Lenovo finds itself between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Chromebooks, and it doesn't seem to have a one-and-done solution. Speaking at the Canalys Forum in Bangkok recently, CheMinTu, senior vice president and group operations manager of Lenovo Group, said,"Everyone in the industry is trying to sell Chromebooks, but I don't know anyone who is making a profit."
Tu further pointed out that such low-cost laptops are also bad for the environment because recycling is not easy or cost-effective.
Regardless, Lenovo has no plans to exit the market. Tu said that they will continue to produce devices based on Google ChromeOS system solutions because the demand is there.
Last month, IDC said Chromebook shipments fell 20.8% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year.
It should be noted that the demand Tu mentioned mainly comes from the education field. Canalys estimated earlier this year that four out of every five Chromebooks sold in the U.S. during the second quarter were intended for students.
Like Chromebooks, tablets have struggled lately. In the third quarter, tablet shipments fell 14.2% year-on-year, and there was no support from the education industry. Still, quarterly shipments of tablets were much larger compared to Chromebooks, with 33.2 million units shipped in the third quarter, compared with just 3.5 million Chromebooks shipped during the same period.
Still, tablets find themselves in an awkward position between traditional PCs and smartphones.
The Lenovo executive also talked about the coming AI PC revolution, noting that the first Arm AI PCs should start appearing in mid-2024. Microsoft is expected to boost this movement by launching Windows 12 as early as June next year. However, it will take time for the AI-powered PC ecosystem to develop, and consumers must adapt to what AI-powered PCs have to offer. Of course, don't expect AI PCs to replace smartphones. On the contrary, Tu predicts that mobile phones (including foldable phones) will be "very, very important" in the AIPC era.