Omdia: Global tablet shipments fall 23% to 32 million in Q3 2026

The Middle East, China and Western Europe experienced sharper tablet shipment declines than the rest of the market.

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LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The global tablet market fell 23% year-over-year (YoY) to 32 million units in Q3 2026, marking its lowest shipment level in nearly three years, according to Omdia’s latest research. The Middle East, China and Western Europe were the hardest-hit regions, experiencing sharper declines than the rest of the market.

Worldwide tablet shipments, 1Q24 - 3Q26

"Following a 10% decline last quarter, the tablet market recorded another double-digit contraction in Q3," said Himani Mukka, Research Manager at Omdia. "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.”

Worldwide tablet shipments (market share and annual growth) Omdia PC Market Pulse: Q3 2026
Vendor	Q3 2026 shipments	Q3 2026 market share	Q3 2025 shipments	Q3 2025 market share	Annual growth
Apple	11,581	36.0%	15,979	38.2%	-27.5%
Samsung	5,425	16.9%	6,929	16.6%	-21.7%
Lenovo	4,093	12.7%	3,658	8.7%	11.9%
Xiaomi	2,346	7.3%	2,623	6.3%	-10.6%
Huawei	1,848	5.7%	3,243	7.8%	-43.0%
Others	6,897	21.4%	9,380	22.4%	-26.5%
Total	32,191	100.0%	41,813	100.0%	-23.0%
Note: Unit shipments in thousands. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Source: Omdia PC Horizon Service (sell-in shipments), November 2026

In 3Q26, Apple maintained its lead despite a 28% YoY decline in shipments. Its market share fell to 36% from 38.2% a year earlier, as its shipments declined more sharply than the overall market.

Samsung remained in second place, shipping 5.4 million units, down 22 % YoY, and capturing a 16.9% market share. Despite new tablet launches, the company continued to face pressure as component constraints weighed on shipment volumes.

As in Q2, Lenovo was the only top-five vendor to post growth, with shipments increasing 12% YoY to 4.1 million units. Its market share climbed to 12.7%, up from 8.7% a year earlier, marking the largest share increase among vendors this quarter. While detachable shipments declined sharply year on year, slate tablets drove overall growth, supported by stronger sell-in across all regions except Europe and Latin America.

Xiaomi ranked fourth, shipping 2.3 million tablets, down 11% year on year. Its market share rose modestly to 7.3%, supported by a strong quarter in Latin America.

Huawei rounded out the top five with 1.8 million units, recording the steepest decline among the leading vendors at 43% year on year. Despite the overall downturn, the vendor continued to register growth in CEE and APAC this quarter.

Mukka added, “We have seen several major tablet launches in the back half of the year, including Samsung's flagship Galaxy Tab S12 series, Apple's OLED-equipped iPad mini, and Xiaomi's Pad 9 series. Huawei, HONOR, OnePlus and realme have also introduced new models recently. However, these launches have done little to stimulate consumer demand amid challenging market conditions.”

“Persistent supply constraints are also limiting vendors' ability to deliver meaningful specification upgrades, leaving fewer compelling differences between new models and their predecessors. As a result, consumers are increasingly expected to delay purchases until more substantial improvements become available.”

ABOUT OMDIA

Omdia, part of TechTarget, Inc. d/b/a Informa TechTarget (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets grounded in real conversations with industry leaders and hundreds of thousands of data points, make our market intelligence our clients’ strategic advantage. From R&D to ROI, we identify the greatest opportunities and move the industry forward.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261104178408/en/

Fasiha Khan: Fasiha.khan@omdia.com

Eric Thoo: eric.thoo@omdia.com

Source: Omdia

Key Terms

sell-in shipments technical

Sell-in shipments are the products a manufacturer or supplier sends to distributors, wholesalers or retailers during a reporting period; they count as sales to the channel but not yet as purchases by end customers. Investors watch sell-in because it shows how much stock is moving into the sales pipeline—like a factory delivering boxes to stores—which can signal future revenue growth but may overstate demand if retailers are simply building up inventory rather than selling to consumers.