Students Returning to School... Sharp Decline in Laptop and Tablet PC Sales

Global Q1 Laptop Shipments Down 7%
Chromebooks, Key Players in Digital Education, Hit Hard with 67% Decline

On the 2nd, when normal attendance was resumed at all schools nationwide, students of Gwangjang Elementary School in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, were going to school. 2022.05.02 Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The laptop and tablet PC markets, which rapidly grew during the COVID-19 pandemic period for remote schooling purposes, struggled in the first quarter due to a sharp decline in demand. In particular, the global popularity of Google Chromebooks has waned. As the transition to an endemic (periodic infectious disease outbreak) system progresses quickly and educational curricula normalize, the COVID-19-related boom has disappeared.

Laptops down 7% · Tablet PCs down 10%

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA) on the 9th, global laptop shipments in the first quarter totaled 63.5 million units, a 7% decrease compared to the same period last year. By laptop operating system (OS), Chromebook shipments equipped with Google Chrome OS plummeted by 67%. This contrasts with shipments of Microsoft (MS) Windows and Apple MacOS products, including premium laptops, which increased by 6% and 4%, respectively.

Chromebooks are laptops that install major applications (apps) via an Android-based web browser without a hard disk. During the COVID-19 period, as digital education became widespread, Chromebooks, which offer high cost-effectiveness (performance relative to price) at a relatively low price, were considered an alternative. At the peak of Chromebook popularity in 2020, global Chromebook sales exceeded 30 million units. According to Korea IDC, domestic Chromebook shipments reached 128,000 units in 2021, a fivefold increase compared to the previous year. However, the market entered a decline again after just one year.

Return to Pre-COVID-19 Levels

Industry insiders analyze that since the third quarter of last year, in countries like the United States where endemic trends have rapidly developed, demand for remote schooling has decreased, changing the overall trend. Chirag Upadhyaya, SA’s senior analyst, said, "The slowdown in demand for devices from educational institutions and the reduced growth rate of consumer Chromebook device upgrades seem to have affected Chromebook sales," adding, "Looking at the first quarter of this year alone, the level is even worse than before COVID-19."

Tablet PCs also could not avoid a decline in the first quarter. Market research firm SA analyzed that the tablet PC market growth rate decreased by 10% compared to the same period last year. IDC also reported that global tablet PC shipments in the first quarter of this year were 38.4 million units, down 3.9% from 39.9 million units the previous year.

The laptop and tablet PC markets are facing unfavorable conditions in both supply and demand. On the supply side, there are concerns that the situation may worsen after the second quarter due to logistics delays and inflation. Regarding demand slowdown concerns, IDC noted, "Many users already purchased tablet PCs in 2020 and last year, immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic," pointing out that "market growth is returning to pre-pandemic levels."