You probably didn't get a tablet or Chromebook for Christmas, if these Q4 sales numbers are anything to judge by

At least the rest of 2021 was pretty solid

Thanks to circumstances beyond any of our control, the last two years have seen sales of tablets, laptops, and Chromebooks absolutely skyrocket. Although plenty of workers and students are back to semi-regular in-person meetings, many people remain at home — either in a hybrid situation or for good. Of course, what goes up must come down, and it seems like we might be past the peak of explosive growth for mobile gadgets.

Marketing firm IDC released their latest tablet and Chromebook numbers for Q4 2021. Despite the holiday shopping season, nearly all leading manufacturers for both product categories saw their year-over-year sales drop significantly compared to Q4 2020. In the tablet space, Apple led the pack with 17.5 million iPads shipped, down 8.6 percent. Samsung and Lenovo took the silver and bronze slots, dropping 21.6% and 25.4%, respectively. Only Amazon — boosted by its ever-popular budget Fire Tablet lineup — managed to stay in the green, with a 1.3% increase for a fourth-place finish. Overall, this quarter saw an 11.49% drop — not terrible, but certainly not great news for tablet manufacturers.

Chromebooks, for their part, fared even worse. Acer came in first — no doubt spurred on by our recommendation of the Chromebook Spin 713 — with 1.3 million shipments, down a whopping 43.3%. The rest of the category saw similar numbers, with Samsung's 22.4% drop the smallest of the bunch. Overall, 4.8 million Chromebooks shipped in Q4, a massive 63.6% drop year-over-year, marking the latest report in a string of bad news.

Before you shed some tears for these manufacturers, there is a shred of good news in today's report. While Q4 might've been bad, 2021 as a whole still had both categories see some overall growth. 168.8 million total tablets were sold last year — good enough for a 3.2% increase over 2020. Meanwhile, 37 million Chromebooks found their way into the lives of new users, representing an even larger 13.5 percent boost.

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Still, it's some rough momentum for all of these OEMs to be entering 2022 on. While the pandemic continues to be a factor in our lives, these numbers suggest many of us who needed new devices for work or school have made the upgrade. Chromebooks and tablets both last for years between upgrades — many newer Chromebooks, in fact, are set for nearly a decade of support. Without the need to upgrade every year or two, it could be a rocky time for manufacturers of either device.

About The Author

Will Sattelberg (830 Articles Published)

Will has been an Android enthusiast since he got his first smartphone in 2011. He loves watching movies, has a never-ending backlog of video games, and produces a comedy podcast in his spare time. He lives in Buffalo, NY and is willing to give you chicken wing recommendations at any time. Just ask.

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