Crisis for Samsung in the tablet market: Apple widens the gap, Huawei soars

The tablet market remains stable while Apple continues to grow, strengthening its leadership, while Lenovo and Huawei accelerate in an effort to catch up to Samsung, which is in sharp decline. This is the summary of what happened in the tablet market during the first quarter of 2026, as confirmed by the new report from Omdia.

How the first quarter went

During the first quarter of 2026, 37 million tablets were shipped, reflecting a 0.1% increase year-on-year. While waiting for a possible slowdown related to the memory crisis, the market remains stationary.

Apple, which updated its range with the new iPad Air with M4, leads with a 40.1% market share and a 7.9% annual growth. On the other hand, Samsung reports a decrease of 12.6%, with a market share reduced to 15.7%. Huawei ranks third, reaching a market share of 8.8% and registering 28.1% growth in shipments. This is a remarkable result, considering the difficulties the company faces outside of China.

Lenovo is also doing well, with an excellent 20% growth and a market share reaching 8.2%. Meanwhile, Xiaomi sees a decline, recording a 13.6% reduction in shipments and a market share that drops to 7.2%. Regarding the 'others', shipments decreased by 11.9%, with a market share reduced to 22.9%.

Overall, demand for tablets remains weak. The shipment data aligns with last year’s figures, but the decline compared to the last quarter of the year has been sharper than what occurred between late 2024 and early 2025.