In the third quarter of 2020, when there was so much demand for notebook computers that there were reports of a global laptop shortage, brought about by huge demand for education and those working from home. In that high-demand environment, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has overtaken Lenovo for the top stop. That’s according to Strategy Analytics’s Preliminary Global Notebook PC Shipments and Market Share: Q3 2020 Results.

Overall shipments surged 34 percent year over year. And it was the first time HP had taken the top spot in several years, the report said. 

HP took the lead with 14.7 million units sold, followed by Lenovo with 14.6 million. Dell was third with 8.5 million, Apple fourth with 6 million and Acer fifth with 4.9 million. All of the brands posted double-digit growth, with HP up 43 percent, Lenovo up 25 percent and Dell up 18 percent. 

In terms of operating systems, 45.3 percent were Windows, 10 percent were Chrome, and MacOS 6.0 percent.

“The third quarter would have been even more productive for some vendors if they were able to deliver more devices to meet high demand,” Chirag Upadhyay, Strategy Analytics’s senior research analyst, said in a press statement. “Supply will remain a key concern as demand is expected to stay high amid rising COVID-19 infections around the world as the Northern Hemisphere enters a very difficult winter. With the pandemic still lingering across the globe, consumers have started their purchases before the holiday season to prepare for the new ‘normal’ of working and studying from home.”

An Associated Press report in August stated that the world’s three largest PC manufacturers, Lenovo, HP and Dell, had measured the global laptop shortage at as high as five million, with major school districts thousands short-handed and headed toward another socially-distanced school year.

“Chromebook delivered strong growth in both commercial and consumer segments as the operating system remained the favorite option for schools and students in developed markets,” Eric Smith, the director of Connected Computing within Strategy Analytics, said in the press statement. “Meanwhile, the Gaming and Ultramobile segments performed very well as consumers spent more money on notebooks being used for multiple tasks (entertainment and productivity) for an extended period of time.”

The new Strategy Analytics survey includes only notebook computers. In terms of overall PC shipments, per Gartner Research, shipments rose 3.6 percent in the third quarter, after free-falling earlier in the year due to the early days of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the tablet market, per Strategy Analytics’ Preliminary Global Tablet Shipments and Market Share: Q2 2020 Results, surged in the second quarter, with the global market rising 17 percent year-over-year, for the largest increase in six years.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for the National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters