Chromebook Sales Are Growing, But Business Buyers Are Resisting

Chromebooks are more than a fad: according to Gartner, 5.2 million of the low-powered, ChromeOS-driven devices will be sold this year. What we’re not seeing is massive deployments within enterprises and workplaces.

Picture: Getty Images

That 2014 figure is a 79 per cent increase on 2013. The biggest driver for sales? Education purchases in the US, which accounted for nearly 85 per cent of all sales. Chromebooks are also largely am American phenomenon; the US accounted for 82 per cent of all sales. In part, that reflects the late arrival of Chromebooks in other markets; Australia didn’t see any released until 2013.

It’s also a very uneven market, with Samsung dominating sales:

Manufacturer Percentage
Samsung 64.9%
Acer 21.4%
HP 6.8%
Lenovo 6.7%
Dell 0.3%

The rise in bring-your-own-device means we’re likely to see more Chromebooks in offices, but traditional PCs aren’t dead just yet. That 5.2 million units is dwarfed by the predicted 300 million desktops and notebooks Gartner expects will be sold this year.


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