The education market became a little more interesting as Apple stepped up its software and app game to manage the student and teacher experience and launched a new iPad with Apple Pencil support for $299 for schools. (See more on what was announced at the March 27 Apple Education Event[1].)
The big question is whether Apple is too late to close in on Google's lead in the education market that is pushing 60 percent market share.
Simply put, the stakes are high. Frost & Sullivan said the educational market generated $17.7 billion in revenue for technology vendors. Of that sum, Google, Microsoft and Apple accounted for nearly 83 percent of the revenue pie. Frost & Sullivan, however, noted the market is shifting and the battleground is moving toward augmented reality and virtual reality content and tools, AI and robotics and analytics.
And here's a look at the key players in the education market and their core strengths.
Given the education market dominance of Apple, Google and Microsoft, it's worth examining strategy and assets from the big three tech players.
Apple
The company's efforts in education[2] boil down to inspiring creativity, giving students a cool device with the iPad, an ecosystem of apps and Apple Pencil. At its Apple Education Event, the company closed the education management gap by updating its iWork suite with Apple Pencil support and rolling out Classroom, Schoolwork and other applications for the iPad that will enable assignments, annotations and new learning tools.
Hardware: 9.7-inch iPad[3]. Apple's primary hardware vehicle in the education space is its iPad, which will be available to consumers for $329. That price may mean that students will bring their own