The global tablet market is experiencing a significant downturn, registering a steep 23% decline driven by ongoing industry pressures. According to data from Omdia, total global shipments dropped from 41.8 million units down to 32.2 million units, impacting even major industry leaders like Apple.
Despite this sharp contraction, Apple retains its position as the market leader with a 36% market share, though its iPad shipments fell by 27.5% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, Samsung secures the second position as the isolated runner-up, capturing 16.9% of the market with 5.42 million units shipped, reflecting a 21.7% decrease in its sales volume.
Rounding out the top tier, Lenovo holds 12.7% of the market, standing out as the only major manufacturer to achieve positive growth with an 11.9% increase during the analyzed period. Conversely, other prominent brands faced severe drops; Xiaomi experienced a 10.6% decline, while Huawei suffered the most dramatic contraction in the ranking, plummeting by 43%.
Market analysts at Omdia point out that severe supply chain restrictions are heavily constraining the ability of manufacturers to introduce meaningful hardware upgrades in new tablet generations. Omdia research manager Himani Mukka notes that these limitations leave minimal differentiation between new models and their predecessors, prompting consumers to delay device upgrades until more substantial innovations emerge.
Industry experts warn that these persistent supply constraints are projected to extend throughout 2027, potentially dragging adjacent device categories, such as smartphones, into a parallel cycle of market stagnation as well.
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