Recent developments in Google’s Android efforts for tablets have highlighted a long-standing issue. Android Authority reports that Google plans to introduce a new badge in the Google Play Store to identify apps made specifically for larger screens, including tablets and book-style foldables.
Though this appears to be a positive step, it underscores Google’s significant shortcomings in the tablet sector.
Google’s Tablet Oversight
One might wonder why it has taken Google so long to emphasize tablet-ready apps in such a crucial manner, considering Android tablets have been around since 2010.
This delay points to a deeper issue: Google’s ongoing struggle to differentiate between apps that are genuinely optimized for tablets and those that are merely enlarged phone apps.
This challenge seems outdated, yet it continues to affect Android tablet users in mid-2026.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
Apple’s Tablet Supremacy
Apple, by contrast, faces no such issues. While some mobile apps take time to be available on the iPad, such as WhatsApp only getting a native app last year, Apple offers a vast array of applications specifically tailored for the iPad.
As a result, Apple leads the tablet market, with its iPad series holding a 51.5% share in early 2026, according to StatCounter. Even though this is just over half, it is significant considering the fragmented Android tablet market, where Samsung stands second with 25.8%.
Apple could easily dominate the entire market if it chooses to do so.
Under the leadership of John Ternus, the newly appointed Apple CEO, the development of the MacBook Neo could pave the way for Apple to completely take over the tablet market.
Anticipating a Savior Named Neo
Although Mac coverage is generally left to our colleagues at Macworld, many of us follow Apple’s laptops closely for work purposes and are well-acquainted with the MacBook Neo.
This product marks a significant step for Apple as it enters the affordable laptop market. The MacBook Neo is a vibrant, user-friendly, and highly capable laptop, retailing at just £600/$600.
At this price point, it appeals to students and competes with the low-end Windows laptops, which struggle to match its quality.
Apple’s next logical move seems to be the introduction of an iPad Neo, a full-sized, colorful tablet priced around £200/$200. This move could solidify its grip on the tablet market, leveraging Apple’s unmatched control over software and hardware integration and its advanced silicon technology.
While the prospect of a stronger monopoly may seem concerning, Google’s Android ecosystem has had 16 years to establish itself but has struggled with inconsistency and lack of direction.
Just as the MacBook Neo is disrupting the Windows laptop industry, an iPad Neo could revitalize the Android tablet market.
