Tablet makers shipped only 32 million units worldwide in Q3 2026, 23% fewer than a year earlier and the fewest in nearly three years, Omdia says in a report. The Middle East, China, and Western Europe markets fell hardest.
It’s a second straight double-digit drop, after a 10% fall in the second quarter. Himani Mukka, a research manager at Omdia, says that as supply constraints intensify, tablets are “increasingly taking a backseat” in vendors’ plans for 2026 and 2027. With supply expected to tighten further next year, she doesn’t see a meaningful recovery before 2028.
Apple still shipped more than a third of the world’s tablets, but its iPad shipments fell 27.5% to about 11.6 million, faster than the market. Its share slipped to 36% from 38.2%.
Apple’s own numbers show a smaller fall. In its September quarter results, iPad revenue fell 10% to $6.2 billion (about Php 391 billion), which CFO Kevan Parekh put down to supply constraints and a tough comparison with last year’s A16 iPad launch. Apple also raised iPad prices at the end of June.
Samsung stayed second with about 5.4 million tablets, down 21.7%. Lenovo was the only top-five brand to grow, up 11.9% to about 4.1 million, as its slate tablets made up for a sharp drop in detachables.
Xiaomi shipped about 2.3 million, down 10.6%, and Huawei fell hardest of the top five, down 43% to about 1.8 million. The table below has the full numbers.
| Vendor | Q3 2026 shipments | Q3 2026 share | Q3 2025 shipments | Q3 2025 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% |
New models did little for demand, Mukka says, naming Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12 series, Apple’s OLED iPad mini and Xiaomi’s Pad 9 series. Supply limits also leave less room for real spec upgrades, so she expects more buyers to wait for bigger improvements. Either that, or better deals – maybe during the holidays.
