As premium tablets hold steady, cracks are widening elsewhere. Global shipments barely moved in Q1 2026, while Chromebook demand weakened further.
Global tablet shipments showed little movement in the first quarter of 2026, increasing by just 0.1% year on year to reach 37 million units, according to Omdia, as stronger premium demand helped offset weakness in lower-priced segments and softer consumer spending.
Although shipments declined sequentially from the previous quarter in line with seasonal trends, regional performance was led by Latin America, followed by the Middle East and Africa.
However, much of this increase stemmed from inventory accumulation rather than stronger end-user demand, indicating a cautious outlook for the remainder of the year.
Within the vendor rankings, Apple retained market leadership with shipments of 14.8 million units, up 7.9% year on year, supported primarily by continued demand for the iPad Air range. The company accounted for around 40% of global tablet shipments during the quarter.
Samsung remained in second place but faced pricing pressures, with shipments declining 12.6% to 5.8 million units. Huawei recorded the fastest growth among major brands, increasing shipments by 28% year on year to 3.2 million units, driven by expansion across Asia-Pacific markets.
Lenovo followed closely, shipping 3 million units, reflecting 20% growth aided by education deployments and inventory pull-ins. Xiaomi ranked fifth with 2.6 million units, although shipments fell 13.6%.
Omdia said vendors are increasingly prioritising premium devices as entry-level tablets face limited promotional flexibility and lack a replacement cycle similar to the Windows 10 transition supporting PCs.
According to Kieren Jessop, Principal Analyst at Omdia, “Within the PC segment, Chromebooks are currently the most impacted category, with volumes declining significantly.”
The Chromebook segment remained under pressure. Lenovo led shipments at 1.5 million units despite an 11.2% decline linked to the completion of the initial phase of Japan’s GIGA School Programme. HP shipped 1 million units, down 15.3%, while Acer delivered 937,000 units, with North American demand relatively stable.
Dell recorded the sharpest fall among leading vendors, with shipments dropping 28.3% to 413,000 units. ASUS was the only top-five Chromebook supplier to post growth, rising 3.5% to 406,000 units and securing a 9% market share, supported by its role in Japan’s GIGA School Programme 2.0.
The second half of 2026 is expected to remain challenging, particularly for mass-market tablets and education-focused Chromebook deployments, as supply constraints and weaker demand continue to weigh on volumes.
