Chromebook Sales Surged In Q2 Thanks To Japanese Schools

UPDATED Chromebook demand surged in the second quarter of 2025, Canalys reported Tuesday, but that doesn't necessarily mean permanent growth is on the horizon. 

Canalys published its second quarter report on the Chromebook and tablet markets today. The analytics firm said that 11 million Chromebooks were shipped in the first half of the year, with more shipments coming in the second quarter than the first, suggesting an upward trend. 

"Chromebooks are experiencing a period of revitalization," Canalys analyst Kieren Jessop said in Canalys' report. As he noted, however, there's one major driving force behind that surge: A Japanese initiative called the GIGA School Program that aims to get a free device and Wi-Fi access into the hands of every student in the country.

"Shipments to Japan grew more than twentyfold year on year, as government-funded procurement began to pick up momentum," Jessop said. "This renewed demand is expected to continue through mid-2026." 

After the midpoint of next year the state of the Chromebook market is far less clear. 

Jessop noted that a number of Asian countries have been prioritizing Chromebook purchases for their educational programs as well, but while that may sustain development beyond the end of GIGA, it might not be a reliable source of future market growth. 

Lenovo was the Chromebook market leader for the first half of 2025 with 31 percent of the worldwide Chromebook market, driven largely by its strong adoption in Japan. HP followed in second place while losing some market share to Lenovo, while Acer shipped the third most Chromebooks in H1 25.

Tablet market keeps growing too, for some reason

Many people likely have a tablet that just sits on a stand, perpetually plugged into USB power and gathering dust (guilty), but apparently we're in the minority, as tablet sales just recorded their sixth straight quarter of growth, Canalys said. 

Consumer subsidies in China were cited as a large reason for the continued uptick, which Canalys said continued at nine percent annual and five percent sequential rates, as well as increased phrases of gaming-focused tablets, which have been particularly successful in Asian markets. 

Along with gaming and subsidized sales, there's also the fact that a number of vendors - particularly in China - are making tablets the centerpieces of connected ecosystems that use a single device for multiple purposes. 

• Lenovo shows what a Chromebook packing a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra can do
• Google's 10-year Chromebook lifeline leaves old laptops headed for silicon cemetery
• Google Indonesia tangled up in $600 million Chromebook corruption probe
• Not even Chromebooks can escape AI PC craze: Google to inject Plus laptops with LLM juice

Xiaomi's Human x Car x Home initiative is one example provided by Canalys as a potential reason for growing tablet purchases - the program lets users set up a tablet as a single point of control for smart homes and various functions in their vehicles. 

No surprise here, but Apple continues to dominate the tablet space with 36 percent of the market, and while iPad shipments have grown, the company has still lost market share - as has number-two tablet maker Samsung. Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi all ate into their share of the tablet market, though none of the three have managed to get beyond Huawei's 8.3 percent presence. 

After initial publication of this article, Canalys responded to questions, providing us with some additional insight into the state of the Chromebook market.

Canalys' Himani Mukka, who authored the tablet section of the report, told us in an email that the Chromebook surge in Japan is part of a larger refresh wave that manufacturers will be able to ride for a few quarters.

"What we're seeing now is a wave of replacement demand," Mukka said. "This is expected to happen in predictable cycles, with another significant refresh likely in four to five years as the current devices are retired.

"Outside of Asia, Mukka noted, the Chromebook market hasn't moved much, and has even decreased in the US thanks to the termination of the Emergency Connectivity Fund, part of which paid for purchasing of Chromebooks for US students.

"At this point, there's no clear visibility on when — or if — substantial demand will return from the US," Mukka said.®

Updated at 1518 UTC with Canalys'comment.