Apple Is Doing Well In This Surprising Category

Sales of personal computers just hit the lowest level in nine years, but you wouldn't know it from Apple's results. The maker of Macintosh computers and MacBook laptops increased its share of the market to 7.4% in the first quarter and passed Asus to grab the No. 4 ranking worldwide, according to market tracker IDC. Shipments of Apple computers declined an estimated 2% from the first quarter of 2015, IDC estimated, but that was much better than the overall market, which dropped 11.5%. Apple benefited from its strong retail footprint as well as interest from consumers who first bought an iPhone (Apple sold more than 10 times as many phones as PCs last year). Most vendors are forced to compete for shelf space at Best Buy or online at Amazon and other sites.