Worldwide tablet shipments saw an 8.5% year-over-year growth during Q1 2025, new research from Canalys has revealed, with the segment reaching 36.8 million.
According to the market analyst firm’s data, growth was recorded across all regions, primarily driven by consumer and education-led refresh cycles.
Greater China was found to be the fastest-growing major region, with the market seeing a surge in customer demand during the Lunar New Year, backed by government retail subsidies.
“The Chinese government’s consumer subsidies, paired with Lunar New Year discounts, triggered a double-digit growth in Q1 tablet shipments,” commented Himani Mukka, research manager at Canalys.
“Vendors that aligned promotions with subsidy windows saw significant sequential uplifts, turning Greater China into the fastest-growing major region.”
According to Canalys, Apple managed to defend its market share – but domestic Chinese brands are increasingly threatening their position at the top of the tree.
During Q1, Apple posted a 14% year-on-year growth with 13.7 million iPads shipped, followed by Samsung in second with 6.6 million shipments – a decline of 5.2%.
For the first time, Xiaomi edged out Lenovo into third place thanks to strong performance in its home market leading to 56% annual growth and 3.1 million units shipped. Fellow domestic brand Huawei ended in fifth position with 2.4 million shipments globally.
“Huawei and Xiaomi leveraged their comprehensive tablet portfolios and extensive IoT ecosystems to appeal to a wide consumer base, while HONOR gained traction with its value-for-money offerings,” Mukka explained.
“These brands were also among the fastest growing vendors in consumer shipments across most regions outside China.”
US market
Elsewhere, uncertainty surrounding US tariffs led to an initial shipment spike in January before collapsing double-digits month-on-month in February due to announced exemptions.
As a result, the US tablet market performed in line with seasonal expectations, according to Canalys research manager Kieren Jessop.
“The Trump administration’s tariff announcements did not lead to significant demand pull-in, as several days later many personal electronic products were made exempt,” he said.
Instead, the primary driver of US tablet shipments was found to be demand from consumers refreshing pandemic-era devices, now four-to-five years into their lifecycle.
“Throughout 2025, some consumers will refresh these aging devices for newer silicon,” Jessop added.
“However, even if electronics remain exempted from US tariffs, we expect average lifespans to extend, and tablets will experience a relegation in spending priority as discretionary income is squeezed in other categories. The tablet market will see slower growth, but premium demand is expected to remain robust.”
Channel growth
Citing a recent poll, Canalys also revealed that more than 50% of B2B channel partners that sell tablets expect growth in business in 2025, with the devices being increasingly seen as computing alternatives in some workplace environments.
Additionally, separate research revealed that 20% of participants intend to equip their customers’ mobile workforce with tablets, while 17% highlighted the devices as being a cost-effective alternative to traditional PCs for certain job roles.
Despite this, 30% said they do not see significant demand, Canalys revealed.
