. Brooks said Apple is making headway among consumers, and he’s learned during his nine years at Microsoft that there is a positive correlation between consumer use and what happens at work.

“Once they start using a different set of products in their home environments, they are more likely to adopt that environment in their professional environments,” Brooks said, speaking of corporate leaders making technology buying decisions.

Brooks said he switched to a Mac as his main computer in 2017, and said he’d want to use the M2 in the future. He said all of his company’s 150 employees use Macs as their primary computers.

Companies have been slow to adopt the Apple M1 computers due to concerns that key applications will not be compatible. But AdobeKitagawa, who now expects corporate adoption to grow, said Microsoft and other developers have gradually come out with original copies of their software for the hardware.

Patrick Moorhead, CEO of industry research firm Moor Insights and Strategy, said Windows PCs could eventually have battery life and performance matching Apple’s latest Macs. Among the chipmakers they use, Moorhead said, “It’s closer now between Apple and AMD than it is between Apple and Intel.”

However, Apple has other gadgets to check out, as they can provide cheaper computers. Morehead envisions a MacBook SE that could cost $800 or $900, compared to a starting price of $1,199 Apple’s next MacBook Air M2. It will be similar to what Apple did with the iPhone SE, a budget iPhone lack Some of the company’s latest smartphone improvements.

“A MacBook SE at a much lower price would disrupt Windows in a very big way,” Moorhead said.

Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment.

CNBC’s Kev Lesswing contributed to this report.

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