The gap has slowly been narrowing over the past few years, according to one analyst.
The ratio of PCs sold to Macs sold has steadily been dropping and is now at 1985 levels. Asymco analyst Horace Dediu recently published a report in which they tracked the rise and fall of that ratio over more than 25 years. The ratio was about 20 to 1 in 1985 following the 1984 launch of the first Mac. The ratio went through ups and downs for a over 10 years until 1996, when it moved up to 15 to 1 and then started to rise every year. Then things changed drastically as PCs' demand over Macs hit a high of 55 to 1 in 2004.
But then the gap started to narrow. From a ratio of less than 45 to one in 2005, the gap continued to drop each year until reaching a low of around 20 to 1 last year, as narrow as it was in 1985. Dediu's chart looks at only computers, not other devices. So it doesn't include the countless iPhones and iPads. Though the ratio was steadily dropping, in 2007 the ratio dropped to 33 to 1, the same year the iPhone was introduced. And it's closed ever since as Apple has launched more devices.
As overall PC sales have been flat the past couple of years. An August 2011 report from NPD Group found that PC sales in the U.S. had grown only 4 percent over the prior year, while Mac sales had shot up 26 percent over the same time. Apple and HP have also been dueling each other for the top spot in PC sales. The Mac may still be just a tiny percentage of overall computer sales, but the narrowing ratio shows that more consumers are realizing that Macs are a viable alternative to the vast array of Windows PCs.
