Samsung Leads Tablet Market In India Despite Shipments Fall Nearly 20% In Q3 2025: IDC

In the third quarter of 2025, even as consumers received a robust festive season push, shipments for tablets took a rocking hit in shrinking India. Both figures come from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, which says that tablet manufacturers moved 1.33 million devices in Q3 of this year—notching a decline of 19.7 percent over the same period last year.

Commercial demand led the way down, with a sharp slowdown in that sector. The category didn’t post too much of a standout performance in Q4 either; detachable tablets only grew 7.3 per cent, but this was far outstripped by an enormous 29.4 per cent decline in shipments of slate tablets, which still absolutely dominate the category.

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Consumer Demand Rises on Festive Push

Unsurprisingly, the consumer tablet market was a completely different tale. Consumer shipments experienced the strongest growth in more than a decade with an impressive uptick of 13.5% year over year, according to IDC. Festive season sales, heavy discounts, bank offers and new lineups from leading brands led to this growth.

This increase was driven by online retail. E-commerce tablet shipments surged 53.9 per cent from a year ago, thanks to aggressive sell-in by vendors during the major online sale events in order to be able to keep stocks clearing and maximise festive sales throughout the fourth calendar quarter of the year,” said Canalys research analyst Madhumita Chaudhary.

Commercial Segment Takes a Big Hit

The commercial tablet market, however, witnessed a significant decline. Commercial shipments were the poorest-performing segment in Q3 2025, falling 53.5 per cent year over year.

The reasons behind the decline weighed on IDC:

- Education sector deployments fell by 61.9% because of delays in government tenders

- Small site and SME sales declined 47.9%, with less money to spend

- Extended replacement cycles for devices dampened institutional demand spread on phones, as well

Priyansh Tiwari, research analyst at IDC India & South Asia, said tablets are increasingly being used for productivity alongside keyboards and styluses, especially in smaller cities. However, he warned that elevated channel inventory could require correction, even though consumer sell-through remains healthy.

Samsung Leads, Lenovo Gains Ground

Samsung continued to be the leading brand in the India tablet market with a 37.5 per cent share, though it shipped fewer tablets compared to last year. A company that controlled consumer and commercial lines with educational initiatives and an aggressive online push.

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Lenovo shipped in second position with 16.8% share of the market, as consumer demand continued to rise and its presence in enterprise grew. Xiaomi was not far behind with 15.5 per cent, users impressed by the pricing and packaged accessories being two of the main reasons for purchasing it during sales.

Apple took fourth spot, with 9.2 per cent, and continued demand in enterprise, as well as education, kept it afloat, and Acer was the final company of the top five with 7.9 per cent after fulfilling other contracts from the education sector.

Outlook: Tablets as PC Alternatives

India’s tablet market continues to be robust, IDC says, even as it looks ahead. As PC prices continue to climb, tablets could emerge as low-cost, AI-boosted productivity tools — particularly among new buyers and government-led initiatives.