Apple Still on Top as Tablet Sales Rebound in 2024

As Apple celebrates the 15th anniversary of the first-generation iPad launch, the company finds itself in a strange situation. Despite the fact that iPad sales (in dollar terms) have declined for three consecutive years, dropping 16 percent between 2021 and 2024, Apple is still the undisputed leader in the global tablet market.

According to estimates from Canalys, Apple shipped 56.9 million iPads last year, more than double of what Samsung, the company's largest competitor in the tablet market, shipped. And yet, Apple's market share fell slightly from 40 percent in 2023 to 38.6 percent last year, as Chinese vendors Huawei and Xiaomi saw strong double-digit growth in tablet shipments.

Overall, the tablet market bounced back from its post-Covid slump last year, with global shipments growing 9.2 percent from 135.2 million in 2023 to 147.6 million in 2024. According to Canalys, Apple's tablet shipments rebounded 5 percent in calendar year 2024, thanks in part to a stronger holiday quarter compared to the previous year.