Chromebook surpassed Macbooks in 2013, but iPads dominated tablet space

Google's lightweight OS has beaten Apple's workhorse in terms of sales, says NPD.

Naina Khedekar|Dec 30, 2013, 10:03:37 IST

As 2013 comes to an end, several research firms have started disclosing sales numbers from this year. A new report by NPD Group’s Distributor Track and Commercial Reseller Tracking Service reveals that Apple’s iPad still dominate the tablet space, even though the sales of iPads has dipped slightly compared to last year. The report also states that Android and Windows tablets are catching up to Apple's share. This year, Apple released its most powerful and a ridiculously sleek iPad. Check out our iPad Air review.

Coming in as a surprise, the report also reveals that Apple’s MacBook computers have also taken a dip, owing to the increasing sales of Google’s Chromebooks. This year Apple refreshed its MacBook range with Intel’s latest chipset, prolonged battery life and more. Samsung Chromebook is here

Chromebook sales on a rise

Chromebooks, and Android tablets collectively had the biggest impact on sales growth, with 1.76 million units going through the channel from January through November of this year, compared to just 400,000 units in 2012. The report also highlights that desktop and Windows-based laptop sales have started dropping too.

In the period from January to November 2013, 14.4 million desktops, notebooks and tablets were sold all across the US. In fact, this year saw 25.4 percent increase in the sale of these products compared to last year, says the report. Desktop sales through the channel increased 8.5 percent, notebooks grew 28.9 percent, and tablets jumped 49 percent growth over the same time period in 2012. Windows notebooks didn’t show any growth and Apple sales for notebooks and desktops combined fell by 7 percent.