MacBooks are becoming a bright spot in the 2026 laptop market. While many brands are being forced to raise prices because of costlier RAM and DRAM, Sigmaintell forecasts that Apple could ship as many as 28 million units this year, a 21.7% increase in sales over the same period last year. Meanwhile, the global notebook market is estimated to shrink to just 181.1 million units, down 8%. For buyers in Vietnam, this matters because it shows the price gap between Apple laptops and Windows laptops is narrowing faster than before.
MacBooks Benefit as Rivals Raise Prices Across the Board
In Sigmaintell's forecast, Apple is nearly the only major vendor still growing in notebooks in 2026. What stands out is not any single model, but how the MacBook line is holding its appeal while prices for many competitors climb. When buyers see premium Windows laptops priced close to or above what they are used to paying for Apple, the MacBook suddenly looks easier to consider, rather than being the default expensive option.
The biggest reason is that memory costs are putting pressure on the entire market. The earlier article on rising CPU prices already showed that when a foundational component gets more expensive, the final price of a machine can change very quickly. For Apple, the advantage is that it has not raised prices sharply while many OEMs have had to adjust their price lists to offset the cost of RAM, DRAM, and related components. That gap bears directly on purchase decisions, especially for users who just need a durable machine with long battery life and stable performance for school or work.
The original report also gives two easy-to-picture examples. The 12-inch Surface Pro now starts at $1,049, while the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 starts at $999. At the higher end, the 15-inch Surface Laptop with 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD costs $3,649, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro with comparable RAM and SSD starts at $3,299. With the price gap reversing like this, the MacBook doesn't need to be cheap in absolute terms to be appealing enough to pull buyers away from Windows options that once held a price advantage.
What Laptop Buyers in Vietnam Should Take From This Trend
For the Vietnamese market, what matters is not how many more machines Apple will sell, but how the new price landscape changes the criteria people use when shopping. If many people used to assume Apple's laptops were significantly more expensive, the equation is different now, similar to the signal seen in the story about Panther Lake price increases, when newer Windows laptops were pushed up quickly. When the gap between the two platforms is no longer large, buyers will compare more on battery life, stability, noise, display, and long-term value.
A quick look at the key numbers shows that the MacBook's advantage this year comes more from market conditions than from a pure specs race.
| Metric | 2026 data | What it means for buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Global notebooks | 181.1 million units, down 8% | Weak demand, so vendors struggle to keep prices low |
| MacBook | 28 million units, up 21.7% | Apple is a rare bright spot in the market |
| Surface Pro 12-inch | From $1,049 | Already priced above the 13-inch Air M4 |
| Air 13-inch M4 | From $999 | More accessible as rivals raise prices |
| Surface Laptop 15-inch 64GB/1TB | $3,649 | No longer holds a price advantage over the 16-inch Pro M5 Pro |
| Pro 16-inch M5 Pro 64GB/1TB | $3,299 | Premium positioning, but the price disadvantage is shrinking |
None of this means the MacBook is automatically the best choice for every need. People who need software that only runs well on Windows, want a powerful discrete GPU for gaming, or want plenty of ports still have reasons to stay with Windows laptops. But if the main use is office work, schoolwork, light to moderate photo editing, and steady use over several years, the MacBook is clearly benefiting from the price increases across the rest of the market. For anyone buying in the next few months, this is a good time to compare prices by actual configuration rather than hold on to the old assumption that Apple's laptops are always the more expensive choice.
