--- title: "Global Notebook and Tablet Industry: Market Overview, Competitive Landscape and Future Trends" url: https://www.cri-report.com/industry-analysis/it-internet/overview-of-global-notebook-and-tablet-industry/ date: 2026-09-11 modified: 2026-09-11 lang: en author: "admin" description: "The global notebook and tablet industry has entered a new stage of development. After the exceptional demand surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, the market has gradually shifted toward replacement demand, premiumization and technology-driven upgrades." categories: - "Telecoms & Computing" tags: - "notebook" - "tablet" word_count: 915 --- # Global Notebook and Tablet Industry: Market Overview, Competitive Landscape and Future Trends The global notebook and tablet industry has entered a new stage of development. After the exceptional demand surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, the market has gradually shifted toward replacement demand, premiumization and technology-driven upgrades. In 2025, global PC shipments recovered strongly, while tablet shipments reached approximately 152 million units. However, the market entered a more challenging phase in 2026 as memory shortages, rising component costs and weaker consumer demand began to weigh on shipments. According to IDC, global PC shipments increased in early 2026, partly because manufacturers and distributors accelerated purchases ahead of expected component price increases. By the second quarter, however, global PC shipments declined by 4.9% year-on-year to approximately 68.2 million units. IDC forecasts that full-year PC shipments could decline by around 11% in 2026, while average selling prices may rise substantially due to higher DRAM and NAND costs. The tablet market is facing similar pressure: global tablet shipments fell by approximately 12% year-on-year in Q2 2026. ## Highly Concentrated Brand Competition The global notebook market is dominated by a small number of multinational brands. Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple and ASUS collectively accounted for roughly three-quarters of global PC shipments in Q2 2026. Lenovo remained the market leader with approximately 24% share, followed by HP at 19%, Dell at 14%, Apple at 10% and ASUS at 7%. Lenovo benefits from its strong enterprise presence, ThinkPad franchise, extensive global distribution network and broad coverage of commercial, consumer and gaming segments. HP and Dell maintain strong positions in enterprise and commercial computing, while Apple competes primarily through premium products, its proprietary Apple Silicon platform and ecosystem integration. Apple's position is even stronger in tablets. The global tablet market is more concentrated than the notebook market, with Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Huawei and Xiaomi together accounting for approximately 80% of shipments. Apple has consistently captured around 40% or more of the global tablet market in several recent quarters, supported by the strength of the iPad ecosystem, premium positioning and accessories such as keyboards and Apple Pencil. This high concentration creates significant barriers to entry. Leading brands benefit from purchasing scale, stronger supply-chain relationships, software ecosystems, global distribution and higher R&D capabilities. Smaller brands therefore face increasing difficulty competing on both price and technology. ## ODMs: The Hidden Backbone of the Notebook Industry While brand competition is highly visible, manufacturing is even more concentrated. The notebook industry relies heavily on Taiwan-based original design manufacturers (ODMs), particularly Quanta, Compal, Wistron and Inventec. These companies provide product design, engineering, procurement, assembly and supply-chain management for leading global brands. Quanta and Compal are among the world's largest notebook manufacturers, while Wistron and Inventec also maintain major positions. Other important manufacturers include Pegatron, Foxconn, Huaqin, Wingtech and BYD Electronics. The structure of the industry can therefore be described as a **dual concentration model**: a small group of brands controls global demand and distribution, while a small group of ODMs controls much of the manufacturing and engineering capacity. However, the ODM industry is undergoing a major transformation. Notebook manufacturing has relatively low growth and tight margins, whereas AI servers and data-center equipment offer much higher growth and value. As a result, leading ODMs are increasingly expanding into AI servers, cloud infrastructure, networking equipment, automotive electronics and other high-value businesses. ## Supply-Chain Diversification The industry's manufacturing geography is also changing. China remains the most important component and manufacturing base, but rising geopolitical risks, tariffs and supply-chain resilience requirements are encouraging manufacturers to diversify production into Vietnam, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico. Vietnam and India are particularly important for future notebook assembly and local-market production, while Mexico is increasingly relevant to North American supply chains. Nevertheless, Asia will remain the center of the global electronics manufacturing ecosystem because of its extensive component base, engineering capabilities and supplier density. ## Key Industry Trends The first major trend is the rise of **AI PCs**. AI-enabled notebooks incorporating CPUs, GPUs and dedicated NPUs are becoming the industry's primary product upgrade cycle. Local AI assistants, content generation, translation, security and productivity applications will gradually differentiate new-generation PCs from traditional notebooks. Second, **premiumization** is becoming increasingly important. Higher memory requirements, advanced processors, OLED displays and AI capabilities are raising bill-of-material costs and pushing manufacturers toward higher-priced products. Consequently, future industry growth may come less from unit expansion and more from higher average selling prices. Third, tablets are increasingly moving toward **productivity computing**. Detachable keyboards, styluses, multitasking, external displays and desktop-class software are allowing tablets to compete directly with entry-level and ultraportable notebooks. Detachable tablets have consequently shown greater resilience than traditional slate tablets. Fourth, **OLED and advanced displays** will remain important in premium tablets and notebooks, supporting both product differentiation and higher ASPs. Finally, industry consolidation is likely to continue. Memory shortages and rising component costs favor companies with large purchasing volumes, strong supplier relationships and diversified product portfolios. Large brands and leading ODMs are therefore likely to strengthen their positions, while smaller players face increasing pressure. ## Outlook The global notebook and tablet industry is no longer a high-volume-growth market. Instead, it is becoming a mature technology industry driven by replacement cycles, AI, premiumization, productivity applications and supply-chain optimization. The key industry equation for the next three to five years can be summarized as: **Low Volume Growth + Higher ASP + AI Computing + Productivity Tablets + OLED + ODM Consolidation + Supply-Chain Diversification** The most attractive opportunities may therefore shift away from traditional notebook assembly toward AI processors and NPUs, memory, OLED displays, thermal solutions, power-management components, AI-server manufacturing and localized electronics production.