NEW DELHI: Apple, one of the world’s largest companies, finds itself in a unique growth spot in India: its MacBook sales are surging, closing in on one million units in a calendar year for the first time amid a double-digit decline in laptop sales to consumers this quarter. And the star performer is the MacBook Neo.
MacBook sales rose 89% year-on-year in the country in the June quarter, data collated from independent market research firm IDC India showed and could be followed by a hefty increase in the second half of this year. IDC projects laptop sales of 14 million-15 million units in the country this year, Mint on 9 September.
With one million units, Apple is poised to command a 7% share of laptop sales in India through this calendar year, up from under 4% at the start of 2025, as per the average estimate of three market researchers surveyed by Mint. This is because of three factors: a conservative price increase of about 15% on its laptops, the launch of the MacBook Neo starting at ₹60,000 on 11 March this year, and rival Microsoft’s Windows options costing the same or more.
“Apple has done exceptionally well in establishing a growing enterprise distribution and sales team in India and subsequently marketing its products increasingly to a wider client base,” said Bharath Shenoy, a senior market analyst at IDC India. “It is the MacBook Neo, which comes with a host of offers including student discounts, that has powered the company’s consumer-end laptop sales this year—while its MacBook Air and Pro were targeted at enterprise sales.”
Quarterly sales data accessed by Mint via IDC India showed that Apple sold 425,000 laptops in the first six months of this calendar year—54% higher than a year earlier. This is likely Apple’s best year in terms of MacBook sales in India—the data reveals a market share of 6.7% in H1 this year.
“Mac sales grew in both developed and emerging markets, with strong double-digit growth in markets like Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia,” Kevan Parekh, chief financial officer at Apple, said on a post-earnings analyst call on 30 July. “The customer reception to MacBook Neo has been incredible. We continue to attract new customers to the product around the world… Mac had its best quarter ever for customers new to the Mac and for upgraders worldwide, including in the US, China Mainland, and India.”
On 26 June, Apple of Mac laptops and desktops and iPad tablets in India—increasing the Neo’s price by about 15%. Still, analysts said Apple’s products remain more attractive than their Windows counterparts, thus fuelling the market trend.
According to Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint India, the entry point into the Apple ecosystem for most Indians was the iPhone, which became affordable over the past five years thanks to equated monthly instalments, and MacBooks were always considered too expensive.
“Now, with the Neo and with an average ₹50,000 Windows laptop now costing ₹80,000, buyers have a clear option to buy a new MacBook that does not cost double the market average,” Pathak said. “The has therefore been a clear winner, and the reason behind the steep rise for Apple since April this year.”
The MacBook Neo starts at ₹79,900, according to Apple India’s website.
All of this is culminating just ahead of the festive period, when Apple could emerge as a surprise winner. Only five years ago, Apple’s MacBooks accounted for just over 1% of laptops sold in India.
Now, the three analysts surveyed by Mint say Apple’s overall sales could rise as much as 60% through this ongoing September quarter, a growth pace that leaves its Windows counterparts stranded in its wake.
