Chromebook and tablet shipments continued downward spiral in Q3 2023

[Shawn Knight]

What just happened? Chromebooks and tablets are falling even more out of favor with consumers according to the latest data from International Data Corporation. A preliminary report from the firm's worldwide quarterly personal computing device tracker indicates worldwide Chromebook shipments dipped 20.8 percent in the third quarter compared to the same three-month period in 2022, totaling 3.5 million units.

Acer shipped a million Chromebooks in the quarter, good for first place and a 28.3 percent market share. HP and Dell tied for second place with 700,000 units shipped apiece and a 19 percent share of the market. Lenovo came in third place with 600,000 Chromebooks shipped and 18.2 percent of the pie. Asus struggled, shipping just 200,000 units in the quarter.

Tablet shipments, meanwhile, declined 14.2 percent year over year, reaching 33.2 million units shipped in the quarter. Apple led the way with 12.5 million iPad shipments, capturing 37.5 percent of the market. The next closest competitor, Samsung, shipped just six million tablets to account for 18.0 percent of all shipments. The biggest loser, Amazon, saw tablet shipments decline 49.5 percent year over year.

All things considered, IDC said Chromebooks may be in a better position than tablets thanks to a pending education segment refresh and excess government budget funds.

IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani noted that tablets have always found themselves in an awkward middle ground between PCs and smartphones, a position that continues to put downward pressure on the market. Anuroopa Nataraj, a senior research analyst with IDC, added that the upcoming holiday season is not expected to offer much relief for the tablet market.

Manufacturers and supporters, meanwhile, are pressing ahead. Asus recently announced a new 2-in-1 detachable Chromebook, and Google has committed to providing 10 years of automatic security updates for devices running ChromeOS. Samsung's Galaxy Tab A9 and Galaxy Tab A9+ started rolling out globally late last month, and Apple is said to be eyeing an iPad refresh sometime in early 2024.

Image credit: Kaboom Pics, Burak the Weekender

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100766-chromebook-tablet-shipments-continued-downward-spiral-q3-2023.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

That pending refresh got pushed back to 2027 with google's announcement that it was extending chromeOS support to 7 years.

 

[SRB]

Bought an android tablet several years ago. Once I found out they had an expiration date, and some apps couldn't be updated to work, I decided that was my last tablet.

 

[Atmajaya2020]

I still think that tablets are the right device for personal entertainment compared to laptops or smartphones.. more comfortable for watching or reading..

 

[Mr Majestyk]

I'm still shaking my head that Chromebooks ever sold in any number greater than 0.

 

[kiwigraeme]

I'm still shaking my head that Chromebooks ever sold in any number greater than 0.

?
What do you suggest - forget about security ,easy browser - with full keyboard for $200?

What do you suggest to give to kids in class ? with a keyboard that's cheap - and not big loss if damaged

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I'm still shaking my head that Chromebooks ever sold in any number greater than 0.

Chromebooks are fantastic. They're cheap to deploy en masse in education, where you dont expect devices to survive 7+ years in large numbers.

There's simple enough for tech illiterate people to use. Just need to check social media, send emails, pay bills, watch videos, stream, do word documents or spreadsheets? All that works on a chromebook, without the risk of infection like full on OSes, the simplicity of being a chrome browser, and better build quality then any comparably priced windows device.

The limited Os updates are not even an issue in business or education, as devices should be cycled out every 5 years due to increased hardware fatigue, unpatched BIOS firmware, and outdated drivers.

 

[yRaz]

Bought an android tablet several years ago. Once I found out they had an expiration date, and some apps couldn't be updated to work, I decided that was my last tablet.

I also found this out. Granted, I use mine as an ebook reader and to browse the internet, but I use to use mine to play magic the gathering and then samsung stopped releasing updates for it. Once they did that, MTG arena stopped working on it.

It's really a shame because there isn't a scratch on it and I can't even put a custom OS on it because of how locked down samsung keeps their devices.

 

[yRaz]

Chromebooks are fantastic. They're cheap to deploy en masse in education, where you dont expect devices to survive 7+ years in large numbers.

There's simple enough for tech illiterate people to use. Just need to check social media, send emails, pay bills, watch videos, stream, do word documents or spreadsheets? All that works on a chromebook, without the risk of infection like full on OSes, the simplicity of being a chrome browser, and better build quality then any comparably priced windows device.

The limited Os updates are not even an issue in business or education, as devices should be cycled out every 5 years due to increased hardware fatigue, unpatched BIOS firmware, and outdated drivers.

Ahh, yes, ewaste printers. I should expect nothing less from Google at thus point.

To be fair, chrome books are great for their intended functions. Need a cheap device that can access the internet. On top of that, they're heavily subsidized because ChromeOS collects massive amounts of data that Google can then sell. I bought a chrokebook and put Linux on it, now I have a cheap laptop that doesn't spy on me