U.S. schools buying IT hardware for students are, for the first time, favoring Google Inc.’s Chromebook over the iPad from Apple Inc. A report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) claims that Google shipped 715,000 Chromebooks to schools in the third quarter of 2014, compared to 702,000 iPads shipped to schools by Apple. This number sees Chromebooks owning more than a quarter of the education market now –up from zero two years ago when they first launched.

According to the report, the lower cost of Chromebooks is a big driver of this changing tide. School districts, especially those on tight budgets, are cognizant of the nearly $200 price difference between an entry level Chromebook and an iPad. For example, the iPad Air costs $379 after educational discounts, while Chromebooks start at as little as $199. Secondary to this, but still a cause for change, the report notes that school administrators favor the full keyboard of the Chromebook over the touchscreen on iPads. Some schools opt to issue an iPad case with a Bluetooth keyboard, but this simply serves to further drive up the cost per unit, pushing them further out of reach for schools watching their budgets.

In a statement, Rajani Singh, senior research analyst with IDC, noted, “As the average age of the student grows the need for a keyboard becomes very important.”

“Chromebooks are really gaining traction. The growth of Chromebook is a major concern for Apple’s iPad,” said Ms. Singh.

This is a very different picture from the one Apple CEO, Tim Cook, painted in 2013 when he announced that Apple’s iPad had claimed 94 percent of the market for education tablets. Another strong blow came when, in August, Apple’s contract with the Los Angeles Unified School District was suspended. The deal would have seen Apple providing iPads to every student across the 800 schools in the district. At the time various reasons for the contract suspension were sited ranging from curriculum availability, concerns over the bidding process and students learning how to bypass restrictions set on iPads. The Los Angeles Unified School District has subsequently supplied students with a mix of traditional Windows laptops and Chromebooks.

It’s not all doom-and-gloom for Apple, though. The IDC report notes that Apple continues to have the biggest selection of education-based apps on its App Store, with more than 75,000 currently available. Combined with iTunes U, a service that lets teachers create and share custom course and lectures, Apple has a significant head start over competitors.

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