Skip to main content

Chromebooks outsell iPads – in education, at least

Remember when the iPad promised to inspire a revolution in education? Those days aren’t far in the past, but many schools have found Apple’s tablet isn’t as useful as they’d hoped. Its price, missing keyboard and relatively strict operating environment have proven to be roadblocks despite the devices’ innate intuitiveness.

Chromebooks solve many of these problems, and educators have taken note. A new report from International Data Corporation states that Google sold about 715,500 units to schools in the third quarter of this year. That’s 25 percent of the education market, and slightly more than the 702,000 iPads that Apple sold to educators over the same period.

Recommended Videos

While exciting, this isn’t a coup. Chromebooks aren’t made by Google but rather by OEMs, so the search giant isn’t making money from them directly. Still, targeting education could result in a foothold the company can use to further promote Chrome OS. Students who learn to use the operating system will be more comfortable with it when they need to buy a computer for their personal use.

Google’s share is less than Apple’s if MacBooks are added into the mix and well behind conventional Windows notebooks, which are becoming more affordable. Microsoft is also threatening Google with its inclusion of one free year of Office 365 in many inexpensive systems like the Acer Switch series and the HP Stream.

Related: Can a Chromebook really stand up to Windows?

It’ll be interesting to see if this trajectory continues. Our analysis of Chromebooks over the last year have formed a mixed picture. While inexpensive and capable on a basic level, Chrome OS falls short of Windows in overall functionality and software compatibility. Google has a chance to seriously threaten both Apple and Microsoft, but an aggressive update schedule is needed to keep up the momentum.

Matthew S. Smith
Matthew S. Smith is the former Lead Editor, Reviews at Digital Trends. He previously guided the Products Team, which dives…
Macs finally get a taste of an overhauled Mail app
Categories in Apple Mail app for iPad and Mac.

Apple redesigned the Mail app on iPhones with the release of iOS 18.2 update back in December, but strangely skipped the treatment for iPads and Macs. The company has finally made a course correction with the macOS 15.4 and iPad OS 18.4 developer beta updates, which are now available for testers.

The biggest change introduced by the new Mail app are categories. All your emails are now neatly slotted across four categories. Here’s a brief breakdown of how it works:

Read more
The Gemini app is now the only way to access Google’s AI on iOS
The Google Gemini AI logo.

Google announced Wednesday that it is removing its Gemini AI model from the Google app on iOS, meaning that Apple users will need to download the dedicated Gemini app in order to use it.

When Google first introduced its Gemini AI to the Apple product ecosystem, it did so through its existing Google App, which had been available on iPhones and iPads since 2008. It wasn't until last November that Google released its dedicated Gemini app. Over the past three months, iOS users had their choice of which app through which to access the chatbot, but that is no longer the case.

Read more
Face controls are coming to Chromebooks, and they look wild
The lid of the Asus Chromebook CX14 on a table.

Google is introducing various accessibility-focused and classroom ChromeOS features that allow you to control your Chromebook with your facial expressions and face, as the tech giant posts on its blog. The feature helps those with motor impairments and was first presented in early December.

Google is no newcomer to these types of features. It previously created an open-source AI accessibility tool announced for Windows named Project Gameface, which was first announced for Android. Google even made a video to show users how the feature looks and the gestures users need to use to control their Chromebooks.

Read more