According to Omdia's latest research, in the second quarter of 2026, the global tablet market entered a downward cycle, with shipments falling 10% year-on-year to 36 million units. Notably, this is the first time in recent years that tablet shipments have broken the seasonal trend of month-on-month growth in shipments driven by back-to-school demand in the second quarter. Himani Mukka, Research Manager at Omdia, said: “Looking ahead, in the current environment where the supply of components is limited, it is unlikely that manufacturers will give broad priority to developing the tablet category. Instead, they will focus their limited resources on flagship and high-end models to further shift their product portfolio to high-end devices.” In addition to hardware, tablet makers will increasingly rely on services, optimized AI strategies and use cases, and new marketing strategies to drive revenue growth and achieve product differentiation. Omdia anticipates that tablets will continue to decline for the rest of 2026. This not only reflects limited supply of low-cost tablets, but also reflects that consumers are delaying purchasing decisions due to rising prices, further curbing market demand.

According to Omdia's latest research, in the second quarter of 2026, the global tablet market entered a downward cycle, with shipments falling 10% year-on-year to 36 million units. Notably, this is the first time in recent years that tablet shipments have broken the seasonal trend of month-on-month growth in shipments driven by back-to-school demand in the second quarter. Himani Mukka, Research Manager at Omdia, said: “Looking ahead, in the current environment where the supply of components is limited, it is unlikely that manufacturers will give broad priority to developing the tablet category. Instead, they will focus their limited resources on flagship and high-end models to further shift their product portfolio to high-end devices.” In addition to hardware, tablet makers will increasingly rely on services, optimized AI strategies and use cases, and new marketing strategies to drive revenue growth and achieve product differentiation. Omdia anticipates that tablets will continue to decline for the rest of 2026. This not only reflects limited supply of low-cost tablets, but also reflects that consumers are delaying purchasing decisions due to rising prices, further curbing market demand.