Dell beats Apple, Lenovo, and HP in South Africa

Dell grew its popularity in the South African laptop market, outperforming rivals like Apple, Lenovo, and HP.

This was one of the findings of MyBroadband’s H2 2024 consumer technology survey conducted in August.

The survey was completed by 2,233 South African technology enthusiasts. Most respondents were technology decision-makers in their companies and households.

This influential group dictates which technology products their companies, family, and friends buy, making the results important for tracking trends in the local IT and telecoms market.

Respondents were asked which laptop brand they preferred, which revealed that Dell has a significant lead over its rivals.

29% of respondents said they prefer Dell laptops, up from 25% six months earlier. It shows strong brand awareness growth in 2024.

This bodes well for the computing company as the laptop market in South Africa is expected to grow strongly from 2024 to 2029.

By 2029, the laptop market in South Africa is expected to reach 500,000 units. Dell is set to grab a big share of this market.

Apple ranked second, with 18% of respondents saying they preferred Macbooks over brands like Dell and HP.

Last month, Apple unveiled an updated MacBook Pro lineup with new M4 chips, looking to entice shoppers with speedier processing and AI capabilities.

The laptops will run the M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max processors, part of a new generation of chips that Apple is rolling out to the entire Mac line.

The devices will also get an anti-glare screen option, faster ports, an upgraded camera for videoconferencing, and more battery life on the largest model.

These upgrades may attract a new crop of Apple users. However, the effect of the new lineup will only be seen in 2025.

Lenovo ranked third behind Dell and Apple. 17% of respondents said they preferred Lenovo laptops, up from 15% six months ago.

Lenovo’s wide range of laptops, including affordable models and high-end ThinkPad machines, makes it a popular brand in South Africa.

Acer, Asus, MSI, and Microsoft also had support in South Africa. However, they lagged behind the most popular brands.

The chart below shows the preferred laptop brands in South Africa based on MyBroadband’s H2 2024 consumer technology survey.