Chromebook shipments worldwide dropped over 60 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021, though shipments continued to grow for the full year, according to a report. All top players in the global Chromebook market — starting from Acer and Dell to Lenovo and Samsung — registered negative year-on-year growth in the quarter due to continuous drop in demand for Chromebooks in primary markets including the US and Europe. Similar to Chromebooks, tablet shipments worldwide declined for the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020.
Market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC) has said in its report that Chromebook shipments around the globe declined as much as 63.6 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter to 4.8 million units — down from 13.1 million units shipped in the same quarter in 2020.
“Much of the initial demand for Chromebooks has been satiated in primary markets like the US and Europe and this has led to a slowdown in overall shipments,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. “Supply has also been unusually tight for Chromebooks as component shortages have led vendors to prioritise Windows machines due to their higher price tags, further suppressing Chromebook shipments on a global scale.”
In terms of market share, IDC’s report shows that Acer surpassed HP, Lenovo, and Dell and became the leading player in the fourth quarter. The company shipped 1.3 million units that helped capture a share of 26.3 percent.
The year-on-year shipments growth of Acer, however, declined 43.3 percent in the quarter from the same quarter in the previous year, according to the report.
Dell came second with a flat growth in its market share of 20.3 percent in the fourth quarter. The company shipped one million shipments in the quarter that resulted in a declined market share of 63.6 percent, IDC said.
Lenovo moved from the number two position to three in the quarter, with 0.8 million units shipped. The Chinese manufacturer captured a share of 16 percent and marked a 73.5 percent decline in year-on-year shipments growth.
Samsung and HP were the other two vendors in the list of top-five Chromebook manufacturers. While Samsung saw a 22.4 percent dip in its year-on-year growth in shipments in the fourth quarter, HP faced the biggest drop of 31.8 percent.
HP moved to fifth place in the fourth quarter from its first position in the market in the same quarter in 2020 due to shipping 0.5 million Chromebook units, IDC reported.
Top-five Chromebook companies worldwide in Q4 2021 as per IDC
| Company | Q4 2021 shipments (in million) | Q4 2021 market share | Q4 2020 shipments (in million) | Q4 2020 market share | Year-on-year growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer | 1.3 | 26.3 percent | 2.2 | 16.8 percent | -43.3 percent |
| Dell | 1.0 | 20.3 percent | 2.7 | 20.3 percent | -63.6 percent |
| Lenovo | 0.8 | 16.1 percent | 2.9 | 22.1 percent | -73.5 percent |
| Samsung | 0.6 | 12.3 percent | 0.8 | 5.8 percent | -22.4 percent |
| HP | 0.5 | 9.9 percent | 3.5 | 26.9 percent | -86.7 percent |
| Others | 0.7 | 15.2 percent | 1.1 | 8.1 percent | -31.8 percent |
| Total | 4.8 | 100 percent | 13.1 | 100 percent | -63.6 percent |
As for full-year 2021, Chromebook shipments worldwide grew to 37 million units from the 32.6 million registered in 2020, IDC said. The increase in the shipments resulted in a 13.5 year-on-year growth.
HP continued to lead the market in the full-year 2021, with a share of 27.7 percent. The company shipped 10.2 million units in the year, according to the report.
Lenovo retained its second place, with 8.3 million units shipped that helped capture a share of 22.4 percent.
After HP and Lenovo, the market of Chromebooks continued to have Acer as the third largest player. The company shipped 6.4 million units and captured 22.4 percent share in 2021, as per the numbers shared by IDC.
Dell and Samsung followed Acer and came at fourth and fifth places in the market, respectively. Dell faced a declined 5.2 percent year-on-year growth in shipments, whereas Samsung registered a prominent 77.2 percent increase in its year-on-year growth in the year, the report said.
Top-five Chromebook companies worldwide in full-year 2021 as per IDC
| Company | 2021 shipments (in million) | 2021 market share | 2020 shipments (in million) | 2020 market share | Year-on-year growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 10.2 | 27.7 percent | 9.4 | 28.8 percent | 9.3 percent |
| Lenovo | 8.3 | 22.4 percent | 6.7 | 20.7 percent | 23.4 percent |
| Acer | 6.4 | 17.3 percent | 6.1 | 18.7 percent | 4.6 percent |
| Dell | 5.4 | 14.6 percent | 5.7 | 17.5 percent | -5.2 percent |
| Samsung | 3.2 | 8.8 percent | 1.8 | 5.6 percent | 77.2 percent |
| Others | 3.4 | 9.2 percent | 2.8 | 8.7 percent | 19.5 percent |
| Total | 37.0 | 100 percent | 32.6 | 100 percent | 13.5 percent |
Just like Chromebooks, tablet shipments worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2021 declined 11.9 percent year-on-year to 46 million units from 52.2 million units recorded in the same quarter of 2020.
Despite the drop, Apple retained its market leadership by shipping 17.5 million units in the quarter that resulted in a share of 38 percent, IDC said. The year-on-year growth in shipments of iPad units from the Cupertino giant, though, declined 8.6 percent.
Samsung came second with 7.3 million tablets shipped in the quarter that helped capture a share of 15.9 percent. The company saw a significant 21.6 percent decline in year-on-year growth in its shipments, the report noted.
Following Samsung, Lenovo continued its third position in the worldwide tablets market in the fourth quarter. The company, though, saw a 25.4 percent dip in its year-on-year growth that was the biggest over other top-five players.
Lenovo shipped 4.6 million units in the quarter and captured 10 percent year, according to IDC.
Amazon that sells Kindle tablets in the market came fourth by shipping the same number of 3.6 million units in the fourth quarter. However, the market share of Amazon increased to 7.9 percent from 6.8 percent, as per the latest report.
Top-five tablet companies worldwide in Q4 2021 as per IDC
| Company | 2021 shipments (in million) | 2021 market share | 2020 shipments (in million) | 2020 market share | Year-on-year growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 17.5 | 38.0 percent | 19.1 | 36.6 percent | -8.6 percent |
| Samsung | 7.3 | 15.9 percent | 9.3 | 17.8 percent | -21.6 percent |
| Lenovo | 4.6 | 10.0 percent | 6.2 | 11.8 percent | -25.4 percent |
| Amazon | 3.6 | 7.9 percent | 3.6 | 6.8 percent | 1.3 percent |
| Huawei | 2.5 | 5.5 percent | 2.9 | 5.6 percent | -13.9 percent |
| Others | 10.5 | 22.8 percent | 11.1 | 21.3 percent | -5.9 percent |
| Total | 46.0 | 100 percent | 52.2 | 100 percent | -11.9 percent |
In the full-year 2021, tablet shipments worldwide grew 3.2 percent year-on-year to 168.8 million units from the 163.5 million registered in 2020, IDC said in its report.
Apple remained the first player in the market, with 57.8 million units shipped in the year that helped capture a share of 34.2 percent. The company saw an 8.4 percent increase in its year-on-year growth, the report said.
Samsung secured its second position by shipping 30.9 million units that resulted in an 18.3 percent share in the year. The South Korean giant saw a 3.8 percent year-on-year growth as a result of its additional units shipped, IDC noted.
After Samsung, Lenovo came third in the worldwide tablets market on the basis of shipments registered in the year 2021. The report said that Lenovo shipped 17.7 million units that helped gain a market share of 10.5 percent.
Amazon moved from fourth to third place in the year, with 16.1 million units shipped that resulted in a share of 9.5 percent. The company saw a year-on-year growth of 15.1 percent, IDC said.
However, Huawei faced a decline of 32.1 percent in its year-on-year growth in 2021. The company shipped 9.7 million units and captured a share of 5.7 percent. Huawei’s shipments were notably compared with the fourth quarter of 2020 where the units shipped under the Honor brand were also included as well.
Top-five tablet companies worldwide in full-year 2021 as per IDC
| Company | 2021 shipments (in million) | 2021 market share | 2020 shipments (in million) | 2020 market share | Year-on-year growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 57.8 | 34.2 percent | 53.3 | 32.6 percent | 8.4 percent |
| Samsung | 30.9 | 18.3 percent | 29.7 | 18.2 percent | 3.8 percent |
| Lenovo | 17.7 | 10.5 percent | 14.8 | 9.1 percent | 19.2 percent |
| Amazon | 16.1 | 9.5 percent | 14.0 | 8.6 percent | 15.1 percent |
| Huawei | 9.7 | 5.7 percent | 14.3 | 8.7 percent | -32.1 percent |
| Others | 36.7 | 21.7 percent | 37.4 | 22.8 percent | -1.8 percent |
| Total | 168.8 | 100 percent | 163.5 | 100 percent | 3.2 percent |
“Though 2021 was a great year for the tablet market, shipments have begun to decelerate as the market has moved past peak demand across many geographies,” said Anuroopa Nataraj, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.
Nataraj believes that shipments in the near future will remain above pre-pandemic levels as virtual learning, remote work, and media consumption remain priorities for users.
