According to data from research firm NPD, Google outsold Apple in the computing device market last year, with a considerable margin. From January to November 2013, altogether 14.4 million desktops, laptops, and tablets were sold via U.S. commercial channels, which is 25.4 percent higher than the previous year.
Google’s Chromebook and Android tablets collectively accounted for 9.6 percent of the market sales, selling 1.76 million units in 2013, a massive upsurge from just 400,000 in 2012.
On the other hand, Apple’s notebooks accounted for just 1.8 percent of the market share, a fall of about 0.8 percent from the previous year.
“The market for personal computing devices in commercial markets continues to shift and change,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD, in a press release.
The jump in Chromebook sales could be attributed to the low price tag of $199, while a standard iPad starts from $499, mainly due to the free Chrome operating system (OS). Moreover, Google’s cloud platform does not require high-end hardware, allowing the manufacturer to further cut down on costs.
Windows, as usual, dominated with its notebooks, leading the market share with 34.1 percent. It’s sales were, however, lower than previous years.
“Tepid Windows PC sales allowed brands with a focus on alternative form factors or operating systems, like Apple and Samsung, to capture a significant share of a market traditionally dominated by Windows devices,” Baker continued in the report. “Yet the Windows PC in commercial channels is clearly not dead, and its biggest brand proponents, HP and Lenovo, remain deeply committed to that product.”
Liberte Media writers contributed to this report. Liberte Media is an online agency that focuses on increasing user engagement through search engine optimization, pay-per-clicks, social media marketing, and content management.
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