In the second half 2017, Chinese laptop maker Lenovo showed 20.2% market share, a year-on-year drop of 4.9%, while the market leader HP showed considerable growth, driving the overall performance of notebook shipments beyond previous expectation, market research firm TrendForce is reporting.
For 2018, the market share of the top six brands is expected to rise to 89.1%, squeezing the room for other brands to develop. On the other hand, Xiaomi and Huawei recorded growth in Chinese market, but the results of their overseas deployment are not clear yet. Xiaomi’s laptop Mi Air was launched in July 2016, with a bold design, not revealing its logo on the laptop cover.
Two weeks ago, Chinese company Lenovo voluntarily recalled about 80,000 ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th Generation laptops due to a potential fire hazard last week. Officials said about 78,000 ThinkPad X1 Carbon Laptops were included in the United States, as well as about 5,500 in Canada, according to Fox. These 12-inch touchpad computers feature detachable keyboards for tablet functionality and even come with Active Pen styluses.
Taiwanese multinational electronics company ASUS’s market share dropped to 9.5%, ranking the fifth. ASUS has adjusted its product strategy in recent years and shrink the production of models with low profits.
Acer continues to expand aggressively in the Chromebook market, and its notebook shipments growth in North American market raised its annual shipments by 0.6%. Its market share recorded 8%.
Apple and HP recorded double-digit growth in 2017. HP has demonstrated its ambition since the second quarter and recorded new highs of shipments in 2H17. With a market share of 24.3%, HP has retained first place in the shipment ranking.
The updated MacBook Pro in Q2 2018 helped Apple expand shipments by 18% for the whole year, the highest growth rate among all the notebook brands.