India’s tablet market grew 11% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, reaching 1.3 million units, according to new Omdia data. Apple shipped 314,000 tablets and Lenovo 264,000, up 35% and 90% respectively. Both gained share, but Omdia cautions that some of the quarter’s buying was pulled forward ahead of expected price increases.
The growth is coming from the pricier end of the shelf. Consumer tablet shipments rose 12% on demand for newer devices and higher specifications. Commercial shipments rose 11%, led by small and medium businesses. The cheap end went the other way. Education tablet shipments fell 12%, with government tenders on hold and component costs squeezing entry-level models.
India Tablet Market Share by Brand
Omdia’s own shipment chart puts the brand race in order. Units are in thousands, with share of the quarter’s 1.3 million total.
- Samsung: 354k units, 26.6% share, up 3% year on year
- Apple: 314k units, 23.6% share, up 35% year on year
- Lenovo: 264k units, 19.9% share, up 90% year on year
- Xiaomi: 157k units, 11.8% share, down 2% year on year
- Acer: 91k units, 6.8% share, down 10% year on year
- Others: 149k units, 11.2% share, down 31% year on year
Samsung is still the number one tablet brand in India, but it is growing slower than the market. Its share slipped from 28.9% a year ago to 26.6%, putting Apple three percentage points behind. Lenovo’s jump from 11.7% to 19.9% share is the quarter’s biggest move.
The Catch: Buyers Racing Price Hikes
A double-digit growth quarter sounds like healthy demand. Ashweej Aithal, Senior Analyst at Omdia, says part of it is channel stockpiling rather than fresh consumption.
The market is clearly shifting toward higher-value tablets, supported by demand for newer devices and higher specifications. However, the Q2 2026 increase needs to be viewed with some caution, as channel partners also stocked up ahead of expected price increases, so some purchases were brought forward.
That matters for anyone shopping this festive season. Rising component costs sit behind those expected increases. Omdia expects the higher costs to weigh most heavily on entry-level PCs, where Indian buyers are especially sensitive to price. The same pressure has already shown up in phone pricing, with Xiaomi’s phone prices hitting a record as memory costs bite. A leak has also pointed to a 35% India price hike for the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, though that figure is unconfirmed.
India’s PC Market Is Set to Reverse
Omdia’s wider PC numbers tell the same story more bluntly. India’s PC market grew 14% year on year in Q2 2026 to 4.1 million units, with notebooks up 13% and desktops up 15%. Commercial PCs grew 19% against 8% for consumer. Small businesses and government education procurement did much of the heavy lifting, with notebook shipments to the education segment up 191%. AI-capable notebooks also climbed to 44% of consumer shipments, from 28%.
Then the forecast turns. Omdia expects India’s PC market to fall 22% year on year in the second half of 2026. It puts that swing down to pulled-forward buying unwinding and component costs climbing. The full year is pencilled in at 15.4 million units, down 2.6%. Tablets should hold up better at 5.1 million units for 2026, up 4.2%. That is still well below the 11% pace of the second quarter.
There is one structural bright spot. Omdia notes India is becoming a bigger manufacturing and export base for tablets, with Samsung and Lenovo already using local production to supply overseas markets.
The short version for buyers: the prices you see now are more likely to be the floor than the start of a downward trend. If a tablet or laptop purchase is already on your list, the case for waiting is weak.
Source: Omdia
