Apple's share of the global laptop market climbed from 8.3 to 9.6 percent during 2017, allowing the company to rise from fifth to fourth place.
Apple swapped places with ASUS, which dropped from 10.3 to 9.5 percent, according to research firm TrendForce. In fact Apple and HP were the only vendors to increase their marketshare, the latter consolidating its lead by growing from 22.4 percent to 24.3.
Lenovo, Dell, and Acer held on to second, third, and sixth place respectively, but ceded shipments to Apple and HP. Even cumulative shipments to "other" laptop makers declined from 13.8 percent to 13.
Overall shipments grew from 161.2 million to 164.7 million. Numbers are forecast to shrink to 163.8 million this year, but with still more share -- 10.4 percent -- going to Apple.
The company's 2018 MacBook plans are largely unknown. Most recently a rumor claimed that as many as three Macs will use Apple-designed T-series co-processors, including new MacBooks and a desktop refresh.