iPad shipments slowed in the second quarter of this year, the first time that’s happened in over two years. The source of the problem is easy to pinpoint: the extra-long wait for a new version of the budget iPad.
And unfortunately for consumers, Apple supposedly won’t release a replacement for the iPad (A16) for many more months.
Budget iPad is Apple’s most popular
The budget iPad has long been Apple’s most popular tablet because it delivers the core iPad experience at the lowest price. It handles everyday tasks like web browsing, streaming video, gaming, note-taking and schoolwork with ease, while still supporting powerful accessories like the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard Folio.
For many buyers — especially students, families and first-time iPad owners — the entry-level model offers the best balance of performance and value, making it the preferred choice over Apple’s more expensive iPad Air and iPad Pro models.
Why Apple tablet shipments dropped in Q2 2026
While perennially popular, new budget iPad models are needed annually to spur demand. But the last time Apple refreshed the product line was in March 2025 with the launch of the 11th-generation version, the iPad (A16), and spring 2026 came and went without a replacement.
Analysts at Omdia said on Thursday that the result was a drop in overall iPad shipments during the April-through-June quarter, noting that “the standard iPad accounted for the majority of shipments.”
Shipments totaled 13.5 million, according to Omdia estimates, down 7.5% versus the same quarter of 2025. That’s the first quarterly drop since early 2024.
Despite the slowdown, Apple did more than hold onto the top spot in the global tablet market with more than double the market share of its next-nearest rival, Samsung. Apple’s share of the world market actually grew to 37.8% after Samsung’s Q2 2026 shipments dropped 13% YoY.
No surprise, lower tablet demand hit Apple’s bottom line. Apple said in July that revenue from tablet sales decreased during the company’s June financial quarter.
“iPad revenue was $6.2 billion, down 6% year-over-year, driven by the continued difficult compare against the launch of the A16-powered iPad in the prior year,” said said Kevan Parekh, Apple’s CFO.
No new budget iPad in 2026
Without a new budget iPad, Apple’s summer tablet shipments are likely to be down as well. Still, the fall quarter will surely be buoyed by the launch of the first iPad mini with an OLED screen.
That said, it’s been almost a year and a half since the last new budget iPad, and buyers shouldn’t expect one soon. The latest reporting suggests the next entry-level model slipped to the first quarter of 2027, after previously being expected in late 2026.
The next model will reportedly use an Apple A19 processor, and include 8 GB of RAM, making it the first in this budget product line to support Apple Intelligence. And that apparently explains much of the delay: Apple seems to have held the tablet until after the release of iPadOS 27 with vastly improved AI capabilities.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
