Chromebook sales surged in Q2 thanks to Japanese schools
(2025/08/05)
- Reference: 1754420585
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/05/canalys_reports_revitalization_of_chromebook/
- Source link:
Chromebook demand surged in the second quarter of 2025, Canalys reported Tuesday, but that doesn't necessarily mean permanent growth is on the horizon.
Canalys published its second quarter [1]report on the Chromebook and tablet markets today. The analytics firm said that 11 million Chromebooks were shipped in the first half of the year, with more shipments coming in the second quarter than the first, suggesting an upward trend.
"Chromebooks are experiencing a period of revitalization," Canalys analyst Kieren Jessop said in Canalys' report. As he noted, however, there's one major driving force behind that surge: A Japanese initiative called the GIGA School Program that aims to get a free device and Wi-Fi access into the hands of every student in the country.
[2]
"Shipments to Japan grew more than twentyfold year on year, as government-funded procurement began to pick up momentum," Jessop said. "This renewed demand is expected to continue through mid-2026."
[3]
[4]
After the midpoint of next year the state of the Chromebook market is far less clear.
Jessop noted that a number of Asian countries have been prioritizing Chromebook purchases for their educational programs as well, but while that may sustain development beyond the end of GIGA, it might not be a reliable source of future market growth.
[5]
Lenovo was the Chromebook market leader for the first half of 2025 with 31 percent of the worldwide Chromebook market, driven largely by its strong adoption in Japan. HP followed in second place while losing some market share to Lenovo, while Acer shipped the third most Chromebooks in H1 25.
Tablet market keeps growing too, for some reason
Many people likely have a tablet that just sits on a stand, perpetually plugged into USB power and gathering dust (guilty), but apparently we're in the minority, as tablet sales just recorded their sixth straight quarter of growth, Canalys said.
Consumer subsidies in China were cited as a large reason for the continued uptick, which Canalys said continued at nine percent annual and five percent sequential rates, as well as increased phrases of gaming-focused tablets, which have been particularly successful in Asian markets.
Along with gaming and subsidized sales, there's also the fact that a number of vendors - particularly in China - are making tablets the centerpieces of connected ecosystems that use a single device for multiple purposes.
[6]Lenovo shows what a Chromebook packing a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra can do
[7]Google's 10-year Chromebook lifeline leaves old laptops headed for silicon cemetery
[8]Google Indonesia tangled up in $600 million Chromebook corruption probe
[9]Not even Chromebooks can escape AI PC craze: Google to inject Plus laptops with LLM juice
Xiaomi's Human x Car x Home initiative is one example provided by Canalys as a potential reason for growing tablet purchases - the program lets users set up a tablet as a single point of control for smart homes and various functions in their vehicles.
No surprise here, but Apple continues to dominate the tablet space with 36 percent of the market, and while iPad shipments have grown, the company has still lost market share - as has number-two tablet maker Samsung. Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi all ate into their share of the tablet market, though none of the three have managed to get beyond Huawei's 8.3 percent presence.
Will the tablet market keep growing? The report didn't say, and we didn't immediately hear back from Canalys with answers to that end. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://canalys.com/newsroom/global-tablet-market-q2-2025
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJJ-6TAeBIxAZGLNCQSwKQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJJ-6TAeBIxAZGLNCQSwKQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/24/chromebook_plus_kompanio_ultra_lenovo/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/06/chromebook_end_of_life/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/14/asia_tech_news_roundup/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/28/google_ai_chromebook/
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Canalys published its second quarter [1]report on the Chromebook and tablet markets today. The analytics firm said that 11 million Chromebooks were shipped in the first half of the year, with more shipments coming in the second quarter than the first, suggesting an upward trend.
"Chromebooks are experiencing a period of revitalization," Canalys analyst Kieren Jessop said in Canalys' report. As he noted, however, there's one major driving force behind that surge: A Japanese initiative called the GIGA School Program that aims to get a free device and Wi-Fi access into the hands of every student in the country.
[2]
"Shipments to Japan grew more than twentyfold year on year, as government-funded procurement began to pick up momentum," Jessop said. "This renewed demand is expected to continue through mid-2026."
[3]
[4]
After the midpoint of next year the state of the Chromebook market is far less clear.
Jessop noted that a number of Asian countries have been prioritizing Chromebook purchases for their educational programs as well, but while that may sustain development beyond the end of GIGA, it might not be a reliable source of future market growth.
[5]
Lenovo was the Chromebook market leader for the first half of 2025 with 31 percent of the worldwide Chromebook market, driven largely by its strong adoption in Japan. HP followed in second place while losing some market share to Lenovo, while Acer shipped the third most Chromebooks in H1 25.
Tablet market keeps growing too, for some reason
Many people likely have a tablet that just sits on a stand, perpetually plugged into USB power and gathering dust (guilty), but apparently we're in the minority, as tablet sales just recorded their sixth straight quarter of growth, Canalys said.
Consumer subsidies in China were cited as a large reason for the continued uptick, which Canalys said continued at nine percent annual and five percent sequential rates, as well as increased phrases of gaming-focused tablets, which have been particularly successful in Asian markets.
Along with gaming and subsidized sales, there's also the fact that a number of vendors - particularly in China - are making tablets the centerpieces of connected ecosystems that use a single device for multiple purposes.
[6]Lenovo shows what a Chromebook packing a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra can do
[7]Google's 10-year Chromebook lifeline leaves old laptops headed for silicon cemetery
[8]Google Indonesia tangled up in $600 million Chromebook corruption probe
[9]Not even Chromebooks can escape AI PC craze: Google to inject Plus laptops with LLM juice
Xiaomi's Human x Car x Home initiative is one example provided by Canalys as a potential reason for growing tablet purchases - the program lets users set up a tablet as a single point of control for smart homes and various functions in their vehicles.
No surprise here, but Apple continues to dominate the tablet space with 36 percent of the market, and while iPad shipments have grown, the company has still lost market share - as has number-two tablet maker Samsung. Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi all ate into their share of the tablet market, though none of the three have managed to get beyond Huawei's 8.3 percent presence.
Will the tablet market keep growing? The report didn't say, and we didn't immediately hear back from Canalys with answers to that end. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://canalys.com/newsroom/global-tablet-market-q2-2025
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJJ-6TAeBIxAZGLNCQSwKQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJJ-6TAeBIxAZGLNCQSwKQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJJ-6TAeBIxAZGLNCQSwKQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJJ-6TAeBIxAZGLNCQSwKQAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/24/chromebook_plus_kompanio_ultra_lenovo/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/06/chromebook_end_of_life/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/14/asia_tech_news_roundup/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/28/google_ai_chromebook/
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/