Samsung Electronics Co. was the third-largest tablet vendor in Western Europe in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to catch up to industry leader Apple Inc.

Samsung logged a market share of 18 percent in the Western European tablet market in the April-June period after its Galaxy Tab shipments dropped 18 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher Canalys.

Apple was the leading supplier with a market share of 36 percent after shipping 2.8 million iPads in the second quarter. Lenovo Group Ltd. came in second with 20 percent share after its tablet shipments soared 87 percent on-year.

"Apple's latest release of the M1-powered iPad Pro was warmly received in Western Europe," Canalys said. "Lenovo was quick to capitalize on the demand for tablets and delivered a wide range, including cheaper models, filling the gap that Apple leaves with its more costly iPads."

China's Huawei Technologies Co. took the fourth spot with a market share of 8 percent followed by Amazon.com Inc. with 6 percent.

Overall tablet shipments in Western Europe rose by 18 percent to 7.9 million units in the second quarter.

"Tablets are no longer just devices for entertainment, but have emerged as cheaper alternatives to PCs for remote working and learning, and are especially popular among students with basic needs," said Trang Pham, a research analyst at Canalys. (Yonhap)