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Chromebook Market Surging

The adoption of Chromebooks appears to be outpacing the growth surge predicted for the year. In the second quarter, Chromebook shipments grew 68.6 percent — and that wasn't even the best quarter of the last three quarters.

According to a new preliminary report from market research firm IDC, shipments of Chromebooks reached 12.3 million units in the second quarter of 2021, up 68.6 percent over the same period last year. There may be a bit of a slowdown on the horizon as component shortages (driven by the public policy response to the pandemic) lead manufacturers to push other types of systems.

According to IDC: "For Chromebooks, while still in high demand and even on backlog for many education deals, vendors have started prioritizing higher margin Windows laptops given the on-going component shortages."

No. 1 HP dominated the quarter in Chromebook shipments, more than doubling its numbers from the same quarter a year ago. HP shipped 4.3 million units in Q2 2021, capturing 35 percent of the market, up from 2 million units and a 27.4 percent market share in Q2 2020.

No. 2 Lenovo also saw remarkable growth, shipping 2.6 million units in Q2 2021 and capturing 21 percent of the market, up from 1.4 million and 19.6 percent last year.

No. 3 Acer increased volume as well but lost market share compared with last year. Acer shipped 1.9 million units (up from 1.5 million last year) for a 15.3 percent market share (down from 21.2 percent last year.

No. 4 Dell was in the same boat. Dell shipped 1.8 million units (up from 1.4 million last year) for a 14.5 percent market hare (down from 19.8 percent last year).

No. 5 Samsung saw the greatest percentage growth of the quarter. Samsung shipped 0.9 million Chromebooks, up 179.2 percent from the same period last year. Samsung captured 7 percent of the market in Q2 2021, up from 4.3 percent in the same period last year.

All other manufacturers totaled 0.9 million units combined.

For more information, visit IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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