NEEDHAM, MA – Following six consecutive quarters marked by several product refreshes and a replacement cycle upswing, the tablet market began to show signs of cooling.

Worldwide tablet shipments declined 4.4% year-over-year to 38 million units in the third quarter, according to IDC.

Elevated inventory levels carried over from first half of 2025 — partly due to precautionary stockpiling amid tariff concerns-further weighed on sales during the quarter. Demand remained steady in emerging markets where education initiatives, government digitization programs and smartphone vendors expanding their tablet offerings continue to drive shipment volumes.

Apple maintained its market lead, shipping 13.2 million units and recording growth of 5.2% year over year in the quarter. Despite having had a strong 3Q 2024 when the iPad Pro and iPad Air 2024 models were refreshed that could have resulted in a difficult yearly comparison, a strong performance of 10.9" iPad shipments made that comparison advantageous.

Samsung maintained its no. 2 position despite a unit decline of 1.9% year over year to 6.9 million units. The vendor performed well in the consumer segment, focusing on both high value S10/S11 models while continuing to expand their affordable A series slate tablet lineup. However, the reduction in commercial projects compared to 3Q 2024 led to overall decline.

Lenovo retained the third position and once again had an impressive quarter. The vendor’s sales grew 22.6% year over year to 3.7 million shipment units. Lenovo expanded its portfolio with new XiaoxinPad model launches and posted rapid growth in consumer with aggressive shipments.

Huawei returned to the top five on growth of 3.7% year-over-year, with shipments totaling 3.4 million units. Despite declining in its home country, PRC, due to a comparable high shipment volume in 3Q2024, the vendor recorded growth in quarter, benefitting from new launches like MatePad Mini and continued push in Latin America and Europe and Middle Eastern countries.

Xiaomi rounded out the top five once again with shipments of 2.5 million units and year-over-year growth of 7.2%. Xiaomi continued its growth momentum, driven by the launch of new products including the Pad 8, Pad 8 Pro, and Redmi Pad 2.

“The tablet market underscores a transition from pandemic-driven demand to steady, value-oriented growth,” said Anuroopa Nataraj, senior research analyst, IDC. “Shipments are stabilizing as replacement cycles lengthen, but innovation in AI-powered features, detachable form factors, and display technology is helping sustain engagement across both consumer and enterprise segments. The market’s near-term trajectory points to selective recovery led by productivity-centric and mid-premium devices.”