Weak consumer demand and rising inventory levels continued to weigh on the global tablet market in the first quarter of 2026, despite marginal shipment growth recorded during the period.
According to the latest report from Omdia, global tablet shipments grew by just 0.1 per cent year-on-year to 37 million units in Q1 2026, reflecting a largely stagnant market, with Chromebooks mostly affected.
Although some regions, particularly Latin America as well as the Middle East and Africa, recorded stronger performance, analysts noted that much of the growth was driven by inventory build-up rather than actual end-user demand.
The report also noted that tablet shipments declined sequentially during the quarter, in line with normal seasonal trends, further highlighting the market’s weak momentum.
“Heading into 2026, tablets have been relegated in importance for vendors across margins, volume, and overall value,” said Himani Mukka, research manager at Omdia. “In this supply-constrained environment, consumers and vendors alike are being more deliberate about which devices to prioritize. PC vendors are focusing on notebooks and desktops, while those operating across both smartphones and tablets are gravitating toward smartphones due to their outsized contribution to overall business.”
“Within the tablet space, vendors’ focus in 2026 will be skewed toward the premium segment, where demand has held up better relative to the mass market,” added Mukka. “The volume tier is more challenged: promotional headroom is limited as there is little room to absorb further price increases, and tablets lack a structural refresh catalyst comparable to the Windows 10 end-of-support cycle in the PC market. The outlook for the second half of 2026 is expected to remain cautious, with volume market segments facing the greatest pressure on both shipment volume and value.”
“Within the PC segment, Chromebooks are currently the most impacted category, with volumes declining significantly,” said Kieren Jessop, principal analyst at Omdia. “Production indicators point to a weak near-term outlook, and education-related deployments are increasingly being deferred until market conditions stabilize. Ongoing supply constraints are also expected to delay the second phase of Japan’s GIGA School Program 2.0. While the first phase – extended from end-2024 through end-2025 – was completed without major disruption, the current supply environment is likely to introduce delays in the next phase.”
The global tablet market delivered a flat performance year on year in Q1 2026. Among leading vendors, Huawei and Lenovo recorded the strongest growth, with shipments increasing 28% and 20% year on year, respectively.
Apple retained its top position, shipping 14.8 million units and growing 7.9% year on year, supported by strong performance from the iPad Air.
Samsung ranked second, but faced pricing pressures, with shipments declining 12.6% year on year to 5.8 million units. Huawei placed third, shipping 3.2 million units and growing 28% year on year, as it continues to steadily expand its presence across Asia Pacific.
Supported by both shipment pull-in and education deployments, Lenovo followed with 3.0 million units, up 20% year on year. Xiaomi rounded out the top five, shipping 2.6 million units, reflecting a 13.6% year-on-year decline in the quarter.
All major Chromebook vendors faced challenges in Q1. Lenovo, which ranked first and was a key participant in Japan’s GIGA School Program alongside its subsidiary NEC, saw shipments decline 11.2% year on year to 1.5 million units as the first phase of deployments concluded.
HP ranked second, shipping 1.0 million units, down 15.3% year on year. Acer placed third with 937K units, managing a relatively smaller decline supported by stable shipments in North America and increased shipments into APAC.
Dell experienced the steepest decline among the top five vendors, with shipments falling 28.3% year-on-year to 413K units.
ASUS, another key participant in Japan’s GIGA School Program 2.0, was the only vendor to record growth in Q1, with shipments rising 3.5% year on year to 406K units, accounting for a 9% market share.
