Chromebook Shipments Almost Quadrupled in Q4 2020: Canalys

Chromebook sales almost quadrupled Q4 2020, with shipments reaching 11.2 million units, as per a Canalys report. This is a 287 per cent increase over Q4 2019’s figures, and brings the full-year total to 30.6 million units. The coronavirus-induced lockdowns have resulted in a surge in demand for Chromebooks, likely for remote education uses. With 3.5 million units shipped in Q4, HP maintained the top spot in the market. Lenovo had the second-highest numbers with 2.8 million units and a staggering 1766 per cent growth.

The research by Canalys revealed the shipment numbers of Chromebooks in Q4 2020. The overall Chromebook market almost quadrupled in size compared to the same period a year ago. The demand for Chromebooks has been ‘through the roof’, as per Canalys Research Director Rushabh Doshi.

With HP and Lenovo taking the first two spots, Acer and Dell took the next two positions with 1.5 million units each. Samsung took over Asus and grabbed fifth place with over a million units; 630 percent more than a year ago, according to the analysis.

The global pandemic had forced countries to accelerate their digital education plans, stated the report by Canalys, leading to these numbers. Further, Chromebook demand for education is predicted to remain strong through 2021. Besides education, the report revealed that there had been increasing interest from consumers and traditional commercial customers for Chromebooks.

The global PC market (including tablets), meanwhile, had shipments in Q4 2021 hit 143.7 million units. The total shipments for 2020 grew 17 percent to reach 458.2 units, making it the highest volume since 2015. Lenovo emerged as the top spot in Q4 and for the full year, with shipments of 28.8 million and 87.0 million units respectively.

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