Global tablet shipments fell 23% year over year in Q3 2026, to 32.2 million units, according to Omdia’s estimates. That is the lowest level in nearly three years, the research firm says. Apple shipped 27.5% fewer iPads but held on to first place.
For buyers, Omdia’s explanation matters more than the ranking. Supply constraints are limiting how much vendors can upgrade new models, so this year’s tablets differ little from last year’s. Omdia expects shoppers to hold off as a result.
Why tablet shipments dropped in Q3 2026
Omdia’s research manager Himani Mukka says a wave of recent launches did little to lift demand. Her list includes Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12 series, Apple’s OLED iPad mini and the Xiaomi Pad 9 series. New models from Huawei, HONOR, OnePlus and realme are on it too.
Omdia also doesn’t expect the picture to improve soon.
“As supply constraints intensify, tablets are increasingly taking a backseat in vendors’ strategic priorities for 2026 and 2027. With supply conditions expected to tighten further next year, a meaningful recovery in the tablet market is unlikely before 2028.”
That is Mukka in Omdia’s press release. It lines up with Apple’s own warning that memory costs will keep rising and Mac and iPad supply is tight. If your current tablet still does the job, holding on to it looks like a reasonable choice.
This was the second straight double-digit decline. Q2 2026 shipments had already fallen 10%. The Middle East, China and Western Europe were hit hardest.
Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Xiaomi and Huawei: the vendor breakdown
These figures are sell-in shipments, meaning units shipped into sales channels rather than sold to consumers. Here is how the top five vendors did, per Omdia.
- Apple: 11.58 million units, down 27.5% from 15.98 million. Market share slipped to 36.0% from 38.2%.
- Samsung: 5.43 million units, down 21.7%. Share edged up to 16.9% from 16.6%.
- Lenovo: 4.09 million units, up 11.9%. Share rose to 12.7% from 8.7%.
- Xiaomi: 2.35 million units, down 10.6%. Share rose to 7.3% from 6.3%.
- Huawei: 1.85 million units, down 43.0%. Share fell to 5.7% from 7.8%.
Lenovo was the only top-five brand to grow. Omdia credits its slate tablets, while its detachables fell sharply year on year. Xiaomi’s decline was cushioned by a strong quarter in Latin America.
Huawei posted the steepest drop of the five, though Omdia notes it still grew in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific. Smaller brands outside the top five shipped 6.9 million units together, down 26.5%.
Source: Omdia
This post was written with AI assistance from public sources and published under the editorial responsibility of AndroidPure’s editor. How we work.
