Source: IDC
Source: IDC

Back in the 90s, anyone who said that Apple would one day be among the top five personal computer manufacturers in the world would have been laughed out of a room. Now, it’s Apple’s turn to do the laughing.

YosemiteBetaThe Cupertino-based company now controls 6.3 percent of the worldwide personal computer market, sitting behind Lenovo, HP, Dell and Acer, according to IDC. Apple reportedly shipped almost 4.6 million units this past quarter, compared to Lenovo’s 15.7 million units.

The No. 5 position was previously held by ASUS in the IDC global stats.

Apple isn’t going to become No. 1 anytime soon, but breaking into the top 5 is positive sign for the future of the company’s computer business. It’s also good news for Apple as the company heads towards a major press event next week, when executives are expected to unveil new Macs alongside a refreshed set of iPads.

In more good news for the PC market, all of the players in the top 5 saw sales gains from the third quarter of 2013, though the overall market did shrink by 1.7 percent. This may be speaking a bit too soon, but the precipitous drop in PC sales fueled by the growth of tablets and a shrinking need for up-to-date hardware seems to have subsided.

It’s not all sunshine and roses for PC makers yet, though: much of the growth in the market comes from developed markets like the U.S. and Western Europe. Meanwhile, sales growth in emerging markets was – to use IDC’s phrase – “disappointing.” What’s more, lower-priced systems like Chromebooks have grown in popularity, and currently drive much of the growth in PC sales.

“The current growth of lower-priced systems, while encouraging in the short run, brings concern for the long term viability of vendors to adequately remain in the PC space,” IDC Senior Research Analyst Jay Chow said in a press release.

Although the term “PC” has come to be associated with Windows PCs in some circles, in this case it’s a generic reference to personal computers, including Apple’s Mac line. The IDC stats don’t include “media tablets” like the iPad.

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