Tablet Market Grows 13%, Driven by AI and Educational Programs
Jeriel Isaiah Layantara
CEO & Founder of Round Bytes
Hello readers! We're coming to you with a big update in the technology sector. Over the last quarter, we have seen growth in the tablet sector, with surprising results shocking industry experts. According to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide tablet shipments have grown 13.1% year over year in Q2 2025. This quarters growth follows momentum from Q1, and now signals a healthy increasing market for tablets supported by factors of change and demand.
---
New Factors of Growth in the Tablet Market
The report from the IDC disclosed that globally tablet shipments reached 38.3 million units in Q2 2025. Companies have contributed to large volumes of tablet shipments over the past couple of quarters, especially from their spending of old and new devices from previous back to school sales for the new school year. With a new growth contributing factor, consumers are purchasing old devices that are being replaced due to natural device replacement cycle, and we see the birth of new purchases supported by the uptick in demand from the education market mainly in emerging markets as schools and education programs embrace tablets.
In the United States, companies had already stocked up their inventories trying to figure out whether there would be tariffs or not. This only added to a market performance that far exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, government subsidies and active educational projects have resulted in a higher volume of shipments for China.
The market is also being reshaped by innovation, in particular AI. According to IDC, AI powered features that enhance the user experience, drive productivity, and improve performance are driving interest in the premium segment. There is evidence of a demand for high end devices with advanced capabilities, while many consumers are price sensitive.
Anuroopa Nataraj, SR research analyst with IDC Mobility & Consumer Devices Trackers, stated that many consumers are driven by value. "We have seen price drops from promotional campaigns and subsidies create a lot of change in buying behaviour". She also mentioned that for top brands such as Samsung, aggressive promotions led to high volume sales in many regions. For Apple, much of its volume is still being driven by lower range iPads. However, Nataraj also stated that premium buyers are selective about brands. The brand ecosystem, brand reputation, and user trust is critical to substantiate the purchase price, and this is only something a few top vendors can accomplish.
Top Performers in the Global Tablet Market
The IDC report provides a comprehensive analysis of the performance of the top five tablet vendors in Q2 2025, demonstrating an active and competitive tablet market.
- Apple Apple continues to lead the market, shipping 12.7 million units and experiencing growth of 2.4% year over year. Apple performance was supported by the launch of new products, the 10.9 inch iPad which came three years after its predecessor, added a significant portion of its growth, as did refreshed 11 and 13 inch iPad Air models, which effectively helped drive volume for the company.
- Samsung Samsung firmly took second place, shipping 7.2 million units and growing 4.2% year over year. With further recent developments, the company continued to press shipments in these respective geographical regions to catch the other top vendors within the space in 2025. Samsung growth was also further supported by a number of significant education projects in Latin America that led to tracked achievements being added to its shipment volumes.
- Lenovo Lenovo maintained its number three position by posting a very respectable growth of 25% year over year, shipping 3.1 million units. Lenovo growth was influenced by growing the uptake in sales channels since Lenovo aggressively pushed its Tab M Series models, similar to what it has done previously bringing into commercial activity in 2022. Additionally, government subsidies in China contributed another layer of growth potential, with the Y700 and Xiaoxin Pad Pro models playing an integral role in driving Lenovo overall outperformance.
- Amazon Amazon secured the fourth position in the top five again in 2023. Amazon saw amazing year over year growth of 205% with 3.1 million shipments. The only thing we can think about the massive growth was Amazon Prime Day came before a major tariff announcement when tariffs were eventually released, they turned out to be meaningless and nobody even started to follow through on them. Obviously, Amazon must have brought in additional inventory with potential tariffs in mind, resulting in such a large jump in shipments.
- Xiaomi Xiaomi rounded out the top five with a 2.8 million shipment and 42% year over year growth. The company continues to enjoy high growth rates, with the Pad 7 and the Redmi Pad SE pushing the shipment volumes. Xiaomi also introduced 3 new tablets in the quarter, the Pad 7 Ultra, the Pad 7S Pro and the Redmi K Pad, contributing to sales while maintaining its market momentum.
The Future of Tablets
The IDC report indicates the tablet market is undergoing change, and clearly many consumers are concerned with price, since it appears many will wait until promotions and subsidies to buy. However, as detailed in the report, the interesting news is the emergence of the premium segment, with innovation occurring in devices, particularly with AI included. Consumers in this premium area will consider other brand factors, including reputation, ecosystem, and trust with the brand, as these factors can justify the premium price.
As the tablet market continues to expand, its overall growth is due to several consumer behaviors, educational programs, and vendor strategies that show that the tablet device is still relevant to personal computing. As the main second device in millions of consumers' tech, and the first tech in some important segments like education, the latest information proves the is more than just alive, but adapts within both changing economic situations and new technologies.
