Omdia: Global tablet market shipments fell 23% year on year to 32 million units in the third quarter

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to Omdia's latest research, in the third quarter of 2026, global tablet market shipments fell 23% year on year to 32 million units, the lowest level in nearly three years. Regions such as the Middle East and Western Europe were the hardest hit regions, and the decline in shipments was higher than in other markets around the world.

“Following a 10% decline in the previous quarter, the tablet market experienced another double-digit decline in the third quarter of 2026,” said Himani Mukka, research manager at Omdia. As supply restrictions increase, tablets are falling behind in the manufacturers' strategic priorities for 2026 and 2027. The supply situation is expected to tighten further next year, so the tablet market is unlikely to see a significant recovery until 2028.”

In the third quarter of 2026, Apple (AAPL.US) maintained its leading position in the market despite a 28% year-on-year decline in shipments. As its shipment volume declined higher than the overall market, its market share fell to 36% from 38.2% in the same period last year.

Samsung (Samsung) continued to rank second, with shipments of 5.4 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 22% and a market share of 16.9%. Despite the launch of the new tablet, limited parts supply continued to affect its shipments, causing the company to face market pressure.

As was the case in the second quarter, Lenovo (00992) was the only brand among the top five manufacturers to achieve growth. Shipments increased 12% year over year to 4.1 million units. Its market share rose to 12.7% from 8.7% in the same period last year, making it the manufacturer with the biggest increase in market share this quarter. Benefiting from increased shipments in all regions except Europe and Latin America, portable tablets are driving overall shipment growth.

Xiaomi (01810) ranked fourth, with 2.3 million tablet shipments. Driven by strong performance in the Latin American market, its market share rose slightly to 7.3%.

Huawei ranked in the top five, with shipments of 1.8 million units, the biggest drop among major manufacturers, with a year-on-year decline of 43%. Despite poor overall market performance, the vendor continued to grow in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Asia Pacific (APAC) during the quarter.

Mukka added, “In the second half of this year, a number of important new tablet products were launched on the market, including Samsung's flagship Galaxy Tab S12 series, Apple iPad mini with OLED screen, and Xiaomi Pad 9 series. Huawei, Honor, OnePlus, and Realme have also recently launched new models. However, in a challenging market environment, the impact of these new product launches in stimulating consumer demand is still limited.”

“Continued supply restrictions have also limited manufacturers from making substantial specification upgrades, resulting in a lack of sufficiently significant differences between the new product and the previous model. As a result, consumers may increasingly be tempted to delay purchases and wait for more substantial product improvements before switching.”