Chromebook shipments fell 11% year on year to roughly 4.5 million units in Q1 2026, and four of the five largest vendors lost volume, per Omdia. Dell dropped 28.3%. ASUS was the only vendor to grow. This post tracks Chromebook global shipment statistics by quarter: the 2025 recovery, Q1 2026 vendor-by-vendor numbers, the DRAM price squeeze, regional splits, and how deep the 2026 decline could run.
Chromebook Global Shipment Statistics By Quarter: Key Facts
- Q1 2026 shipments landed near 4.5 million units, down 11% year on year (Omdia).
- Lenovo led the quarter at 1.5 million units despite an 11.2% decline; ASUS grew 3.5% to 406,000 units.
- 2025 closed at about 22.11 million units, up from 17.5 million in 2024, with 11 million shipped in H1 alone.
- Omdia expects Q4 2026 Chromebook shipments to fall around 50% year on year, the worst quarter of the cycle.
- Google set a 19.5 million unit target for full-year 2026, per Digitimes supply chain reporting.
The quarterly record shows a sharp turn. Education refresh cycles in the US and Japan’s GIGA School Program pushed 2025 volumes up 26% before DRAM contract prices jumped 55 to 60% in Q1 2026 and buyers started deferring orders. The full ChromeOS user base numbers show where these shipments end up once deployed.
Chromebook Shipments By Quarter From 2024 Through 2026
Manufacturers shipped 11 million Chromebooks in H1 2025, up 10.6% year on year, per Omdia. Q3 added roughly 4.4 million units at 3.1% growth, and Q4 implied about 6.7 million against the 22.11 million annual total.
Q1 2026 ended the run at approximately 4.5 million units. That is the first year-on-year quarterly decline since the 2024 trough of 17.5 million full-year units.
| Period | Shipments | YoY Change | Main Factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2024 | 17.5 million | Down | ESSER funding expiry, fleet overhang |
| H1 2025 | 11 million | +10.6% | US refresh cycle, GIGA School phase one |
| Q3 2025 | ~4.4 million | +3.1% | Back-to-school demand, APAC growth |
| Q4 2025 (implied) | ~6.7 million | — | GIGA phase one completion |
| FY 2025 | ~22.11 million | +26.3% | Full recovery year |
| Q1 2026 | ~4.5 million | −11% | Memory costs, deferred procurement |
Source: Omdia press releases (August 2025, November 2025, May 2026); Digitimes; Custom Market Insights
Japan drove the steepest single swing in the dataset. GIGA School shipments grew about twentyfold year on year during H1 2025, then the program’s first phase closed at the end of 2025 and the pipeline emptied, a pattern also visible in the K-12 adoption figures.
Which Vendors Led Q1 2026 Chromebook Shipments?
Lenovo shipped 1.5 million Chromebooks in Q1 2026, down 11.2% as the first GIGA deployment phase wound down, per Omdia. HP followed at 1 million units, off 15.3%.
Dell posted the steepest fall among the top five at −28.3% to 413,000 units. ASUS, a supplier to GIGA School 2.0, grew 3.5% to 406,000 units and took a 9% share.
| Vendor | Q1 2026 Units | YoY Change | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo | 1.5 million | −11.2% | GIGA phase one concluded; NEC subsidiary |
| HP | 1.0 million | −15.3% | Second consecutive down quarter |
| Acer | 937,000 | Smaller decline | Stable North America, growing APAC |
| Dell | 413,000 | −28.3% | Steepest top-five drop |
| ASUS | 406,000 | +3.5% | Only top-five vendor to grow; 9% share |
Source: Omdia, Q1 2026 tablet and Chromebook shipment report (May 2026)
Acer’s resilience came from North American channel stability rather than education wins. Lenovo’s lead still holds at roughly a third of the market, and its position in schools shows up again in the district-level purchasing data.
Why Are Chromebook Shipments Falling In 2026?
Conventional DRAM contract prices rose 55 to 60% quarter on quarter in Q1 2026, per TrendForce. Omdia analyst Kieren Jessop puts the added memory and storage cost at $90 to $165 per device since early 2025.
A $90 component increase equals 36% of a $250 education Chromebook’s price. On a $2,000 premium laptop the same increase is about 4%, which is why Chrome devices take the hardest hit of any PC category.
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| DRAM contract price change, Q1 2026 | +55–60% QoQ | TrendForce |
| Added memory/storage cost per device | $90–$165 | Omdia |
| Memory output going to data centers, 2026 | 70% | IDC |
| 2026 PC shipment forecast, all platforms | −11.3% | IDC |
| 2026 PC average selling price forecast | +18.3% | IDC |
Source: TrendForce, Omdia, and IDC (Q1–Q2 2026)
Jessop also reports that education deployments are being deferred until conditions stabilize, and that supply constraints will delay phase two of Japan’s GIGA School 2.0 program. The pass-through to sticker prices is measured in the component cost and retail pricing data.
The 2024 slump was a demand problem tied to expired US federal funding. The 2026 slump is a supply problem, and it will not fix itself when school budgets reopen.
Chromebook Global Shipment Statistics By Quarter: Regional And Segment Split
North America absorbs 52.4% of global Chromebook volume, per IDC. Asia-Pacific holds 38.58% of distribution and grows fastest at a 4.7% CAGR, while Europe takes 25.13%, based on MMR Statistics.
Education buys 60.1% of all Chromebooks. US K-12 mobile PC shipments across every platform reached 43 million units in 2025, up 27%, per Futuresource Consulting.
| Metric | Share / Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 52.4% | Global usage share |
| Asia-Pacific | 38.58% | Distribution share, 4.7% CAGR |
| Europe | 25.13% | Distribution share |
| Education segment | 60.1% of sales | Global, all vendors |
| Enterprise segment | 8.2% CAGR | Fastest-growing buyer group |
Source: IDC, MMR Statistics, Mordor Intelligence, Futuresource Consulting (2025–2026)
The three regional figures use different measurement bases, so they do not sum to 100%. Education’s 60.1% weight is what makes quarterly totals swing with procurement calendars, and the Chromebook and iPad classroom comparison shows why districts keep choosing the platform. Enterprise demand runs the other direction, with growth tracked in the remote work deployment numbers.
How Low Will Chromebook Shipments Go In 2026?
Omdia projects a 28% full-year decline for 2026, which works out to roughly 15.9 million units against the 22.11 million 2025 base. The firm expects Q4 2026 to run about 50% below Q4 2025.
Google’s own target sits higher. Digitimes reported in January 2026 that Google is holding to 19.5 million units for the year, backed by component support for Intel, Qualcomm, and MediaTek platforms.
| Scenario | 2026 Units | Change vs 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 baseline | 22.11 million | — |
| Google target (Digitimes) | 19.5 million | −12% |
| Omdia projection | ~15.9 million | −28% |
| Q4 2026 quarter (Omdia) | ~3.3 million implied | −50% YoY |
Source: Digitimes (January 2026); Omdia analyst Kieren Jessop (May 2026)
Revenue tells a different story. The market grew from $8.73 billion in 2025 to $14.7 billion in 2026, per Custom Market Insights and SkyQuest Technology, because component inflation moved into selling prices while unit counts fell.
Digitimes expects memory supply to loosen in H2 2026. Longer-range forecasts still point to 26.72 million units by 2030, which would require the deferred education orders to return in 2027.
FAQs
How many Chromebooks shipped in Q1 2026?
Roughly 4.5 million Chromebooks shipped in Q1 2026, down 11% year on year per Omdia. Lenovo led with 1.5 million units, followed by HP at 1 million and Acer at 937,000.
Which Chromebook vendor grew in Q1 2026?
ASUS was the only top-five vendor to grow, up 3.5% to 406,000 units for a 9% share. Its role in Japan’s GIGA School Program 2.0 supported the increase.
How many Chromebooks shipped by quarter in 2025?
H1 2025 delivered 11 million units, Q3 added about 4.4 million, and Q4 implied roughly 6.7 million. The full year totaled around 22.11 million, up 26.3% from 2024.
Why are Chromebook shipments declining in 2026?
DRAM contract prices rose 55–60% in Q1 2026, adding $90–$165 per device. Thin-margin education models absorb that increase hardest, so districts are deferring purchases until memory supply normalizes.
What is the 2026 Chromebook shipment forecast?
Omdia projects a 28% decline to about 15.9 million units, with Q4 down 50% year on year. Google targets 19.5 million units, per Digitimes, with supply expected to ease in H2 2026.
Sources
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20260121PD217/google-chromebook-shipments-memory-chips-supply.html
