Chromebook shipments fall in Q3 as education market becomes saturated
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The Chromebook sales boom is over as shipments fell nearly 30% in the third quarter, according to IDC.
IDC data shows that Chromebook shipments fell 29.8% in the third quarter compared to a year ago. In addition, tablet shipments fell 9.4%.
Now both device types enjoyed a boom compared to a year ago due to remote learning and work and faced tough comparisons. The third quarter of 2020 represented the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic induced PC buying spree.
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IDC noted that many schools and governments "blew out their budgets to provide devices for remote learning." The education market for Chromebooks is now saturated in the US and Western Europe, but Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa are showing strong demand.
Chromebooks drove strong growth for PC makers until recently. HP saw the biggest drop in Chromebook market share, but all of the top five vendors, with the exception of Samsung, saw market shipment declines.
IDC noted that education and industries such as transportation, logistics, and manufacturing have become tablet users on the tablet front. Apple and Lenovo both showed market share gains from a year ago.