Chromebooks, tablets lead global PC revival in first quarter of 2021

12 million Chromebooks were sold in the quarter

Chromebooks with 12 million units and tablets with 39.7 million units led the PC revival in Q1 2021, posting 274.6 per cent and 51.8 per cent growth, respectively.

HP Inc topped the market yet again, with growth of 633.7 per cent propelling it past the four-million unit mark.

Lenovo took second place with 3.1 million units shipped, having ramped up production to help ease order backlogs from 2020. Acer, Samsung and Dell made up the rest of the top five, all shipping over 1 million units, according to latest data from market research firm Canalys.

The total worldwide PC market (including tablets) grew strongly for a fourth successive quarter in Q1 2021, with shipments up 53.1 per cent (year on year) at 122.1 million units.

"Chromebooks are well and truly a mainstream computing product now. While the education sector still accounts for the majority of shipments, their popularity with consumers and traditional commercial customers has reached new heights over the course of the last year," said Brian Lynch, Canalys Research Analyst.

Google is now in a strong position to work with its OEM partners and the channel to cement a rosy future for Chromebooks, Lynch added.

In the tablet segment, almost all the top vendors enjoyed continued shipment growth in Q1 2021.

Apple extended its lead, growing 50.3 per cent and shipping 15.2 million units as the latest iteration of the iPad Air gained traction with consumers.

Samsung maintained second place with 8 million units shipped, posting growth of 59.9 per cent. Lenovo and Amazon achieved the highest levels of shipment volume growth with 133.5 per cent and 197.9 per cent (year on year) respectively.

Huawei, however, suffered a decline of 27.9 per cent, primarily due to the breakaway of its former Honor brand into a separate entity.

"The tablet market continues to defy expectations with the strength of its comeback," said Research Analyst Himani Mukka.

"At a time when the overall PC market is facing a supply crunch, the vendors that have strong tablet offerings have been able to squeeze out even greater gains from the increased demand for screen access and remote productivity brought about by the pandemic," Mukka added.

Lenovo maintained its lead in the total PC market, which includes desktops, notebooks and tablets, shipping 24 million units.

--IANS

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