The Best Tablets of 2024

See our top picks for gamers, children, movie-lovers, and more

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The best tablets are dominated by three major operating systems: iPad OS, Android, and Windows. On the premium end, tablets like the iPad Pro and the latest models of the Samsung Galaxy Tab come with the latest and greatest processor, bright, high-resolution screens, and quad-speakers. You can pair them with accessories like a keyboard and stylus, allowing you to engage in productivity tasks like working on documents, taking notes, and sketching.

For those on a tight budget, you have plenty of mid-range and affordable tablets to pick from. The Amazon Fire series devices are top-rated for families with kids since they won't break the bank.

in this article

Best Android

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

Lifewire / Jason Schneider

Pros
  • Beautiful 12.4-inch AMOLED screen

  • Tons of processing power

  • Premium build quality and design

  • S-Pen comes included

Cons
  • Suffers from non-tablet apps

  • Slightly odd aspect ratio

  • Fairly expensive

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is, without a doubt, the closest thing Android tablets have ever come to laptop replacements or iPad Pro competitors. Even though the Galaxy Tab line has always felt relatively premium, it hasn’t often felt finished. The Tab S7+ is a compelling step forward. The standout feature is the exceptionally beautiful, stunningly high-definition display.

Using the HDR+-capable AMOLED tech that Samsung is known for, this is, without a doubt, the best tablet display on the market. While it offers the same 120Hz refresh rate found on the latest iPad Pro line, it does so with starker black tones and more vibrant colors. The Snapdragon 865+ processor is also the most powerful chip that Qualcomm has ever released, rivaling Apple’s A14 Bionic chipset in actual world performance (even if the numerical benchmarks tilt toward Apple). But, because the Tab S7+ comes with its excellent, sub 9ms latency S-Pen included in the box, it’s notable how much better of a value it is than the iPad Pro.

While Android isn’t the most tablet-friendly OS because developers haven’t optimized their apps in the same way that iPad developers have, the Tab S7+ offers something the iPad doesn’t: Samsung Dex. This desktop-like, taskbar-based skin placed over Android makes this tablet feel like a Chromebook or a Windows laptop. You will need to spend an extra $220 to get the official Samsung keyboard cover to take full advantage, but this is a compelling means of being more productive on the device. This is possibly a better gaming platform because Android offers the Xbox Game Cloud and Stadia apps, unlike the iPad.

The hardware feels great, and the cameras aren’t quite smartphone-caliber, but they are definitely in keeping with Samsung’s track record. Oh, and did we mention that screen? The Tab S7+ is available with up to 1TB of storage and up to 8GB of RAM and allows you to expand the storage even further with a microSD card slot.

Screen Size: 12.4 inches | Resolution: 2800x1752 | Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ | Camera: 13MP/5MP rear and 8MP front | Battery: Li-Ion 10,090mAh

Best Value

Apple iPad (2020)

Apple-ipad-2020

Amazon

Pros
  • Works with the Apple Pencil (1st gen)

  • Snappy performance

  • Works with old cases and the Smart Keyboard

  • Headphone jack

Cons
  • Still no USB-C despite other models making the jump

  • Only two storage options

  • Overall design remains unchanged

The 8th generation iPad 10.2-inch is Apple’s entry-level tablet, its most affordable iPad, and it’s more impressive than ever before. With the same great-looking Retina display as the previous iPad, the powerful A12 chip improved support for the Apple Pencil, and compatibility with previous-generation iPad Air and iPad Pro accessories, the iPad 10.2-inch (2020) has earned your attention.

Positioned as the most affordable iPad, the iPad 10.2-inch is an impressively competent piece of hardware. When paired with a Smart Keyboard, I could use it as a laptop replacement when I either couldn’t or didn’t want to carry around my much larger and heavier laptop. The new iPadOS 14 is a real boon to productivity, and the Apple Pencil is almost a required purchase with the Scribble feature that allows you to handwrite in any text field.

The 8th generation iPad 10.2-inch is still significantly less powerful than the iPad Air 4 or iPad Air Pro. Those alternatives are worth considering if you have space in your budget and a greater need to use your tablet like a laptop. For the price, though, the 2020 iPad is as good as it gets.

Apple iPad 10.2-inch (8th Generation)

Jeremy Laukkonen / Lifewire

Screen Size: 10.2 inches | Resolution: 2160x1620 | Processor: A12 Bionic| Camera: 8MP rear and 1.2MP front | Battery: 10 hours web surfing

Best Mini

Apple iPad Mini (2019)

Amazon Apple iPad Mini

Amazon

Pros
  • All-day battery life

  • Fast A12 Bionic processor

  • Headphone jack

  • Apple Pencil support

Cons
  • Only two speakers

  • No Smart Keyboard compatibility

  • No Face ID

  • No USB-C

The iPad Mini has a powerful A12 Bionic chip and 64-bit architecture, allowing you to multitask with multiple apps running, share augmented reality experiences with your friends, and play the hottest games with virtually no lag. You'll get 10 hours of battery life before needing a charge, and the specs all fit inside the sleek and lightweight design (it's 0.24 inches thick and weighs 0.66 pounds).

The Mini makes up for its smaller but more portable size by featuring a gorgeous 7.9-inch retina display with an anti-reflective 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution. The screen makes your images and videos pop, with High Dynamic Range (HDR) support and two cameras, an eight-megapixel on the back and a seven-megapixel on the front for FaceTime calls. There isn't an app this tablet can't handle, and anything you need to accomplish can be done on the run or while traveling — the Mini is just that versatile and elegant.

Colors come in rose gold, space gray, and classic silver models, and you can choose between 64GB of memory or 256 GB.

Screen Size: 7.9 inches | Resolution: 2048x1536| Processor: A12 Bionic| Camera: 8MPrear and 7MP front | Battery: 5,124mAh

Best Productivity

Microsoft Surface Go 2

Microsoft-surface-go-2

Amazon

Pros
  • Nice, portable design

  • Solid performance and hardware

  • Long-lasting battery life

Cons
  • Keyboard is a little cramped

  • Upgrades cost quite a bit more

The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is the convertible tablet answer to laptops. Its Windows 10S operating system in a lightweight and ultraportable design meets all your productivity needs. The touchscreen is a 10.5-inch 1920x1080 panel with a 220ppi resolution. It's crisp, and the 3:2 aspect ratio lets you fit a decent amount of content.

There are multiple configurations available for the Surface Go 2. The more powerful options with the Intel core m3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD storage will cost more than the base model but will also give you improved performance and multitasking capabilities. Unlike Android and iPadOS slates, the Surface Go 2 can run word processing, Excel, PowerPoint, and other vital parts of the Microsoft Office Suite.

The tablet has a keyboard and Surface Pen, giving you options for typing, taking notes, handwriting recognition, and drawing. There's a 5MP front-facing camera that supports Windows Hello login, an 8MP rear camera, dual-band Wi-Fi, and support for LTE with the Snapdragon X16 modem, giving you connectivity no matter where you are.

Screen Size: 10.5 inches | Resolution: 1920x1280 | Processor: Intel Core m3| Camera: 8MP rear and 5Mp front | Battery: 10 hours regular usage

Best with LTE

Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019)

Samsung-galaxy-tab-a-2019

Amazon

Pros
  • Compact and lightweight

  • 4G compatible

  • Decent sound quality

  • Has a headphone jack

Cons
  • Doesn't work with S Pen

  • Relatively low resolution

  • Mediocre rear camera

Samsung's Tab A comes in a beautiful 8.4-inch chassis, a great blend of portability and usability (bolstered by a highly sharp 1920x1080 full HD display, up from the previous generations' 1280x800). A powerful octa-core processor replaces the quad-core Snapdragon, an upgraded 5MP camera, and, most notably for some, LTE support so you can make and take calls and utilize mobile data anytime you're away from Wi-Fi.

Though the battery is slightly smaller in the 2020 model (though only barely, at 5,000mAh vs. 5,100mAh), it's still capable of keeping you browsing, reading, and gaming for long stretches without needing to be re-upped. It's also very affordable for an LTE tablet and is available as a purely Wi-Fi device for even less, directly through Samsung's website. It's a sharp, versatile, powerful modern tablet and a new high watermark for Samsung's tablet offerings.

Screen Size: 8.0 inches | Resolution: 1280x800| Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 429| Camera: 8MP rear and 2MP front | Battery: 5,100mAh

Best Splurge

Microsoft Surface Pro 7

Microsoft-surface-pro-7

Amazon

Pros
  • Wonderfully portable

  • Great performance

  • UBS-C port

Cons
  • No Thunderbolt 3

  • Type Cover not included

  • Middling battery life

Microsoft may not have threatened Apple much in the traditional tablet market, but the Surface Pro line has found a delicate, valuable space between tablets and laptops. The Surface Pro 7 is a 2-in-1 device that's designed to be put to work. The tablet itself sports a vibrant 12.3-inch display bordered by pretty chunky bezels by today's standards, but you may not be holding it like a tablet much. Snap it into the Type Cover accessory, and you can type away on one of the most comfortable backlit keyboards.

As has always been the downside with Surface Pros, that keyboard that's so crucial to the experience doesn't come with the tablet, so you have to pay more to get the most out of a device you're already splurging on. But you get impressive hardware for your investment, especially if you spring for the top-tier configuration: a 10th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB in storage. It's like a business laptop with extra flexibility—and Microsoft has added a handy USB-C port to the Pro 7, too.

The product's 7th generation carries on the tradition of Surface Pro tablets as leading 2-in-1 productivity machines, but it does so without adding too much new. The always-connected Surface Pro X may be worthwhile if you crave something more forward-thinking in design and hardware.

Screen Size: 12.3 inches | Resolution: 2736x1824| Processor: Intel Core i3/i5/i7| Camera: 8MP rear and 5MP front | Battery: 10.5 hours average use

What to Look For in a Tablet

Screen size

The average tablet is around 10 inches, measured diagonally, but it can be as small as 8 inches and run up to 13.5. The screen size is a personal preference, but for productivity purposes, it’s often the bigger, the better. A smaller screen should suffice if you’re merely streaming a show or reading a book.

Budget

Prepare to pay a premium for an Apple iPad, which can easily cost five times that of a budget tablet. And the higher the screen resolution and the more powerful the processor, the more you can expect to pay. But Amazon makes some amazingly affordable options that still give you access to all the apps you could want, plus its Alexa personal assistant.

Battery life

Compared to smartphones, which barely make it through the day on a single charge, most tablets can last at least a few days, depending on use. Be sure to buy one with at least 10 hours of rated battery life, and you’ll be ready.

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