For a long time Apple was all about the education market. Pre iPod and the Apple device revolution, schools were the best place to find Macs and Apple stuff — outside the studios of graphic artists. But the world changes fast, then changes fast again. These days you’ll find Apples sitting on the desks and in the pockets of CEOS and bankers, too, places the PC used to reign.
But schools? Macs still have a place there but the young kids — or at least their school administrators — aren’t buying into the Apple cult. They don’t need iPads, according to the latest Apple figures — when tablets will do just fine. Could be the premium for Apple isn’t getting past the budgetary constraints, even as schools are increasingly transitioning to more screen time for students. Or it could be inroads by Windows and Android. The tech-buying slowdown in the K-12 sector is global, but the US is not immune. Futuresource Consulting reports that after three strong years of growth, education sector buying has slowed in the US too, though “both Chromebooks and Windows devices saw unit growth during the first quarter while Apple continued to see both Macbook and iPad volumes decline YoY,” the report says. Citing multiple initiatives by all the big players, Futuresource says: “The OS battle for the education market is reaching a new level of complexity.”
