The days of Chromebooks being used as a cheap and easy home schooling tool appear to be over, as shipments drop 29 per cent for the third quarter of 2022.

This is according to Canalys data, which shows just 4.2 million Chromebooks were shipped during the September quarter, the lowest quarterly shipment number since 2019.

“Since the education market first showed signs of saturation in Q3 2021, vendors have struggled to find growth opportunities in other segments while managing high inventory levels,” explains Canalys Research Analyst Brian Lynch.

“A fall in Chromebook demand was expected in the second half of 2021 but the extent of the decline has been worsened by economic headwinds, limiting education budgets and stemming any momentum among consumers and businesses.”

Acer lead the Chromebook market, with over a million units shipped, posting 11 per cent growth and capturing over a quarter of overall shipments.

HP secured second place in the Chromebook rankings, despite shipments falling 27 per cent to just 800,000 units.

Lenovo suffered a huge 50 per cent drop due to high inventory levels, while Dell saw a more modest 11 per cent decline.

“The current situation of high inventory levels and low demand has dented enthusiasm for Chromebooks for some vendors,” Lynch continues.

“Windows-based education PCs have attracted more interest as they will offer alternative sales opportunities in future instances of erratic education demand.”

“Still, global education demand strongly favors Chromebooks as they account for the bulk of the installed base and are preferred by IT administrators across the US education system. Upcoming spikes in education demand will continue to benefit Chromebooks more than competing devices.”

Tablet shipments fell a more modest 6 per cent in the quarter, to 35.3 million units, following an 11 per cent drop in the previous quarter.