When things began to search for consumer computing devices last year, 2021 brought its big problem that’s shaking up quite just the tech industry. PCs, tablets, and Chromebooks enjoyed a surge in interest and sales in 2020 due to new work from home and remote schooling arrangements, but this year’s ongoing component shortage threatens to upset those gains. Despite that bleak scenario, tablet shipments managed to grow in Q2 this year, with Chromebooks showing the most important wins.
According to IDC’s numbers, Chromebooks grew by 68.6% within the second quarter of 2021 compared to an equivalent period last year. The 12.3 million units that the market shipped might not be as large because the previous two quarters still come on the brink of those. HP has the very best growth at 115.7% year-over-year and also has the lion’s share of that market.
The rapid climb of the Chromebook market has been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, for better or worse, as Google’s Chrome OS continues to spread to new markets. The marketing research company shares a noted uptick in Chromebook sales in Europe, while some countries in Asia are beginning to check out the devices to be used in schools.
Compared to Chromebooks, tablets had a smaller growth of 4.2%, with 40.5 million units sold. Considering how close tablets were to obsolescence, that’s still a big improvement. Apple still leads the market with a 31.9% share, while Samsung is at a far second at 19.6%.
Nothing lasts forever, of course, and there are already concerns that this positive status for Chromebooks and tablets could start deteriorating soon. Thanks to supply concerns, some manufacturers seem to be that specialize in more profitable Windows laptops instead. Demand for tablets, on the other hand, is predicted to hamper sooner as compared.
