HONOR became one of the few manufacturers that was able to increase shipments of tablets in the difficult second quarter of 2026. According to IDC, in the EMEA region, HONOR tablet shipments grew by 25.3% year-on-year, while the entire Android-segment decreased by 10.5%.
The tablet market is shrinking, but HONOR is growing
The second quarter of 2026 turned out to be difficult for the tablet market. According to IDC, the world during this period was delivered 33.6 million tabletsthat on 12.3% lessthan a year earlier. In the EMEA region — Europe, the Middle East and Africa — the situation has also worsened. Deliveries of Android tablets decreased by 10.5%. Against this background, the HONOR result looks contrary to the general trend. The company’s tablet shipments in EMEA in the second quarter increased by 25.3% in annual terms. According to IDCit was the highest growth rate among Android tablet makers in the region.
HONOR takes advantage of the smartphone business
IDC analyst Daniel Gonsalves links the growth of manufacturers such as HONOR to their presence in the smartphone market. Companies that already have a large smartphone business can use existing ones supply chains, distribution and customer base for the development of the tablet direction. For HONOR, this is especially relevant in the conditions of rising cost of components. The manufacturer already has the scale of buying and selling smartphones, so it can use some of this infrastructure to compete in the tablet market. At the same time, this is only one of the factors that can explain the company’s result. IDC links changes in the market also to the growth of the cost of memory.
More expensive memory increases prices for tablets
In 2026, consumer electronics manufacturers faced rising prices for DRAM and NAND. One of the reasons was the high demand from the infrastructure for artificial intelligence. The increase in the cost of components has already affected the prices of finished devices. According to IDC, in April Samsung has raised the MSRP for a large portion of its Galaxy Tab lineup by $40 to $280. Lenovo also increased the prices of certain models, and Apple in June raised the prices of iPad tablets. Against this background, global shipments of consumer tablets decreased by 13.5% year to year. The commercial segment turned out to be more stable: its deliveries decreased by 5.9%. The difference is explained in particular by the nature of purchases. Businesses and educational institutions often plan technology upgrades on longer cycles, so short-term price increases may have less of an impact on their demand.
Buyers increasingly choose tablets for work
Changes occur not only between manufacturers, but also between different form factors. Deliveries of traditional tablets without a keyboard, so-called slate modelsin the second quarter decreased by 19.8% year to year. For tablets with a keyboard and the ability to use the device as a compact laptop, the drop was much smaller — 6.1%. This may indicate a stronger demand for devices that are used not only for content consumption, but also for work and study. Such tablets directly compete with laptops, but at the same time can perform the role of a mobile work computer.
Lenovo, Huawei and OPPO also increased shipments
Despite the general contraction of the world market, some large manufacturers also demonstrated positive dynamics. Global shipments in the second quarter of 2026, according to IDC Lenovo grew by 26.2%Huawei — on 9.1%and OPPO — on 10.5%. For HONOR, the result remains especially important in EMEA, where the company was able to increase shipments by a quarter against the background of a decline in the Android segment. At the same time, the market remains under pressure. Tablets have to compete not only with smartphones, but also with foldable devices, laptops and affordable mini PCs. Memory prices remain an additional factor of uncertainty. If the cost of DRAM and NAND stabilizes, it will be easier for manufacturers to control prices. Meanwhile, HONOR’s result shows that in a generally shrinking market, the presence of a large smartphone business, established distribution and brand recognition can help develop the tablet direction.
