Why Chromebooks Are Replacing iPads; or When Apple Left Education
Late last year or early this year, you probably read an article like this one: Google’s Chromebook wins over classrooms; ousts Apple’s iPad from PBS. In terms of sheer volume, Google shipped 715,000 Chromebooks to Apple's 702,000 iPads in the education market according to IDC.
While that is impressive data, an analysis of why this shift is occurring from the school district level perspective is useful. Most articles focus on items like cost, but there are a multitude of reasons that Chromebooks are displacing iPads in school, and there are many considerations to take when deciding what to purchase for a school district.
2. Flash
Everyone hates Flash. That is a given. Constantly troubleshooting Java and Flash for teachers has given me a great understanding for why Jobs wanted to kill both. Here is Steve Jobs' letter about Flash if you want to review his position: Thoughts on Flash. But, having a device, like the iPad, that cannot run Flash is too restricting.
In education, the resources to rewrite software and applications to totally remove obsolescent platforms are not as available as in a business environment. As a result, much of the software, I would estimate 50%, that is used in education relies on Flash or Java because it is easier and cheaper to build.
But, the result of iPad's inability to run Flash is that, as soon as a teacher takes a cart of iPads to a classroom to show students a web app, test them using an online software, etc., she experiences frustration as the iPad fails to run the app. If this happens more than a few times, the teacher stops using the iPads for fear that they won't work with anything. Worse still, some districts resort to installing Flash emulator apps or other "solutions" that are technical disasters (I could go on about this but will save it for a later post)
Chromebooks do not suffer from this roadblock. They can run Flash without issue. One caveat: Chrome OS does not support Java or Java plugins. So, there are still limitations, but the limitations are not as widespread and intrusive as the total lack of Flash support in the iPad.
While I share Jobs' feelings regarding Flash and Java, the fact is that education relies on these platforms and will for years to come.
3. Management
If you have ever personally managed the features and options of an iPad using iTunes, you will understand why this is probably the most important point of this whole article. Managing a deployment of shared iPads centrally is a nightmare of epic proportions. You have a few options for managing the iPads. The most common is to use Apple Configurator in conjunction with a MDM (mobile device management) solution. If you use Apple Configurator alone, you have to physically cable each device to a Mac running OS 10.7 or higher. Are you kidding me! You have to umbilical every device you want to manage! Yes, you read correctly. If you use a MDM, you can create profiles with a Configurator and then push them out wirelessly. But, you will be paying for that privilege to the tune of $50 plus per device, often per year.
In contrast, for $30, you receive a management license for your Chromebook on your domain. The license lasts until the End of Life (EOL) for the device, which Google maintains in a list here. Currently, no device has reached EOL. The first Chromebook scheduled for EOL is the Cr-48 from Google which was released in December 2010 as part of a pilot program and reaches EOL in December of 2015. Additionally, setup for Chromebooks is a wireless affair. You must touch them once physically to enroll them in your Google domain, but after that, you can accomplish almost any management task remotely through the Google Device Manager. You most certainly do not have to physically cable them to a server, desktop, rack, etc.
Lastly, if you have ever had to reset and wipe an iPad, a 40 minutes task, you will understand how useful it is to be able to control and configure the Chromebook remotely. In summary, you are looking at a conservative $50 yearly for each iPad to wirelessly manage the device versus $30 lifetime (5 years) for the Chromebook. Additionally, you will be avoiding the headache of having to visit and touch iPads often.
4. Licensing
Related to the management issues above, purchasing and installing apps across iPads is an exercise in frustration. With the Chromebook, an app is added or restricted from the Device Manager web console. Within a few minutes to an hour, the app appears on or disappears from the Chromebook. If the app requires a license, the licenses are entered into the Device Manager console and then used to populate the devices.
With the iPad, you must purchase multiple licenses and receive numbers that must be physically entered into each device or pushed to them via physical connection, unless you are paying for an MDM solution and using Apple Configurator in which case you can push the apps wirelessly.
5. Ease of Use
Proponents of the iPad always state that the touch interaction with the screen is simpler than a keyboard and mouse. While this holds true for children who cannot yet recognize letters and numbers, the majority of students (1st grade and up) have no issues using a keyboard and mouse. In fact, when entering text into a device, most people prefer a physical keyboard. I know that when you are banging out that email on the virtual keyboard of your iPhone or Android you are secretly coveting the old physical keyboard on your Blackberry. Just ask selfie queen herself Kim Kardashian, who hoards Blackberries.
The difference between the iPad and Chromebook is really a difference in purpose. The iPad is a device made for media consumption. It is not and, despite recent efforts to add PowerPoint, etc to it, never will be a productivity device. In short, iPad is made for consumption, and Chromebook is made for creation. (Look for a post on this topic in the near future)
6. Consistency
Because Chromebooks use Google Apps for their functions, the data that is connected to the Google account easily travels between devices. This means that students who use a Chromebook can sign into an Android tablet and retrieve all of their data. They can then abandon the tablet and jump to a PC desktop, sign in, and access their data. This flexibility is very important in education where schedules and plans change by the minute.
Apple does not provide this seamless experience. A picture taken on an iPad cannot be easily transferred to another device for use in a project. It typically has to be emailed (really?!) or transferred to another device via a physical connection.
This may shock many, but I feel that Apple is bankrupting their future. While they are riding on a wave of innovation in the consumer market, their hubris in overlooking the education market means that a generation of youth are becoming well-acquainted with Google and not with Apple. When the students using Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education now have to choose whether to buy a Chromebook/Android or a MacBook/iPhone/iPad in the future, which do you think they will adopt given the reticence of humans to change their patterns?
I am certain that I will be labeled an Apple hater for a post like this, but I do admire Apple. Some of the innovations that they have brought to the market have caused a sea change in the way society uses technology in daily living. Unfortunately, the same innovation that they bring to the consumer market is not evident in the education market. For this reason, many districts are leaving Apple, which once had a huge foothold in education, for Google and other providers, and I cannot say that I disagree with the choice.
While that is impressive data, an analysis of why this shift is occurring from the school district level perspective is useful. Most articles focus on items like cost, but there are a multitude of reasons that Chromebooks are displacing iPads in school, and there are many considerations to take when deciding what to purchase for a school district.
Why the Shift?
I will discuss several reasons that Chromebooks are replacing iPads as the device of choice for the education market, but I'll tackle the most obvious first:
1. Cost
Chromebooks' initial cost is cheaper than iPads. Even with management licenses and peripherals needed for deployment, Chromebooks hover around $300. The cost for iPad hardware alone is $300, without carts, management, etc. But, while initial costs are at least ballpark similar, the real difference is in longterm costs.
Chromebooks run Chrome OS on lightweight hardware. Because the system requirements for Chrome are so low, it is reasonable to assume that the life of the device should be 5 years or more even as the OS is updated (see End of Life information below for confirmation that most Chromebooks have a 5+ year life). In the case of the iPad, 3 years generally renders the device compromised due to OS bloat and consumption of system resources.
iPads run iOS on a higher level hardware. But, iOS is very resource hungry. iPads that were purchased 5 years ago generally had 16 GB of memory and 256 MB of RAM. Because of the bloat in iOS, iOS 8 now consumes slightly over 1 GB of the installed memory, which eats into space for apps, photos, etc. To further compound the problem, the iPad doesn't allow the user to adjust the resolution of videos or photos natively, so after 1-2 videos (on top of installed apps), the storage is full.
Chrome OS, meanwhile, hovers around 300 MB. This is a major difference of size, but the greater issue is that Chromebooks do not need a huge installed memory. Chromebooks use free cloud storage to replace the storage function of a hard drive, so it doesn't really matter if the OS swells in size unless it becomes multiple GBs because there are 10 TBs of cloud storage for photos, videos, etc. For education, Drive storage is "unlimited" (I've clocked it at around 10 TB). The iPad is limited to what memory is onboard for storage unless you pony up for iCloud. So, you have one device that is physically limited to 15 GB of storage versus one with 10 TB of storage.
2. Flash
Everyone hates Flash. That is a given. Constantly troubleshooting Java and Flash for teachers has given me a great understanding for why Jobs wanted to kill both. Here is Steve Jobs' letter about Flash if you want to review his position: Thoughts on Flash. But, having a device, like the iPad, that cannot run Flash is too restricting.
In education, the resources to rewrite software and applications to totally remove obsolescent platforms are not as available as in a business environment. As a result, much of the software, I would estimate 50%, that is used in education relies on Flash or Java because it is easier and cheaper to build.
But, the result of iPad's inability to run Flash is that, as soon as a teacher takes a cart of iPads to a classroom to show students a web app, test them using an online software, etc., she experiences frustration as the iPad fails to run the app. If this happens more than a few times, the teacher stops using the iPads for fear that they won't work with anything. Worse still, some districts resort to installing Flash emulator apps or other "solutions" that are technical disasters (I could go on about this but will save it for a later post)
Chromebooks do not suffer from this roadblock. They can run Flash without issue. One caveat: Chrome OS does not support Java or Java plugins. So, there are still limitations, but the limitations are not as widespread and intrusive as the total lack of Flash support in the iPad.
While I share Jobs' feelings regarding Flash and Java, the fact is that education relies on these platforms and will for years to come.
3. Management
If you have ever personally managed the features and options of an iPad using iTunes, you will understand why this is probably the most important point of this whole article. Managing a deployment of shared iPads centrally is a nightmare of epic proportions. You have a few options for managing the iPads. The most common is to use Apple Configurator in conjunction with a MDM (mobile device management) solution. If you use Apple Configurator alone, you have to physically cable each device to a Mac running OS 10.7 or higher. Are you kidding me! You have to umbilical every device you want to manage! Yes, you read correctly. If you use a MDM, you can create profiles with a Configurator and then push them out wirelessly. But, you will be paying for that privilege to the tune of $50 plus per device, often per year.
In contrast, for $30, you receive a management license for your Chromebook on your domain. The license lasts until the End of Life (EOL) for the device, which Google maintains in a list here. Currently, no device has reached EOL. The first Chromebook scheduled for EOL is the Cr-48 from Google which was released in December 2010 as part of a pilot program and reaches EOL in December of 2015. Additionally, setup for Chromebooks is a wireless affair. You must touch them once physically to enroll them in your Google domain, but after that, you can accomplish almost any management task remotely through the Google Device Manager. You most certainly do not have to physically cable them to a server, desktop, rack, etc.
Lastly, if you have ever had to reset and wipe an iPad, a 40 minutes task, you will understand how useful it is to be able to control and configure the Chromebook remotely. In summary, you are looking at a conservative $50 yearly for each iPad to wirelessly manage the device versus $30 lifetime (5 years) for the Chromebook. Additionally, you will be avoiding the headache of having to visit and touch iPads often.
4. Licensing
Related to the management issues above, purchasing and installing apps across iPads is an exercise in frustration. With the Chromebook, an app is added or restricted from the Device Manager web console. Within a few minutes to an hour, the app appears on or disappears from the Chromebook. If the app requires a license, the licenses are entered into the Device Manager console and then used to populate the devices.
With the iPad, you must purchase multiple licenses and receive numbers that must be physically entered into each device or pushed to them via physical connection, unless you are paying for an MDM solution and using Apple Configurator in which case you can push the apps wirelessly.
5. Ease of Use
Proponents of the iPad always state that the touch interaction with the screen is simpler than a keyboard and mouse. While this holds true for children who cannot yet recognize letters and numbers, the majority of students (1st grade and up) have no issues using a keyboard and mouse. In fact, when entering text into a device, most people prefer a physical keyboard. I know that when you are banging out that email on the virtual keyboard of your iPhone or Android you are secretly coveting the old physical keyboard on your Blackberry. Just ask selfie queen herself Kim Kardashian, who hoards Blackberries.
The difference between the iPad and Chromebook is really a difference in purpose. The iPad is a device made for media consumption. It is not and, despite recent efforts to add PowerPoint, etc to it, never will be a productivity device. In short, iPad is made for consumption, and Chromebook is made for creation. (Look for a post on this topic in the near future)
6. Consistency
Because Chromebooks use Google Apps for their functions, the data that is connected to the Google account easily travels between devices. This means that students who use a Chromebook can sign into an Android tablet and retrieve all of their data. They can then abandon the tablet and jump to a PC desktop, sign in, and access their data. This flexibility is very important in education where schedules and plans change by the minute.
Apple does not provide this seamless experience. A picture taken on an iPad cannot be easily transferred to another device for use in a project. It typically has to be emailed (really?!) or transferred to another device via a physical connection.
Impacts
This may shock many, but I feel that Apple is bankrupting their future. While they are riding on a wave of innovation in the consumer market, their hubris in overlooking the education market means that a generation of youth are becoming well-acquainted with Google and not with Apple. When the students using Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education now have to choose whether to buy a Chromebook/Android or a MacBook/iPhone/iPad in the future, which do you think they will adopt given the reticence of humans to change their patterns?
I am certain that I will be labeled an Apple hater for a post like this, but I do admire Apple. Some of the innovations that they have brought to the market have caused a sea change in the way society uses technology in daily living. Unfortunately, the same innovation that they bring to the consumer market is not evident in the education market. For this reason, many districts are leaving Apple, which once had a huge foothold in education, for Google and other providers, and I cannot say that I disagree with the choice.
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