Google, Microsoft, and Apple Are Fighting For Classrooms - Where Do They Stand Currently?

The education-tech market is massive. It is expected to reach $43 Billion in United States alone this year and not missing out on any opportunity, Apple, Google and Microsoft are battling out constantly for their dominance. They all want to make consumers feel that they are a part of a brilliant future when they select their technology in classroom, hence resulting into better profits, loyalty and impression of the company.

Till 2011, Apple used to own most number of devices in U.S schools but it all changed when Google came out with Chromebooks and as seen last year, Chromebooks had 60 percent of the market share. It was a great invention with a student friendly price tag and compatible technology to deal with every school related tasks.

Microsoft stood second with 22 per cent and Apple with 18 percent of total shipments to U.S schools in 2018.


Chart courtesy of CNBC.

These devices together have changed the environment of classrooms for better. It has become relatively easier for students and teachers to understand various topics and discuss them while seeing them in real with the help of videos, AR and 3D technology.

In response to the current scenario, Apple introduced more possibilities after announcing the 9.7 inch iPad 6, which was priced at $299 for students (originally $329). It provided the opportunity to seamlessly work within the apps with the help of new accessories along. Students are now able to writing and storing notes with the help of Apple pencil, taking screenshots of visuals for the iBook with high-definition camera and have productive fun in classrooms with attached keyboard. The device is so powerful, superlight, budget friendly and easy to use that public schools across U.S loved it more than anything.

But when it came to sharing, Google won the game with its comprehensive G-Suite and targeting the most important parts of education. The company provided a platform to everyone in the class, especially teachers, to coordinate and manage their work in a much better way. They made their apps to work efficiently on every device so when today, there is immense amount of appreciation for ipads and tablets, Google again remains top favorite for students due to its widespread software strategy.
You might not believe this at first, but outside U.S, the clear cut winner is Microsoft with 57% of classroom sales in 2018. This is largely due to emerging markets that lack the internet connection for chromebooks to work or iPads to show off itself. Realizing the significance of bringing technology to more classrooms, Microsoft played their move with Surface devices. It is quite like a tablet but with pencils and considerably better accessories.

Besides that, Microsoft has also jumped into the classrooms by making students learn how to code for games. With interactive courses, children are taught the very basics of computer language and the amount of interest it is gathering, the future of computer science indeed looks very bright.

The biggest benefit of this clash, however, is to the schools as students are given a variety of technology to choose from for their work. It doesn’t matter who ever wins in future, the classroom of today has the potential to make humans learn about the world on a whole new level and also transform them into well equipped geniuses.



Read Next: Google Classroom and the Workforce of Tomorrow
Previous Post Next Post