Google Chromebook demand is booming due to remote work and learning and it’s likely to cement a role in the enterprise.
Earnings from Dell Technologies and HP highlighted how Chromebooks are getting mass distribution amid remote work and education arrangements. Both Dell and HP saw at least double-digit sales gains from Chromebooks.
In HP’s fourth quarter, the company saw revenue in notebooks jump 18%. HP said consumer revenue was up 24% and commercial revenue fell 12%.
HP CEO Enrique Lores said:
The change in mix reflected the strong demand for notebooks, mainly in Chromebooks, which represented 20% of our total Personal Systems units as working and learning from home continued.
Lores added that Chromebook revenue and units more than doubled.
Dell operating chief Jeff Clarke also noted that Chromebook momentum is in the enterprise too. “Demand for notebooks remained strong, with orders up 24%, driven by double-digit orders growth across the majority of our commercial and consumer notebook lines. In addition, orders for commercial Chromebooks more than doubled,” he said.
The company has made a big push to support Chromebooks in enterprises with the same management software it has used to deploy Windows PCs.
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Dell and HP are echoing what Lenovo outlined when it reported its second quarter results Nov. 3. Lenovo said Chromebooks are seeing strong demand and even average selling price increases. That trend may continue with 5G Chromebooks.
Lenovo President and Chief Operating Officer Gianfranco Lanci said:
We will see probably mid of next year or later next year 5G Chromebook coming. And so with a good 5G connectivity or 4G connectivity because people, they need to be connected, always connected, so I’m not afraid of any deterioration of the average selling price of Chromebook.
Lenovo derives less than 10% of its PC shipments from Chromebooks, said Lanci.
Overall, Clarke was bullish on the PC market as “an essential device for productivity and learning.” He noted that there are 700 million PCs four years or older and that’ll lead to another upgrade cycle after the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, households have quickly become multi-PC environments.
The big question is how many of those PCs will ultimately be replaced by Chromebooks.