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It looks like Apple’s iPad has been dethroned from its number one place as the most used laptops in US schools. New reports reveal that Chromebooks are more popular than iPads in schools, making it the new market leader. Microsoft and Apple have been the leaders for several years now, until Google’s Chromebook swiped them off its feet.
Apparently, Google has shipped more than 715,000 of the laptops in the US schools in the third quarter of this year, leaving the iPad behind with a little over 700,000 shipped units.
Google’s Chromebook costs $199 and have dominated the market for more than two years now. When it started, it had 0% of the educational sector and now it holds a quarter of the market share.
The Apple’s iPad is considered to be the fastest growing Apple product, but the growth has been slowed down in the last couple of months. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple said that the iPad makes at least 94% of the educational market share, but statistics say a different story.
One of the reasons Chromebooks are more popular than iPads in US schools is that the Chromebook has a cloud storage included for free. It also comes with free Education Suite Google apps. These free features make the Chromebook more functional in a school setting, in comparison to the iPad, which is not that productive, not to mention, more expensive.
Another reason why Chromebooks are more popular than iPads in US schools is that the Chromebook has an integrated keyboard used for typing, helping students type more efficiently. If using an iPad, one will need to attach a keyboard to it, since Apple does not make its iPads with an integrated keyboard.
At $379, the iPad is more expensive than the $199 Chromebook, that’s why most schools choose it as the main laptop for its students.
Microsoft is also trying to be in the top three of educational market share, so it offers a $199 Stream Netbook, manufactured by JP.
The most important reason why Chromebooks are more popular than iPads in US schools is that Chromebooks are great for work and not that great for other activities like social media and playing, unlike the iPad.
