Omdia: People bought MacBook Neo, not iPads, ChromeBooks in Q2

New data from Omdia suggests people invested in Macs rather than iPads for the back-to-school season this year.

The data shows that tablet sales defied the typical bounce we usually see at that time of year, while the same company recently confirmed a big 15.9% spike in Mac purchases across Q2.

Omdia’s tells us global tablet shipments fell 10% year-on-year, hitting 36 million sales. Apple kept its grip, grabbing 38% share with 13.5 million iPads sold – down less than the overall industry at 8%. Most of those shipments were of standard iPads. 

Steep decline in tablets

“The past quarter saw one of the steepest declines in the tablet market over the past two years,” said Himani Mukka, Research Manager at Omdia in a statement. 

Given growth in MacBook Neo sales, it is interesting to also note the dramatic 8.6% decline in Chromebook shipments in the period. 

During Apple’s recent fiscal call, it alluded to some of this, noting:

“Pinellas County Schools, one of the largest districts in Florida, is transitioning 25,000 students from Windows devices to MacBook Neo across its 18 high schools. In Washington, Peninsula School District 401 moved over 8,000 students from Chromebooks to MacBook Neo. And in Oklahoma, Midwest City-Dell City School District purchased over 6,000 MacBook Neos to become an all-Apple district for students. In fact, in the last quarter, about half of the MacBook Neo large purchases by U.S. education institutions displaced Windows and Chromebook devices.”

Changing purchasing choices

“While the slowdown was anticipated, the market had remained more resilient than expected in prior quarters. Tablets have become an integral part of many households, and in several consumer use cases, detachable tablets are increasingly replacing traditional PCs for everyday computing.

“Relative affordability, the growing availability of larger-screen models, and tablets’ established role in education and field-based commercial environments continue to support important pockets of demand despite the broader market weakness.” 

Looking forward, the analyst expects vendors will focus resources on flagship and premium tablets as they seek to manage component constraints. 

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