Apple’s iPads and Macs — which accounted for about half of the mobile devices shipped to schools in the United States in 2013 — are steadily losing ground to inexpensive Chromebook laptops, according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting.
In fact, devices running iOS and macOS have hit a new low, falling to third place behind both Google-powered laptops and Windows devices in the education market, notes the research group. However, sales of mobile computers in the U.S. K-12 sector continued to develop in 2016, with annual shipments growing 18% year-on-year in 2016, reaching 12.6 million units, up from 10.7 million in 2015. Futuresource Consulting says the outlook for 2017 is also positive with market shipment growth forecast to remain in double figures.
At an operating system level, Chromebooks continue to gain market share, reaching 58% in 2016, up from 50% in 2015. According to Futuresource, last year Macs had 5% of the U.S. education market, while iOS devices (namely iPads) had 14%. That compares to 6% and 19%, respectively, in 2015. The high for macOS in the U.S. education market was 8% in 2014; for iOS, the high was 26% in 2014.
