San Francisco, May 16 (IANS): Apple shipped 5.7 million notebook computers in the first quarter of 2021, up 94 per cent from the 2.9 million units that it shipped in the year-ago quarter.

Mac notebooks include the MacBook Pro models and the MacBook Air models, excluding the Mac mini, Mac Pro, and iMac.

Apple was the fourth-largest notebook vendor globally, behind Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

According to a new report by market intelligence firm Strategy Analytics, with remote and hybrid work options and e-learning continuing worldwide, demand for Notebook PCs is at its highest, driving 81 per cent (year-on-year) shipment growth.

Work-from-home demand and the notebook PC upgrade cycle were the main driving factors for commercial demand, while the consumer segment contributed with strong e-learning and gaming activity from home in the first quarter.

All of this occurred despite supply chain shortages, meaning that there is still pent-up demand going forward in 2021, the report mentioned.

"Chromebooks continued to dominate the education sector as primary education sector demand is still high in developed markets. The SMB market is also responding well to the cost competitiveness and manageability of the Chrome ecosystem," said industry analyst Chirag Upadhyay.

The emerging hybrid work pattern, as well as the continuing need for learn-from-home devices, added to consumer upgrade sales, making Q1 2021 the strongest first quarter after many years.

"Vendors managed to deliver notebooks despite the ongoing components shortage and big vendors managed to fulfil large orders before their original delivery date," said Eric Smith, Director, Connected Computing.