The International Data Corporation (IDC) has released new data showing that Google's Chromebooks have become more popular at schools than iPads.
While the Apple devices previously held the top spot in shipping among schools in the U.S., Google was shown to have shipped 715,500 of its laptops into U.S. schools in the third quarter of the year, while 702,000 iPads were shipped in that period, according to PC Magazine.
Futuresource Consulting released similar data on Wednesday, finding that Chromebooks are the U.S.'s best-selling device for K-12 education for the second quarter in a row. The firm said over two million units were shipped between January and September 2014, with over one million Chromebook PCs shipped in the third quarter.
Price plays a key role in Google's success with the laptops, as Chromebooks start as low as $199, while the 2013 iPad Air starts at $379 after educational discounts, PC Magazine reported. The search giant's Apps for Education Suite is also giving the company an edge in the education market as it lets teachers create and collect assignments online. While Microsoft's Office 365 provides a similar service for teachers for a price, Apps for Education is free to use.
While Apple has been trying to stay on top in education by spending $1.3 billion on giving every student and teacher in Los Angeles an iPad, the initiative has run into several issues, such as the FBI recently seizing 20 boxes of documents relative to the effort, which is currently under investigation.
Despite the Chromebook's rise in popularity in education, Apple's iPad and MacBook have allowed the company to keep the top spot in terms of market share in U.S. K-12 education. The No. 2 and No. 3 spots are held by Dell and Acer respectively, both of which provide Chromebooks.
