Worldwide tablet shipments fell 23% year over year to 32 million units in the third quarter of 2026, the lowest quarterly total in nearly three years, according to new research from Omdia.

The third-quarter results followed a 10% decline in the second quarter. Himani Mukka, research manager at Omdia, said in a press release that tighter supply conditions had pushed tablets lower on vendors’ list of priorities for 2026 and 2027. Supply is expected to tighten further next year, and Mukka said a significant rebound before 2028 is unlikely.

Apple remained the market leader, shipping roughly 11.6 million units. Its shipments fell 28% from the same period a year earlier — a steeper decline than the tablet market overall — and its share slipped to 36% from 38.2%.

Samsung held second with 5.4 million units, a 22% decrease that gave it 16.9% of the market. Omdia noted that component shortages limited the company’s shipment volumes even as it introduced new tablets.

Lenovo was the only one of the five largest vendors to increase shipments. Its shipments rose 12% to 4.1 million units, lifting its tablet market share to 12.7% from 8.7%, the biggest share gain of any vendor in the quarter. Slate tablets drove the growth and offset a sharp drop in detachable models, with sell-in improving in every region besides Europe and Latin America.

Xiaomi ranked fourth with 2.3 million units, down 11%, though its share edged up to 7.3% on the strength of its Latin American sales. Huawei ranked fifth with 1.8 million units, down 43%, with the largest decline among the leading vendors.

Several manufacturers — including Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei — released new tablet models in the second half of the year. Mukka said those launches had generated little additional consumer demand given current market conditions.

She added that ongoing supply constraints had also limited how much vendors could upgrade device specifications. With fewer meaningful differences between new models and earlier versions, Omdia expects more consumers to hold off on purchases until more substantial improvements reach the market.