Apple Losing Out to Microsoft and Google in U.S. Classrooms

[Chupa Chupa]

Good. This is a much needed kick in the butt for Apple.

No. THIS is not news to Apple. It's not really news at all. Schools have been transitioning out of Apple for a couple years now. It's not an area Apple is looking to fix or they would have done it already. It would be damn hard for them to compete with Chromebooks at this point. TC was, as usual, arrogant and shortsighted in insisting making a low cost edu model would denigrate the Mac legacy. Ha! Apparently he hasn't really taken notice at the current Mac line up. Apple's "office" apps -- Pages, Numbers are weak too and woefully need a major update to even come up to Office 2011 standards.

Truly, it's hard to see what Apple's strategy on anything is these days is other than selling more iPhones and hopefully looping customers into Apple Music. Everything else seems to be a side item.

 

[9081094]

No. THIS is not news to Apple. It's not really news at all. Schools have been transitioning out of Apple for a couple years now. It's not an area Apple is looking to fix or they would have done it already. It would be damn hard for them to compete with Chromebooks at this point. TC was, as usually, arrogant in insisting making a low cost edu model would denigrate the Mac legacy. Ha! Apparently he hasn't really taken notice at the current Mac line up.

Truly, it's hard to see what Apple's strategy on anything is these days is other than selling more iPhones and hopefully looping customers into Apple Music. Everything else seems to be a side item.

You know what's so funny. Apple did make inroads in education in 2010 when the iPad was introduced. Offering a cheaper solution for the target market. Together with author books it looked quite promising. Then after the years go by and nothing really special happened except that the iPads got more expensive with every new release and are now at the same level as the desktops it should replace in school. Google in the meantime innovated heavily and saw what their market really needed. Cheap solutions for basic needs. Every release cycles chromebooks got better but staying low on price. Apple noticed already in 2015 but it's arrogance put it away as 'testing machines'. This and together with a missing growing path to the future and lag of interest on Apple's part making their software and services better is what's made the poor state of iPads in education today. But that's just iPad. It's among all Apple offerings today. I surely don't recommend any of it among friends and family anymore. How times changes.

It's understandable for a company who needs more money to survive. But all of this is making me sad and angry coming from a company which was famous for good quality products, software and services. Today it was never as profitable as of now in their whole history. If it really cared about the delivering the best to their customers it wouldn't languish that long on the disruptions it made with the iPhone and iPad. There is no excuse yearly updating all your products and software. Sometimes you have to settle with less profits to keep the best experience to your audience alive. Shame on you Cook and Apple.

 

[I7guy]

You know what's so funny. Apple did make inroads in education in 2010 when the iPad was introduced. Offering a cheaper solution for the target market. Together with author books it looked quite promising. Then after the years go by and nothing really special happened except that the iPads got more expensive with every new release and are now at the same level as the desktops it should replace in school. Google in the meantime innovated heavily and saw what their market really needed. Cheap solutions for basic needs. Every release cycles chromebooks got better but staying low on price. Apple noticed already in 2015 but it's arrogance put it away as 'testing machines'. This and together with a missing growing path to the future and lag of interest on Apple's part making their software and services better is what's made the poor state of iPads in education today. But that's just iPad. It's among all Apple offerings today. I surely don't recommend any of it among friends and family anymore. How times changes.

It's understandable for a company who needs more money to survive. But all of this is making me sad and angry coming from a company which was famous for good quality products, software and services. Today it was never as profitable as of now in their whole history. If it really cared about the delivering the best to their customers it wouldn't languish that long on the disruptions it made with the iPhone and iPad. There is no excuse yearly updating all your products and software. Sometimes you have to settle with less profits to keep the best experience to your audience alive. Shame on you Cook and Apple.

The team at apple is smart and know what they are doing in spite of prognostications to the contrary on this forum. What their strategy is over the long run, I don't know, and maybe that is the issue is their roadmap is a "secret".

But one thing is for sure, no company can satisfy 100% of it's customers, 100% of the time.

 

[9081094]

The team at apple is smart and know what they are doing in spite of prognostications to the contrary on this forum. What their strategy is over the long run, I don't know, and maybe that is the issue is their roadmap is a "secret".

But one thing is for sure, no company can satisfy 100% of it's customers, 100% of the time.

I agree with you on the 100% part. Though I also believe the dissatisfaction with Apple is a lot bigger percentage and growing by the day. I understand you can't show your total roadmap because of the competition. But that's no excuse giving your loyal base an option or satisfying them with minimal efforts.

 

[danR2]

Use of iPads and MacBooks in U.S. schools hit a new low last year, with Apple struggling to make further inroads into the education sector, according to new figures (via The New York Times).

According to research company Futuresource Consulting, in 2016 the number of devices in American classrooms that run iOS and macOS fell to third place behind both Google-powered laptops and Windows devices.

Out of 12.6 million mobile devices shipped to primary and secondary schools in the U.S., Chromebooks accounted for 58 percent of the market, up from 50 percent in 2015. Meanwhile, school shipments of iPads and Mac laptops fell to 19 percent, from about 25 percent, over the same period, while Microsoft Windows laptops and tablets stayed relatively stable at about 22 percent.
Apple attempted to outmaneuver its education rivals in 2016, announcing its Classroom app, Swift Playgrounds, and a number of other major education-focused feature updates in iOS 9.3, including the ability to share iPads. Microsoft also made significant developments in 2016, including the launch of Microsoft Classroom, 'School Data sSync', and several integrations with popular third party solutions.

This surge in competition has dented Apple's education revenue stream, according to research firm IDC. Of the $7.35 billion that schools, colleges and universities spent on mobile and desktop computers in 2016, sales of Apple devices fell to $2.8 billion, down from $3.2 billion in 2015.

Apple's iPad first lost its lead over Google's line of Chromebook laptops in 2014. Analysts at the time said the swing in fortunes for Google's Chromebooks could be attributed to their low cost, which starts at $199 for some models.

"At the end of the day, I can get three Chromebooks for each of the Mac devices I would have purchased," said Steve Splichal, the superintendent of Eudora Public Schools, speaking to The New York Times. He added that Eudora students continued to use MacBooks for certain creative courses and that first graders and younger students still used iPads.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously made light of Chromebooks' increased popularity in the classroom by calling them "test machines", referring to schools' need for cheap devices for mass computerized testing purposes.

However, Cupertino is not interested in advancing testing. Cook said in 2015 that Apple is interested in "helping students learn and teachers teach, but tests, no."

Article Link: Apple Losing Out to Microsoft and Google in U.S. Classrooms

[doublepost=1488645755][/doublepost]That is easily the dumbest and most ill-colored graph I have ever seen. Just provide a straightforward bar-graph, one bar per OS. Even if you have to squash their widths to fit the same space, it will be much more informative at a quick glance.

 

[djgamble]

The iOS on iPad is so crippled, I'd never recommend one for a student

Elaborate rather than trying to grt in first.

Your post is meaningless and it's not as if your opinion is greatly respected or anything.

 

[62tele]

Good... maybe they will stop trying to be a political activist and get back to innovating technology again. They are getting what they deserve.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the subject.
[doublepost=1488657626][/doublepost]

Apple's "office" apps -- Pages, Numbers are weak too and woefully need a major update to even come up to Office 2011 standards.

I would certainly not argue that Office is superior but I'm getting by splendidly with Pages and Numbers. I converted when i bought my 2016 MBP and decided I no longer needed Office. It was easy to import my spreadsheets and documents. I lost no functionality and I do far more than just routine calculations.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

May be the case for primary and secondary schools, but walk into any major college campus and the picture shifts. I'm still amazed at the number of MacBooks I see on any single campus.

 

[alexgowers]

Lack of MacBook Pro updates probably didn't help performance. However.

All I can see is android tablets getting crushed by windows in ROW.

and also everyone getting smushed by chrome book expansion.

It doesn't seem like an Apple issue to me.

 

[960design]

Lack of MacBook Pro updates probably didn't help performance. However.

All I can see is android tablets getting crushed by windows in ROW.

and also everyone getting smushed by chrome book expansion.

It doesn't seem like an Apple issue to me.

What we need is a Linux flavor based mobile platform ( https://www.ubuntu.com/mobile ) on a great tablet and controlled by something sorta like Landscape ( https://landscape.canonical.com/ ). Yep... that might do it.

 

[Exhale]

So you are saying the schools are better off without computers?
We are talking about students using computers for learning, not macOS for school offices

No; since students still need computers for information acquisition - and writing up assignments. But such school assignments do not utilise advanced Office features. In fact; what students can really use are the Google Docs collaboration features - something I know many University students make heavy use of.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Well my school district is behind the times. They decided in 2011 to pilot 1 to 1 MacBook Airs for teachers and administrators and have slowly been rolling out Apple devices to students. Starting next year elementary students have classrooms sets of MBA's and iPads, middle school students all have iPads, and high school students will be getting brand new MBA's (after piloting iPads and MBA's this year; they chose the MBA's based on the needs of students to create content, theoretical longevity, and offline access as compared to Chromebooks).

It should be noted that schools do not fully purchase these devices at retail price. My district has a lease agreement with Apple, and I'm sure others do as well.

There are still a handful of desktop and laptop PCs around, but most of the devices in use in the classroom are Apple. Though students do make use of Google and Microsoft apps as needed along with digital curriculum apps.

Personally I work with preschool students, so I hand them an iPad Mini and a game ready to go and let them at it. No need for network logins or anything since they're not creating or saving anything. Though I do wish we still had a classroom desktop so my kiddos could learn how to use one.

 

[dragje]

Its a no brainer for the school systems, the cost savings on Chromebooks is significant. Apple wants to market its products as a premium brand and that's fine, but you cannot expect school systems to line up and pay for those premium products when most by and large have very constrained budgets.

Very true. Besides that, there is no reason for schools not to choose a different brand that delivers solid laptops and pc's for their students. Simply put, Apple can't state that they are 'better' then the rest because that's simply not the case. So why spending way more money while you could save so much with cheaper laptops and desktop computers which can do the very same?
It's a rhetorical question I may add.

Don't get me wrong, I like Apple computers, working on the for decades now, but I simply don't see any justification to spend more money on pc's while you could safe so much money to spend on other expenses school systems do have to deal with as well.

 

[flyinmac]

Apple used to dominate the education market. Then they abruptly discontinued the Apple II series.

The Mac wasn't an appealing platform to transition to at the time.

Essentially Apple killed their education market without a transition plan in place.

The education market moved to the more stable IBM PC market. And it made sense. Teach the students on the equipment they will be using when they join the workplace.

Apple has never managed to recover their lost education market. They've made temporary gains. But never regained their dominance.

Chrome books make a lot of sense. Especially in collaborative environments. The integration of Google's cloud based office suite is impressive. The collaborative features make Microsoft office look cumbersome.

The reality is that Apple is pulling in a weak 3rd place. And it's unlikely that they will do anything but decline in market share. Especially in the education market.

Windows is the established industry standard in the workplace. Particularly in Enterprise markets.

Chrome books are gaining in the enterprise market due to their low cost, easy enterprise integration, and collaborative features.

And the education market sees those trends. And likewise benefits from low cost options that still prepare their students for the future.

Macs have their place. But Apple clearly shows no indication that they'll be around for the long haul. It's becoming a niche market.

iOS is a nice platform if your needs are simple. But even though I prefer iOS to Android, there isn't a day that I'm not inconvenienced by the lack of simple things I could do in Android or Chrome.

The only area that iOS excels for me is in synchronization of my contacts, calendar, and being able to fully backup my entire device to the computer.

It's really only those 3 features that keep me on iOS.

At some point, I might move my data into Google for synchronization. But I just haven't found the need yet. But that day does appear to come closer with each tick of the clock that sees Apple showing declining interest in the Mac.

 

[sofila]

Apple used to dominate the education market. Then they abruptly discontinued the Apple II series.

The Mac wasn't an appealing platform to transition to at the time.

Essentially Apple killed their education market without a transition plan in place.

The education market moved to the more stable IBM PC market. And it made sense. Teach the students on the equipment they will be using when they join the workplace.

Apple has never managed to recover their lost education market. They've made temporary gains. But never regained their dominance.

Chrome books make a lot of sense. Especially in collaborative environments. The integration of Google's cloud based office suite is impressive. The collaborative features make Microsoft office look cumbersome.

The reality is that Apple is pulling in a weak 3rd place. And it's unlikely that they will do anything but decline in market share. Especially in the education market.

Windows is the established industry standard in the workplace. Particularly in Enterprise markets.

Chrome books are gaining in the enterprise market due to their low cost, easy enterprise integration, and collaborative features.

And the education market sees those trends. And likewise benefits from low cost options that still prepare their students for the future.

Macs have their place. But Apple clearly shows no indication that they'll be around for the long haul. It's becoming a niche market.

iOS is a nice platform if your needs are simple. But even though I prefer iOS to Android, there isn't a day that I'm not inconvenienced by the lack of simple things I could do in Android or Chrome.

The only area that iOS excels for me is in synchronization of my contacts, calendar, and being able to fully backup my entire device to the computer.

It's really only those 3 features that keep me on iOS.

At some point, I might move my data into Google for synchronization. But I just haven't found the need yet. But that day does appear to come closer with each tick of the clock that sees Apple showing declining interest in the Mac.

Welcome to the club. Of your 3 preferred iOS features, only complete backup stands still for me. We moved away from Apple "ecosystem" (such an awful word IMO) and only look back thinking about all the things that were not possible with Apple.

 

[dk001]

Well my school district is behind the times. They decided in 2011 to pilot 1 to 1 MacBook Airs for teachers and administrators and have slowly been rolling out Apple devices to students. Starting next year elementary students have classrooms sets of MBA's and iPads, middle school students all have iPads, and high school students will be getting brand new MBA's (after piloting iPads and MBA's this year; they chose the MBA's based on the needs of students to create content, theoretical longevity, and offline access as compared to Chromebooks).

It should be noted that schools do not fully purchase these devices at retail price. My district has a lease agreement with Apple, and I'm sure others do as well.

There are still a handful of desktop and laptop PCs around, but most of the devices in use in the classroom are Apple. Though students do make use of Google and Microsoft apps as needed along with digital curriculum apps.

Personally I work with preschool students, so I hand them an iPad Mini and a game ready to go and let them at it. No need for network logins or anything since they're not creating or saving anything. Though I do wish we still had a classroom desktop so my kiddos could learn how to use one.

Were the wishes / needs of the teachers taken into account or was this aspect handed to you fait accompli?

 

[gertruded]

The only thing Apple cares about are the profits from the iphone. Everything else is unimportant. The younger generation brought up on Chrome will not even consider Apple as adults. But who cares as they are making humongous profits now.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

May be the case for primary and secondary schools, but walk into any major college campus and the picture shifts. I'm still amazed at the number of MacBooks I see on any single campus.

That can be mommy and daddy saying what's another 3000 of debt to many 10's of thousands.

Also of hindrance they can't get a foothold of the start em young market. What they get lower levels may be what they use higher levels. Ties to their lack of what I deem decent educational discounts. many software makes give a fair amount of love here as an example. The non academic pricing can be nosebleed high...academic is really low in some cases.

there aren't doing it to be generous. they are doing so that after x years of use and the student has now joined the wage slave ranks....they bring what they know. and in theory an academic license is a full blown one, maybe even more as the company buys blocks of licenses. Or worst case they work ways to keep academic pricing going longer. Case of the latter...its at least still money coming in.

They also do it as in certain realms...students can and will find open source options. When it comes time to run some stats as an example. The major commercial math/stats applications play real nice for academic pricing. they are fighting with R to collect up a student base of users who become working professional ones one day.

R use grows in use within academia as its just as powerful as the commercial...and is free. Your only cost is time to learn to R programming. even a very kick ass IDE for it is free, R studio. At this point SAS can hard sell all day long...it falls on deaf ears with me and others.

 

[phrehdd]

May be the case for primary and secondary schools, but walk into any major college campus and the picture shifts. I'm still amazed at the number of MacBooks I see on any single campus.

Why amazed? Those students identify more with Apple when they remember them in earlier years in kid level schools and also Apple's years of "cool factor" promotion. The question remains will those student today who are raised on other than Apple, decide to buy Apple when it is their turn to go to college.

 

[dan110]

Here's an article that change came discussing why people are leaving Apple and for Windows. It's very compelling.

http://char.gd/microsoft/why-i-left-mac-for-windows/

 

[satchmo]

Sometimes you have to settle with less profits to keep the best experience to your audience alive. Shame on you Cook and Apple.

Exactly. How much money is enough, Tim?
Cook and current execs can retire many times over.
Apple has enough cash reserves to weather multiple future recessions.

What the Apple brand cannot weather is losing customer loyalty. Historically it's one of the major reasons behind Apple's success.

 

[I7guy]

Why amazed? Those students identify more with Apple when they remember them in earlier years in kid level schools and also Apple's years of "cool factor" promotion. The question remains will those student today who are raised on other than Apple, decide to buy Apple when it is their turn to go to college.

My kids wanted MacBook pros for post grad work. They got them; raised on windows.

 

[phrehdd]

My kids wanted MacBook pros for post grad work. They got them; raised on windows.

Well gee wiz, I was raised on PCs and I have an Apple. People get Apple for various reasons but often, students keep on them from early school on to college. There was a gap when some colleges did not offer up connectivity to Macs because they felt they couldn't keep tabs on them within their network. The stigma of MBP remains in place but that too may fade as other Windows based laptops outshine some of the Apple offerings. This is not opinion (on the specs) this is fact on what is out there (even the more commercial game oriented laptops like Alienware).

 

[I7guy]

Well gee wiz, I was raised on PCs and I have an Apple. People get Apple for various reasons but often, students keep on them from early school on to college. There was a gap when some colleges did not offer up connectivity to Macs because they felt they couldn't keep tabs on them within their network. The stigma of MBP remains in place but that too may fade as other Windows based laptops outshine some of the Apple offerings. This is not opinion (on the specs) this is fact on what is out there (even the more commercial game oriented laptops like Alienware).

I don't know of what stigma you are talking about. Since Windows 7, I thought the Mac would just die quietly.

 

[dwaltwhit]

Schools aren't buying new Chromebooks every year.

no but they are spending far more on maintenance, repair, and antivirus than they would with apple hardware. My classroom has a set of lenovo thinkpads from 4 years ago that are horrendous to the point where if one needs any kind of repair, they don't even bother.