Since launching in Australia back in 2013, Chromebooks have been slowly inching their way into broader use. Now Google has released information saying that Chromebooks now have over 20% market share in Australia.
At launch in Australia, Chromebooks were highly available at both Harvey Norman and JB HiFi. Since then, both retailers, and others who jumped on board, have scaled back their availability to the point that it’s hard to find them in Australia.
Chromebooks have since found a more stable home within the education sector where large purchases, such as the recent ACT schools purchase have put Chromebooks into the hands of students, letting them work with the low-cost, low-maintenance devices.
This adoption has seen Chromebooks reach between 20%-30% market share in Australia, a statistic shared by Google in a blog entry penned by Cyrus Mistry, Group Product Manager, Chromebooks for Education. The statistic was in the form of an animated GIF which shows Chromebook adoption globally from 2012 to the present.
Google’s largest market is the North American market where the infographic shows they have between 50%-60% market share. Google doesn’t traditionally share numbers, so exact figures are hard to come by. The recent launch of Amazon in Australia has brought an easier way to source Chromebooks, so this statistic could be updated over the next couple of years rather significantly.
It seems that Chrome OS and Chrome devices aren’t going anywhere in the short term, with Google constantly iterating on the OS improving it at every turn. Whether we’ll see something along the lines of the now cancelled ‘Andromeda’ mix of Chrome OS and Android, or whether it’s replaced eventually by something like Fuchsia or whether Chrome OS becomes the dominant OS in Google’s stable is something we’ll just have to wait and see.
Not surprising. I just love Chromebooks. With Windows I had to ghost a machine before giving it to my kid. Then when it was slowed down with viruses and malware or just would not boot would have to restore.
With a Chromebook I hand it to the kid and they are good to go. One of daughters wanted to trade with a sibling as the siblings Chromebook had better speakers and hers was all metal and smaller. They just switched and logged in and that was it. With Windows that is a several hour job.
Spot on Jack. One of the reasons ChromeOS is so great in the education environment.
Retailers scaled back supplies of chromebooks? I read it clearly as pressure from Microsoft and Apple;)
There was 2 factors involved: 1) most sales reps didn’t “get” Chromebooks and what they were, and 2) there’s no value added sales as you get with Windows laptops such as MS Office or Anti-virus software. Those factors just sank them. I out can still order Chromebooks through retailers but it’s an extra step.
Pretty shocked at that stat. I’ve never seen one in real life. Are they all in schools?
Yep. The Catholic Education office is all in on Chromebooks and public schools are transitioning to them now.
I’ve been using a Chromebook since 2013; I’m a writer and do all my work in Google Drive. I’m using a HP Chromebook 14 that’s 3.5 years old. I really want a Chromebook that runs Android apps… Need to buy a new one this year, but not sure where to buy from…
My suggestion is grab a Pixelbook from Amazon. They will ship it to Australia, and you’ll likely have it delivered within just a couple of days. You won’t regret it.
Chromebook Plus or Pro from Amazon USA or B&H. Half the price of the cheapest Google pixelbook. A lot of Aussies have tread that path already.
A good many have imported the Samsung units and they’re very good.
Definately a lot more reliable than a Windows computer. Mine has blue screened about 200+ times in the last few months (and no its not a hardware issue but a Windows Update).
Really hoping retailers actually start stocking chromebooks, had to import my chromebook plus and was hoping the pixel book would mark a point australia started stocking them.
It is such a huge shame that the Pixelbook is not sold locally. It’s amazing.
I bought my 2 Chromebooks from JB HiFi, but they no longer sell CBs…