Global tablet shipments fell 23% year-over-year to 32 million units in the third quarter of 2026, the lowest quarterly total in nearly three years, according to new research from Omdia.
Omdia said the steepest regional declines were recorded in the Middle East, China and Western Europe.
“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.”
Apple remained the largest tablet vendor in the quarter, shipping 11.6 million units. Omdia’s figures show Apple shipments fell 27.5% year-over-year, with market share declining to 36% from 38.2% a year earlier.
Samsung held second place with 5.4 million shipments, down 21.7% year-over-year, for a 16.9% market share. Omdia said component constraints continued to weigh on shipment volumes despite new product launches.
Lenovo was the only vendor in the top five to record growth, with shipments rising 11.9% to 4.1 million units. Its market share increased to 12.7% from 8.7% a year earlier, which Omdia said was the largest share gain among vendors in the quarter.
Xiaomi ranked fourth with 2.3 million shipments, down 10.6% year-over-year, while Huawei rounded out the top five with 1.8 million shipments and a 43% year-over-year decline, the steepest among the leading vendors.
Omdia attributed the continued contraction to weak consumer demand and ongoing supply constraints limiting vendors’ ability to introduce significant hardware upgrades. Mukka said a number of major product launches in the second half of the year had “done little to stimulate consumer demand amid challenging market conditions.”
Omdia said supply constraints are also reducing the scale of specification improvements between product generations, which it expects will contribute to buyers delaying purchases.
