Tablet Shipments Fall 23% as iPad Drops 27.5% in Q3 2026
Global tablet shipments fell 23% to 32.2 million in Q3 2026, Omdia says. Apple lost 27.5%, Lenovo grew 11.9%, and a recovery may not come before 2028.
Hakkı ALKANPublished 3 min read
Global tablet shipments fell 23% year over year to 32.2 million units in the third quarter of 2026, the lowest level in nearly three years, according to research firm Omdia. Apple kept first place, but its iPad shipments dropped 27.5% to about 11.6 million, while Lenovo was the only top-five brand to grow.
How Far Did Tablet Shipments Fall in Q3 2026?
A year earlier, brands shipped 41.8 million tablets in the same quarter, so the market lost roughly 9.6 million units in twelve months. The drop follows a 10% decline in the second quarter. Omdia, which published the figures on November 5 in its quarterly tablet report, says the Middle East, China and Western Europe were hit hardest.
These are sell-in numbers, meaning devices shipped into stores, carriers and distributors, not tablets bought by consumers. Even so, two straight quarters of contraction point to brands and retailers expecting weaker demand.
Which Tablet Brands Lost and Which Grew?
| Brand | Q3 2026 shipments | Market share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 11.58 million | 36.0% | -27.5% |
| Samsung | 5.43 million | 16.9% | -21.7% |
| Lenovo | 4.09 million | 12.7% | +11.9% |
| Xiaomi | 2.35 million | 7.3% | -10.6% |
| Huawei | 1.85 million | 5.7% | -43.0% |
| Total | 32.19 million | 100% | -23.0% |
Apple shipped about 4.4 million fewer iPads than a year earlier, a gap larger than Lenovo's entire quarter. Its share slipped to 36% from 38.2%. Apple's newest model, the OLED iPad mini, only reached stores in November, after the quarter closed.
Lenovo went the other way, lifting its share to 12.7% from 8.7%. Omdia credits its slate tablets, the keyboard-free models, while its detachables fell sharply. Huawei posted the steepest decline at 43%, although Omdia says it still grew in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific.
Why Are Tablet Shipments Falling?
Omdia points to supply rather than only demand. "As supply constraints intensify, tablets are increasingly taking a backseat in vendors' strategic priorities for 2026 and 2027," Omdia research manager Himani Mukka said. Samsung, for example, kept losing volume despite new launches because component constraints weighed on shipments.
The wider backdrop is a squeeze on memory, as chipmakers put AI servers first; Nvidia has reportedly even asked TSMC to look at making memory, as we reported in our story on TSMC 3D DRAM. Tablets, with thinner margins than phones or AI hardware, are among the first products to lose out.
What Does It Mean for Tablet Buyers?
Mukka expects supply to tighten further next year and says a meaningful recovery is unlikely before 2028. For buyers, that suggests fewer deep discounts and leaner configurations rather than a flood of cheap tablets. If you need a tablet for work or school, memory is the spec to watch; our guide on how much RAM you need explains how much memory different devices really need.
Our Take
A 23% fall is not a sign that people stopped wanting tablets overnight. It is a sign that, when memory and components are scarce, brands spend them on the devices that pay best. Lenovo's growth shows there is still room for affordable, simple slates, but the next two years look like a seller's market for anyone hoping for a bargain iPad or Galaxy Tab.