Gadgets

iPad Shipments Fell 27.5% as the Whole Tablet Market Hit a Three-Year Low

Apple shipped 11.5 million iPads in Q3 2026, down 27.5% year over year, as the global tablet market fell 23% to 32.2 million units — its lowest in nearly three years. Supply constraints are limiting meaningful spec upgrades, Omdia says, and a real recovery is unlikely before 2028.

jajoy39

Nov 9, 2026 - 21:20

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An iPad showing its Home Screen, propped on a Smart Keyboard on a wooden table, with an Apple Pencil lying beside it.

iPad Shipments Fell 27.5% as the Whole Tablet Market Hit a Three-Year Low

Apple shipped 11.5 million iPads in the third quarter of 2026, down 27.5% year over year, according to Omdia data reported by 9to5Mac. Apple's market share slipped 2.2 percentage points to 36% — but the story is bigger than Apple. The whole tablet market is shrinking, and it just hit its lowest point in nearly three years. The photo with this article shows an iPad — an older model — rather than the newest iPad.

The wider market is shrinking too

The global tablet market fell 23% year over year, from 41.8 million units to 32.2 million units. Samsung was second with a 16.9% share, Lenovo third with 12.7% — the only top-five vendor to grow, up 11.9% — Xiaomi fourth with 7.3%, and Huawei fifth with 5.7%, the steepest decline at 43%. Even the brands that are holding up are holding up in a market that is getting smaller.

Why buyers are waiting

Omdia Research Manager Himani Mukka said supply constraints are "limiting vendors' ability to deliver meaningful specification upgrades, leaving fewer compelling differences between new models and their predecessors." In other words, the new tablets are not different enough from the old ones to make people upgrade, and consumers are delaying purchases as a result. A meaningful tablet recovery is unlikely before 2028, according to Omdia. There are two caveats worth noting: the figures are sell-in shipments to retailers, not consumer purchases, and the quarter ended September 30 — before the new OLED iPad mini went on sale. The mini's arrival may change the next quarter's picture, but for Q3 the trend was clear: fewer tablets shipped, across the whole market.