The best tablet is more than just the midpoint between a large smartphone and a convertible laptop, and tablet fans have known since the first Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab that tablets are something special. Tablets are versatile, affordable, and portable, even though most of us never take our tablets far from our couch.
Every tablet makes a great device for browsing the web, watching movies and shows on your favorite streamers, and playing games on a larger screen to see all the fine details. The best tablet needs to offer more, including productivity tools for getting work done, and special hardware for detailed drawing and pen work.
Our list of best tablets includes the best iPads, known for incredible performance with Apple Silicon inside and high price tags, and the best Android tablets, known for great productivity tools and unique hardware options, like Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 tablets you can use in the bathtub.
However, it’s important to note that at the Let Loose Apple event, Cupertino took the covers off the M2-powered iPad Air 6 and new OLED iPad Pro 2024 models powered by the new M4 chip. Naturally, we’d need to review these iPads fully to come ot any concrete conclusions, but be prepared for them to have an impact on this list of tablets.
We’ve only included tablets that we have got in hand and tested in Future Labs, so you can be sure that we know which tablet has the best battery life, and which is the best for getting work done. You’ll find the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, and even a surprise or two.
Editor’s Note
• Apple iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) are official
• A new iPad Air 13-inch has also been announced
• Apple M4 processor debuts on iPad Pro, which is now more expensive
Update: May 2024. Apple has finally announced new iPad models, including an incredibly powerful new iPad Pro (2024) family that will debut the Apple M4 chip inside before any Mac computer. With a double-OLED screen, called ‘tandem OLED’ by Apple, and an incredibly thin build, the new iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 13-inch will surely compete for spots on this list. Apple also launched a larger iPad Air, to give users a cheaper 13-inch option than the iPad Pro, which is more expensive this year than ever before. We’ll have a full review for the new iPad family as soon as we’re done testing the tablet in our labs.
Philip Berne
Quick List
The Apple iPad remains one of the best tablets that you can buy. Even though Apple’s name brand tablet hasn’t gotten an update in a while, it was always powerful enough to handle anything you’d love to do with a tablet, and it outperforms many Android rivals launched today. The latest iPad, with a 10.9-inch display and cool color options, is a good value and our top pick for tablets.
The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 is much more than just a tablet, it’s the answer to Apple’s argument that the iPad is the next computer. With an Apple M2 chipset on board, this iPad Pro 12.9 and the iPad Pro 11 pack as much power as a Macbook Air, and they are capable of running advanced video editing software, in addition to the most advanced iPad games. They cost a pretty penny, but these are the top-performing tablets you can buy.
We were surprised by just how good the OnePlus Pad, the first tablet from OnePlus, turned out, but maybe we shouldn’t have been. After all, OnePlus made a name for itself taking on the big guns in mobile with phones we called ‘flagship killers’ for their high performance and low prices. The OnePlus Pad delivers in the same way, with a fantastic screen and great performance at an amazing low price.
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus
The Galaxy Tab S9 Plus offers the best performance of any Android tablet, with a huge, OLED display, a fantastic design that is water resistant, and even an S Pen that is included in the box. At 12.4-inches, it’s large but not as big as the Tab S9 Ultra, so you won’t need to buy a special bag for it, but it gives you all the performance and power of that tablet at a lower price and more manageable size. This is a great multitasker for folks who want a mobile experience that doubles as an office pro.
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You can find a tablet cheaper than this, but Apple’s iPad 10.2 from 2021 is a great deal right now when you buy one brand new from Apple, and it is so much better than anything you’ll find at half the price that you really should consider this one before you buy a cheap Android or an Amazon Fire tablet. Apple’s tablets are overpowered to start, and this tablet will get new iPadOS updates for a few more years.
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6. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus
You might scoff at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus because it seems underpowered, with a processor straight out of last year’s bargain phones. What this tablet lacks in power it makes up for in amazing longevity, with some of the best battery life we’ve ever seen on any tablet. This tablet outmatched every iPad and Android tablet we’ve tested in the past few years, making it the champ for long-haul flights and weekends without power outlets.
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7. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S9 Ultra is humongous, one of the largest tablets you can buy today, and that makes it perfect for drawing and creation. The included S Pen uses Wacom’s EMR technology, the same drawing tech found in professional graphic design tablets, so it has thousands of levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt awareness, and more features. And unlike the Apple Pencil, you don’t have to charge it, it works without a battery.
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If you need to work on your tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 does the best job helping you multi-task and get work done. Samsung’s interface is made for manipulating multiple apps, and if you happen to have a Galaxy phone or Galaxy Book laptop, you get seamless drag and drop file transfers between all your devices by attaching a mouse. It may not be as powerful as an iPad Pro, but Samsung’s tablets are made for productivity, not just entertainment.
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The iPad mini wins the award for best compact tablet by default: there simply aren’t many compact tablets around that are worth buying. That doesn’t mean the iPad mini is a slouch. It’s more powerful than the regular base model iPad, and it’s more like an iPad Air you can fit in a pocket. We’re hoping for a high-power update soon, but it’s also possible Apple could say goodbye to the mini, so if you need a strong compact tablet, grab an iPad mini while you still can.
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The best tablet 2024
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The best iPad for most people
The iPad 10.9 (2022) is a capable tablet available for an affordable price, and if you have an iPhone or Mac computer as well, the iPad should be your first stop for a new tablet. It works well at everything it can do, and it packs enough power to last for years.
The latest iPad 10.9 has lingered without an update for more than a year, but it was already a big step up when Apple upgraded its base model tablet to bring it closer to the iPad Air. Apple dropped the home button and gave this iPad a much bigger display, and there are only a few slight differences setting this iPad apart from its thinner, more expensive Air cousin.
For the price, we’re guessing most people don’t need the more powerful Apple M1 chip in the iPad Air, so the iPad 10.9 (2022) is our pick for the best iPad for most people. It has USB-C, no need to worry about the old Lightning connector. You can also get a 5G network connection for just a bit more. It even comes in some amazing colors, including pink and a bright yellow.
Read the full iPad 10.9 (2022) review
The best premium iPad
The iPad Pro 12.9 is a remarkable powerhouse tablet, much closer to what you’d expect from a laptop or small desktop computer than an entertainment device. With an Apple M2 chipset packed inside, this iPad Pro can handle tasks that were normally left to the big computers, and if you need a real laptop replacement, the iPad Pro 12.9 is the premium choice to consider.
Aside from being a great, big display for drawing, watching your favorite shows, and browsing the web, the iPad Pro 12.9 is also ready for pro-level software like Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro for real, professional-strength multimedia editing. No other tablet comes close to this level of power.
Pair the Apple iPad Pro 12.9 with the magic keyboard and you have a truly premium combo, at a premium price, of course. You can even max out this tablet with up to 2TB of storage and 5G networking for a sky-high price of $2,399 / £2,699 /AU$4,099, Start saving, because it’s worth every bit.
Read the full iPad 12.9 (2022) review
The best Android tablet for most people
OnePlus’s first tablet was impressive with some of the perks we expect from OnePlus phones. It integrates with both OnePlus and Oppo phones, ships with Android 13, has a sharp and bright LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, a large battery with 67W super-fast charging, and very loud speakers. Certainly, the iPad can seem better at being a tablet due to its large variety of tablet-optimised apps, but OnePlus just about matches it in day-to-day use.
To be fair, we found it was held back by the performance that wasn’t quite as speedy as what you could get on the best phones. It uses a MediaTek Dimensity 9000, a chip that’s a step down from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that most of the top Android phones – the OnePlus 11 included – are equipped with. This meant that for some heavy tasks like using Adobe Lightroom, there was enough lag that it would be annoying. On the other hand, if you’re using it mostly for entertainment, you would be fine.
Due to the weak Android tablet market, the OnePlus also didn’t offer separate storage offerings. It did however come with a lovely green shade that we praised in our review.
The OnePlus Pad’s few flaws are covered by its $479 price. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S tablets and Google‘s Pixel Tablet are the only real competition for Android fans, and they cost more.
Read our full OnePlus Pad review
The best premium Android tablet
With the Galaxy Tab S9 series, Samsung has taken its tablets to a new level of quality and durability, and the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus has the best combination of size, power, and price to be our pick for the best premium Android tablet you can buy. With a superfast Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (same as the Galaxy S23 Ultra), a sleek design, and tons of multitasking features, you can’t find a more capable Android tablet.
While you get more screen real estate with the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, you don’t get more performance or features, and its larger 14.6-inch size is amazing for artists (making it our best drawing tablet), but it may be a too large and unwieldy for some folks, so we think the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus is the better pick for a premium Android tablet. It’s just as fast, and it’s smaller screen is a bit more sharp than the larger Ultra display.
At 12.4-inches, the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus is just a bit slimmer and more portable than Apple’s biggest iPad Pro 12.9. It comes with an S Pen in the box, unlike Apple’s iPad, which doesn’t include a stylus. The iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) is faster than the Tab S9 Plus, and Apple’s Magic Keyboard accessory is much nicer than any keyboard cover that Samsung offers, if you’re looking for a real laptop replacement.
However, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 Plus costs hundreds less than Apple’s iPad Pro 12.9, and it gives you many more software features, including great multitasking if you like to keep multiple windows open, and a real DeX desktop environment to connect your Tab S9 Plus to a second display, mouse and keyboard, for a truly productive experience.
Read our hands-on Galaxy Tab S9 Plus review
The best budget tablet
The iPad 10.2 (2021) is not the cheapest tablet you can buy, but it might be the cheapest tablet you SHOULD buy, since it’s such a powerful tablet and a great entryway into Apple’s walled garden. You can find cheaper tablets from Samsung, Amazon, and other brands, but Apple’s iPad 10.2 gives you the experience of a premium tablet, for the cheapest possible price.
Even though it’s a bit older, Apple supports its iPad tablets with regular software updates, so you can be sure that this tablet will get iPadOS on the same day as the best iPads you can buy. You can’t say that about older Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets or any of the bargain tablets you might find. Apple’s service and support are second-to-none, even when you’re buying the least expensive iPad it makes.
Better yet, Apple’s iPad 10.2 doesn’t saddle you with ads or unnecessary software, like Amazon Fire tablets, and it feels much faster than similarly-priced Samsung tablets. You’ll have no trouble running the latest apps, playing games on the larger screen, and browsing any website you please.
If this is still too much to spend, check out our list of the best budget tablets you can buy, but if you can afford to buy Apple’s least expensive iPad, you’ll be happier that you did.
Read our full iPad 10.2 (2021) review
The best battery life
Don’t be fooled by the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus’s confusing name; this is Samsung’s competitor to the Apple iPad Air, and it does everything the iPad won’t. Samsung has loaded the Tab S9 FE Plus with features, including the S Pen in the box, great multi-window software to run multiple apps at once, and features that connect the tablet to your Galaxy phone and laptop.
Performance is lagging compared to Apple’s best iPad tablets, so if you need to run some truly Pro software, you’ll need to look elsewhere. However, that slower Exynos 1380 processor gives the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus the best battery life we’ve seen on any tablet we’ve tested in the last few years, making it our top pick for best battery life on a tablet.
While the iPad Air managed more than 10 hours in our rundown tests, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE stayed awake and running for more than 18 hours, which is truly remarkable. If you have a long flight, or want a weekend away without a charger, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is your best tablet option.
Samsung Tab S9 family, including the Tab S9 FE, is water resistant, so you can literally browse the web and watch shows from the shallow end of the pool (or a nice, hot bathtub, we won’t judge). Apple has never made an iPad that you can get wet, so kudos to Samsung for its new durability push. We love to see it, and it makes the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus easier to recommend. It even comes in some cool new colors.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review
The best drawing tablet
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is a behemoth, and it’s much larger than most people need or want a tablet to be, but not if you’re a fan of having a huge, open canvas for drawing. Samsung isn’t just paying lip service to its artistic fans, either. It’s S Pen has always been built with familiar Wacom technology inside, making these devices serious tools for artists and doodlers alike.
The S Pen offers thousands of levels of pressure sensitivity, and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra can detect when the pen is tilted and adjust the flow of digital ink accordingly. There are tons of drawing tools built into this tablet from the start, including Samsungs’ popular social network just for drawing and art fans, Pen-Up.
Of course, the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is a super-powered Android tablet besides its drawing prowess. It’s huge display features a 1848 x 2960 resolution and silky 120Hz refresh rate, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset inside can power all of the most demanding productivity tasks.
The Galaxy Tab S9 Plus packs the same power and feature inside, so if you don’t need the gigantic display, we think the Plus model is the ideal premium Android tablet. If you need a bit more, especially for drawing and seeing your work on the largest screen possible, then the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is the best drawing tablet you can buy.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review
The best tablet for work
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is made for getting things done. Samsung’s OneUI interface makes it easier to multitask on a Galaxy Tab than any other tablet, including the iPad Pro. If you want to run multiple apps at the same time, drag images and text between windows, or just keep an eye on everything at once, the Galaxy Tab S9 is the tablet for work.
Samsung includes DeX software to make the Galaxy Tab S9 look more like a Chromebook with windows and a proper home screen dock. You can even connect an external monitor, mouse and keyboard for a multi-screen solution. Or, if you have a Galaxy S phone and a Samsung Galaxy Book laptop, you can drag a mouse from one screen straight across the others with almost no setup required.
While the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus and Tab S9 Ultra give you more screen space, the Galaxy Tab S9 offers the same powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, the same S Pen in the box, and all of the same productivity features, so there’s no need to spend more on a larger tablet if you don’t need more room.
The Galaxy Tab S9 is less expensive than a comparable iPad Pro 11-inch tablet, plus it comes with an S Pen and it has a microSD slot for even more storage. The iPad Pro admittedly has a much faster processor, but unless you’re running pro-level apps like Apple Logic or Final Cut Pro, you won’t have any trouble with performance on the Galaxy Tab S9.
Read our hands-on Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 review
The best compact tablet
There’s nothing like the Apple iPad mini (2021). If you want a compact tablet that you can fit in a jacket pocket, the iPad mini isn’t just the best small tablet you can buy, it’s one of the only small tablets worth buying. You can find media playing tablets from Amazon and cheaper Android brands with small screens, but if you need a good compact tablet, the Apple iPad mini is a great choice, and it’s the only one worth considering.
Sadly, that’s because the best tablet makers have opted for larger sizes, and we no longer have a small Galaxy Tab from Samsung or a small Pixel or Nexus tablet from Google. That doesn’t mean the iPad mini is only worth choosing because it’s the default. The iPad mini is surprisingly powerful, and it’s closer to the iPad Air than the base model iPad when it comes to performance.
Even though the iPad mini hasn’t been updated since 2021, Apple uses a faster A15 Bionic chip inside the iPad mini than the A14 Bionic chip in the regular iPad 10.9 (2022). The iPad mini is ready for all of the latest software and games, and Apple has kept it up to date with iPadOS updates, and likely will keep this tablet going for another few years.
With such performance, the iPad mini (2021) isn’t cheap, and it hasn’t dropped much in price since it launched, but it’s still a capable compact and the best small tablet you’ll find.
Read our full Apple iPad mini (2021) review
How we test tablets
Our reviewers test the best tablets at home and in the office, and work with Future Labs to make sure each tablet is tested by our performance laboratory. We use tablets in our daily lives every day, and will replace our work laptop computers with a tablet for regular use and testing. We travel with tablets and use them extensively for work and personal travel. We use tablets for fun, for games, for creating art, for getting work done, and for doing nothing at all.
FAQs
What is the best brand of tablets?
Is the Apple iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab the best tablet brand, or is there another tablet brand to consider?
Tablet makers often match features to your smartphone, so the best brand of tablets for you may be the same brand as your phone. The Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab are two of our favorite tablet brands, and OnePlus made an excellent tablet this year: OnePlus Pad. Google’s Pixel Tablet is also good and has room for improvement.
What should I look for when buying a tablet?
The first thing to look for is the operating system, if you want to use your tablet alongside your Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phone. If that doesn’t matter, you should consider the size of the display and how you’ll be carrying and using the tablet. If you plan on doing more professional work on your tablet as a laptop replacement, you should consider the tablet’s performance handling multiple apps or pro-level apps. Of course, price is always a consideration, because the least expensive tablets are surprisingly capable, and you may not need to spend more.
What tablet can replace a laptop?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series, including the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, can be a great computer for doing real work, instead of using a laptop. The Apple iPad Air and iPad Pro models are also powerful enough to do work, but Apple does not make it easy to keep multiple windows and multiple apps open at the same time. Apple makes better keyboard accessories for its tablets, especially the Magic Keyboard, but that accessory is expensive, and most tablets will work with any Bluetooth or USB-C keyboard you find.