The global tablet market quietly stabilized in 2025, and Omdia’s latest numbers make one thing clear: Apple still owns this space, while Android vendors are fighting for whatever’s left.
Apple’s Tablet Lead Gets Even Bigger
Omdia’s Q4 2025 report puts Apple firmly at the top of the global tablet rankings.
Apple shipped around 19.6 million iPads in the last quarter of 2025, up 16.5% year-on-year. That’s not a small bump; it’s a sign that demand for tablets is far from dead, at least in Apple’s ecosystem.
Those shipments translate to a massive 44.9% market share worldwide. Nearly one out of every two tablets shipped in Q4 was an iPad.
According to Omdia, this performance is driven by strong demand for the 11th‑generation iPad and the latest iPad Pro line powered by Apple’s M5 chip. That combination gives Apple a clear split strategy: a more mainstream iPad for general users, and a high-performance Pro line targeting productivity and creative workloads.
Samsung Holds Second, But Slides Back
In Android land, Samsung is still the default alternative if you don’t want an iPad, but Q4 2025 wasn’t exactly a victory lap.
Samsung shipped about 6.4 million Galaxy tablets in Q4 2025. That’s a noticeable 9.2% decline compared to the same period a year earlier. Instead of riding the overall market growth, Samsung lost some ground.
The company ended the quarter with around 14.7% global market share, firmly in second place but far behind Apple’s 44.9%. The gap between first and second is enormous, and the distance isn’t shrinking.
For Android users, this matters. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab line is still the main high-end Android option, especially for people who pair a tablet with a Galaxy phone and Galaxy Buds. But the shipment drop suggests Samsung is either facing stronger competition on price, weaker demand for premium Android tablets, or both.
Lenovo Emerges as the Fastest Riser
The most eye-catching growth in Omdia’s ranking comes from Lenovo.
Lenovo took third place globally with 3.9 million tablets shipped in Q4 2025. That’s a huge 36.2% year-on-year jump — the strongest growth among the top five.
While Omdia’s numbers don’t break down specific models, Lenovo’s strategy has generally leaned on value-focused Android tablets and productivity-friendly form factors, often competing on price in markets where Samsung and Apple are expensive.
For Android users, Lenovo’s surge is a signal that mid-range and budget tablets are gaining traction. If that growth continues, it could push more brands to take Android tablets seriously beyond just “big phone” media slabs.
Huawei and Xiaomi Round Out the Top Five
Behind Lenovo, two familiar Chinese brands fill out the rest of the global top five: Huawei and Xiaomi.
Huawei sits in fourth place with around 3 million MatePad units shipped in Q4 2025. That’s a 14.8% year-on-year increase and gives Huawei a 6.9% share of the global tablet market for the quarter.
Xiaomi completes the top five with 2.8 million units shipped in Q4, up 10.1% year-on-year. Across the full year of 2025, Xiaomi’s tablet shipments grew about 25% compared to 2024, making it another clear growth story in the Android camp.
The split is interesting: Huawei is leaning on its MatePad line, while Xiaomi is catching up via consistent growth across 2025. Neither is close to Samsung yet, but both are clearly chipping away at the lower and mid-range segments.
Q4 2025: Strongest Quarter in a Rebounding Market
Omdia’s data also gives a useful macro view of the tablet landscape, beyond just brand rankings.
Q4 2025 was the strongest quarter of the year for tablets globally. Total shipments reached about 44 million units worldwide.
That number reflects almost 10% growth compared to the same quarter in the previous year. After years of talk about the tablet market being stagnant or shrinking, this kind of quarterly rebound suggests there’s still real demand — especially when vendors hit the right mix of performance, price, and ecosystem.
Apple captured just under half of those 44 million units. Samsung took a bit under one-sixth. The rest was split among Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi, and smaller players.
What This Means for Android Tablet Buyers
Omdia’s Q4 2025 ranking essentially confirms two things: tablets are not dead, and Android tablet competition is alive but fragmented.
Apple’s dominance means any Android tablet has to justify itself either on price, specific features, or tight integration with a brand’s broader ecosystem. Samsung can still do that with its Galaxy lineup and software layer, but its shipment decline shows that position isn’t unshakeable.
Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi are all growing from different angles: value, regional strength, and aggressive year-on-year expansion. For users, that likely translates into more choices in the mid-range and budget tiers, and potentially better specs for less money over time.
The missing piece from Omdia’s numbers is the software and app story, where Android tablets still have to fight perception issues against iPadOS. But in pure hardware shipments and market share, the picture is clear: Apple is in control, and the Android side is a three-to-four-way race beneath it.
If that competition keeps pushing prices down and specs up, Android tablet users are the ones who stand to benefit.
Stay tuned to IntoDroid for more Android updates.