Learn English – Is it correct to call an Apple Mac computer a PC (Personal Computer)

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From the original meaning of the initialism, PC (Personal Computer), it would make perfect sense to call a Mac a PC, as it is just that, a personal computer.

However, the vast majority of people distinguish a PC from a Mac – due to clever marketing. This distinction is so embedded in people now, that both PC users, and Mac users do not consider a Mac to be a PC.

So would I be right to start referring to Macs under the blanket term "PC", or would the fact that most people no longer consider the term to refer to Macs make me wrong?

Best Answer

I wouldn't consider you to be wrong (a Mac is a personal computer), but it is definitely the case that some people might be confused by using the terms in that way and it would then require further explanation. Because of that, I'm not sure there's really a definite answer to this as it will depend on the context and the knowledge of the reader. If in doubt, go for whatever phrasing is least likely to cause confusion.

I believe the term "PC" became the generally used expression as it stemmed from "IBM-compatible PC", which gradually became more and more mainstream. However you could also argue (correctly) that a modern Mac is also an IBM-compatible PC, since they use the same CPU architecture and so on now - just to add another level of confusion ;)

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