Mac unit sales, which stalled in the second quarter as customers waited for the new MacBooks that arrived in April and May, took off in the third quarter, coming in just shy of 3.5 million, reports “Fortune” (http://macosg.me/2/y2).

Although Apple’s competitors saw computer sales weaken this summer, all signs suggest that the Mac was the exception, driven by back-to-school sales and the new desktop models released in late July (not to mention store traffic from people coming in to buy iPhones and iPads), the article adds.

The average Q4 unit sales estimate of the 31 analysts “Fortune” polled is 3.86 million Macs. Five of them, however, expect Apple to report that it sold four million or more.