Chromebooks outsell Macs in the US
Chromebooks outsold the entire Mac range in the first quarter of 2016 in the United States, marking the first time Google's cloud-powered notebooks beat out Apple's premium product family. Research IDC firm revealed that Apple moved about 1.76 million Macs during the quarter, and while it doesn't normally separate Chromebook numbers from the PC category, told The Verge that "Chrome OS overtook Mac OS in the US in terms of shipments for the first time in 1Q16". Exact numbers weren't provided, but this suggests around 2 million Chromebooks were moved during that time.
While price is obviously a factor (Chromebooks start around AUD$300, while the cheapest MacBook Air goes for AUD$1,400) IDC says the education market is largely responsible for the Chromebook's U.S success.
Chromebooks aren't always easy to find in Australia, but Google is hoping to make its low cost notebooks more appealing to consumers with Android app support. A large number of Chromebooks will be able to access the Google Play app store and download made-for-Android apps by the end of the year. The complete list of Chromebooks that will get Android app support can be found here.
