How Chromebooks Cornered Half of the K–12 Device Market
This month, Google's Chromebook continued its ascent at schools across the country, with the notebook now accounting for more than half of all K–12 notebook device sales in the third quarter of 2015.
The latest market report from Futuresource Consulting puts Chromebooks in the lead, with 1.63 million unit sales in the third quarter, which amounts to 51 percent of the market in K–12 sales. It’s the first time Google’s low-cost notebook has breached the 50 percent threshold. Futuresource attributes part of Google’s success to school districts’ growing need to purchase simple devices with keyboards in order to meet the requirements for online assessments.
"The combination of the simple to use ecosystem, attractive hardware price point and industry leading management platform has resulted in Chromebooks gaining widespread momentum in the US market," according to a news release from Futuresource.
Futuresource’s report is focused on the sales of mobile devices only, not desktop computers, and the number represents sales, not installed units.
In November 2014, Chromebooks claimed the title of best-selling device in K–12. In the year since, the company solidified its market lead, announcing two major milestones in November 2015: 50 million teachers and students are now using Google Apps for Education, the company's educational app suite; and 10 million students are using Chromebooks.
According to Futuresource, the adoption rate of Chromebooks outside the U.S. has been slower, with just a 3 percent share of the market in other countries during the third quarter of 2015. A graphic from Futuresource shows the adoption rate of ChromeOS, the operating system that powers Chromebooks, in 15 other countries.
Notably, the search engine giant is completely absent in China, due to services being blocked. But recent reports indicate that digital wall could be taken down soon.
