Google's Chromebooks have taken the lead in an area where Apple used to dominate during the Steve Jobs era - the U.S. education sector. Across the United States, Chromebook sales have surpassed 51 percent in the K-12 market during the third quarter, reflecting a significant shift in American schools' thrust towards low-cost, low-maintenance machines, according to USA Today.
Mike Fisher, associate director of education technology at market research firm Futuresource Consulting, believes that Chromebooks were able to capture the interest of the American public school system due to their ease of use, IT manageability and extremely low cost.
"It's a tidal wave: Chrome is the clear U.S. market leader now," Fisher said.
Despite the Chromebooks' dominance, however, Apple continues to be a key player in American educational markets. With about 170,000 education apps on the App Store, the Cupertino, Calif., giant still holds a significant portion of the education sector's market share, reports Cult of Mac.
However, Brian Blau, lead Apple analyst at market researcher Gartner, believes that Apple's influence is fading. For one, it has ceased to become a leader in the educational sector, like it was back in the late Jobs' time. Now, the company seems to be content with just being a player.
Despite losing ground to the Chromebook, Apple is still determined to take back the ground it has lost, releasing a number of education-related updates to its mobile operating system, iOS 9.3. The company has also shaved the price of the iPad, which remains a favorite of schools catering to young learners, according to Mac Daily News.
