Indians are choosing notebook PCs over tablets
As PCs in India surge past 15 million shipments this year, tablets are heading in the opposite direction
For a long time, tablets carried the promise of being the perfect middle ground, bigger than a phone, but powerful enough to handle everyday work. They were supposed to be the sweet spot of modern computing. But as PCs have slimmed down, gotten sleeker, and eaten into the very use cases that once made tablets attractive, the romance is fading. Especially in India.
When it comes down to choosing between a PC or a tablet, more and more Indians are turning to notebooks. The numbers don’t lie: PCs are on the rise, while tablets are tumbling.
The numbers make the case plain: the second quarter of 2025, India’s PC market grew 6% compared to last year, reaching 3.6 million units. Notebooks did most of the heavy lifting, up 8% to 2.7 million units, as enterprises snapped up AI-ready devices to prepare for the future. Desktops held steady at 861,000 units. Tablets, however, couldn’t keep pace; shipments crashed 27% to just 1.2 million units after government orders slowed to a trickle.
For the full year, the split is forecasted to be even more pronounced. India is on track to ship over 15 million PCs in 2025, a healthy 7% jump. Tablets, by comparison, will shrink by double digits, sliding to 5.2 million units. The tug-of-war is tilting heavily to one side.
Why PCs Are Winning
The answer lies in where demand is coming from.
Enterprises are driving notebook PC adoption hard. AI-ready models nearly tripled year on year, as companies scrambled to modernize for productivity, automation, and futureproofing. The Windows 11 refresh cycle added fuel, pushing enterprise shipments up 11%. Workstations were the breakout star, surging 41% on the back of engineering, design, and content-creation demand.
Consumers are in on it too. Republic Day promos, end-of-quarter discounts, and ecommerce blitzes pushed notebook sales up 12%. Desktops stayed niche but found loyal fans in gaming and high-performance segments. It helps that competitive pricing, portable form factors, and the government’s preference for locally manufactured devices are creating the perfect environment for PCs to thrive.
“Competitive pricing and mobile form factors keep PCs ahead,” said Ashweej Aithal, Senior Analyst at Canalys. “Add in the government push for local manufacturing, and this momentum isn’t slowing down.”
Why Tablets Are Losing
Tablets, on the other hand, are in a very different place. They aren’t dead, but they’re struggling.
After riding a wave of education and government procurement in 2024, the market hit a wall. Commercial shipments collapsed 64% in Q2 2025, wiping out much of the category’s momentum. The consumer side was the only real bright spot, growing 35% as families picked up affordable tablets for streaming, browsing, and home learning. But even there, competition is tightening. Entry-level notebooks are eating into their practical use cases, while larger smartphones are stealing their casual ones.
That said, upcoming state projects could shake things up — Tamil Nadu’s Elcot initiative is expected to spark large-scale PC deployments, while Uttar Pradesh’s tablet program may revive shipments by year-end.
Meanwhile, the scoreboard tells its own story. HP remains India’s PC leader, holding just over 30% of the market, with Lenovo and Acer close behind.
On the tablet side, Samsung still wears the crown, but its shipments plummeted nearly 41%. The real action came from challengers: Apple surged with a 41% jump, and Xiaomi nearly doubled its shipments in the same period. Acer, however, suffered one of the steepest falls, down more than 77%.
Put together, these numbers underline a decisive moment in India’s digital journey. The country isn’t just buying more computers, it’s choosing what kind of computers to buy. PCs, especially notebooks, are becoming the backbone of both enterprise productivity and consumer lifestyles. Tablets still have a role to play, but mostly in classrooms and among premium buyers.
The tug-of-war may not be over entirely, but the rope is slipping from one side’s hands. PCs are pulling ahead, and for now, they’re winning.
