Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
Display size: 14.6 inches | Resolution: 1848 x 2960 | Storage: 256GB to 1TB | Battery: 11,200mAh | Weight: 1.6 pounds | Accessories: S Pen stylus
Pros:
- Power processor
- Gorgeous display
Cons:
- Expensive
- Keyboard not included
Samsung has been in the tablet game for a long time, but are recently pushing the envelope. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is the very best of everything you can get in a tablet. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, a ton of onboard RAM and storage and a battery that goes forever. Plus, it’s extremely thin and light, weighing in at just over 1.5 pounds.
I did an extensive, deep-dive hands-on review of this tablet for Forbes Vetted in 2023. I found that it makes multitasking a cinch and that the cohesive Samsung ecosystem makes giving up multiple screens just a bit easier. Many tablets don’t take advantage of their screen real estate, but this 14.6-inch display does not get wasted. Samsung DeX gives you a Windows-like interface, allowing you to open multiple windows, resize them, move them around, cascade them—even gives you a taskbar across the bottom for smooth multitasking.
If DeX isn’t your cup of tea, you can still use a full Android interface with split-screen, floating windows and Samsung’s OneUI launcher. This is going to work much better when you’re not using a keyboard, which doesn’t come in the box. That’s Samsung’s Achilles’ heel: It wants to be a productivity tablet, but it doesn’t automatically include all of the tools you need to do it.
Best Android Laptop For Productivity
Solid Tablet Designed By The Kings Of Productivity
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2
Display size: 11.5 inches | Resolution: 1536 x 2560 | Storage: 128GB | Battery: 7,700mAh | Weight: 1.1 pounds | Accessories: Keyboard case and Pen sold separately
Pros:
- Great size for portability
- Nice multitasking interface
Cons:
- Keyboard and stylus not included
- Midrange processor
Lenovo is the king of business laptops, and its expertise in building productivity machines extends into the tablet space as well. The Lenovo P11 Pro Gen 2 is the latest in the lineup of productivity tablets, and it brings a lot to the table.
I’ve personally tested the Lenovo P11 Pro Gen 2. It’s very quick and smooth and provides good value for the money. The software doesn’t give you quite the flexibility as Samsung DeX, but you get a nice widescreen layout with a taskbar across the bottom showing your open apps. The widescreen gives you ample room to work with two Android apps side-by-side, while the taskbar makes it easy to switch between other apps if you need to. The software isn’t perfect though, because, true to form, Lenovo ships the tablet with a few extra apps that you didn’t ask for. I’d like to see the keyboard and stylus included, but it’s nice that you can bundle them.
The processor is a MediaTek Helio G99, which is not the most powerful processor on the market, but it’s good enough for most applications. A productivity tablet isn’t necessarily geared toward high-power tasks, but is great to bang out some emails, do some research and write an article for Forbes Vetted, for example (I wrote this article entirely on the P11 Pro with the keyboard cover).
Best Android Tablet For Reading
Great For Books And Comics
Boox Mini C E-Paper Tablet
Display size: 7.8 inches | Resolution: 1872×1404 | Storage: 64GB | Battery: 5,000 mAh | Weight: 264 grams | Accessories: Included stylus
Pros:
- Long battery life
- Android allows third-party apps
Cons:
- E Ink has a low refresh rate
- Expensive
If you want something that’s specifically for reading, it needs to be super light, extremely portable and last a long time on a charge. If you’re thinking that sounds like an e-reader, you’re right, but what if you want color? Boox has been working in the color E Ink space for a long time, and the Boox Tab Mini C reader is great for book illustrations to comic books.
The fact that the tablet runs on Android means you can run any app on it that you want. The E Ink screen is not terribly responsive, so it’s not the best for watching videos—but you can absolutely read anything, black-and-white or color, which is a bonus. You can even adjust the response rate higher or lower, which is another plus, but don’t expect anything approaching what you’d get with a normal tablet screen.
What the reviews say: People who bought this tablet love the color capability, long battery life and app compatibility of the Android operating system. Some customers feel less favorably about the sharpness of the colors, noting that they’re a little more pale than they expected.
Best Budget Android Tablet
Amazon’s Great Content-Consumption Tablet
Amazon Fire HD 10
Display size: 10.1 inches | Resolution: 1920 x 1200 | Storage: 32GB, but can upgrade to 64GB | Battery: Up to 13 hours | Weight: 15.3 ounces | Accessories: None
Pros:
- Big screen
- Inexpensive
Cons:
- Limited app ecosystem
- Underpowered for anything beyond content consumption
When it comes to straight-up content consumption, Amazon’s Fire tablets are still the best game in town. Among those tablets, the Amazon Fire HD 10 is the best you can buy. That’s not to say it’s great—far from it. You need to know going in that if you’re buying an Amazon tablet, you’re buying a streaming machine, and that’s the end of the list.
Amazon Fire tablets run on Amazon’s Fire OS, which is built on Android. But, Google services are nowhere to be found on the tablet, and that ties both hands and even a leg behind its back. The Amazon Appstore is, to put it as absolutely politely as possible, a wasteland of half-baked and forgotten apps, along with some streaming apps and a few games. The good news is that the apps that you want to use are the ones that work well. It doesn’t take a lot of power to watch Disney+ on a 10-inch HD screen. Additionally, the price is right on these tablets and they are built tough. Try not to drop one down a flight of stairs, but if you do, it has a decent chance of survival.
What the writers say: Forbes contributor Scott Kramer reviewed the HD 10 Plus: “The Fire HD 10 Plus feels nice and light. Call me crazy, but I actually prefer its plastic backing over that of pricier tablets. In my experience, it can take small drops without any issues. But you can buy the optional origami-like kickstand case for $40, which gives it a more premium feel with better protection.”
Best Android Tablet For Smart Homes
A Tablet That Doubles As A Smart Hub
Google Pixel Tablet
Display size: 11 inches | Resolution: 1600 x 2560 | Storage: 128GB, but can upgrade to 256GB | Battery: 7,020mAh | Weight: 1.1 pounds | Accessories: Speaker stand included
Pros:
- Lovely Google interface
- Docking station converts tablet into hub
Cons:
- A little underpowered
- Expensive for what it is
Google has taken a few runs at tablet-making in the past, but its latest effort is by far one of the best. Usually, when a tablet isn’t actively in use, it’s sitting on a table or in your bag like a brick. But the Pixel Tablet magnetically attaches to the base—which also has a built-in speaker. And when docked, it functions like a Google Home Hub so you can ask it questions, control your smartphone and more. It’s got a fingerprint sensor, which is not only useful for unlocking the tablet but also for loading individual user profiles in a family environment.
I really like what Google is trying to do here, although I’m not a fan of the Tensor G2 processor, which is a little underpowered by today’s standards. But for content consumption, the tablet is really solid and I really like the dock. And if you want a kitchen control center, this is a good pickup.
Google normally ships the tablet with the dock, but you can also buy each separately if you need one but not the other. It’s a little on the expensive side at more than $400, especially when you can get a Google Home Hub (with an admittedly much smaller screen) for much less.
Best Android Tablet For Kids
Not Indestructible, But Close
Amazon Fire 8 Kids Tablet
Display size: 8 inches | Resolution: 1,280 x 800 | Storage: 32GB, can upgrade to 64GB | Battery life: Up to 13 hours | Weight: 1.1 pound | Accessories: Sturdy, “kid-proof” case included
Pros:
- 2-year “worry-free” warranty
- Included case
Cons:
- Very underpowered
- Paying extra for just the bumper case
If you have little kids, tablets are an effective way to keep them entertained and learning. But, like most kids, they can be a tad… irresponsible… when it comes to properly using and taking care of electronics. To that end, Amazon introduced the Kids line of Fire tablets. These tablets are essentially normal Fire Tablets with a thick, soft bumper case on them that protects them from drops, falls and spills.
Amazon Fire tablets are generally durable, and the bumper case adds to that protection, but the tablet also ships with a full two-year no-questions-asked guarantee that if anything happens to the tablet, Amazon will send you another one. It’s a little extra peace of mind should anything happen to your kiddo’s tablet.
The Amazon Fire 8 Kids tablet also comes with a trial for enhanced parental controls that allow you to control your child’s screen time and even disable other functionality until certain learning goals have been met. Screen time is generally not a great thing for kids to have, but if you can make sure they’re getting sufficient learning time before binging Blue’s Clues, that makes it a little better.
What the reviews say: The Amazon Fire 8 Kids averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon. People who have bought the tablet like it for educational content, but they generally agree that it’s underpowered and has a limited app ecosystem. They also like the bumper case, saying that it keeps the tablet safe from accidental damage.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
At Forbes Vetted, we’re proud of our extensive library of tech guides and recommendations. In particular, we have an ever-growing section of content specifically about computer and tablets.
- This guide was written by Adam Doud, who has over a decade of experience writing about consumer technology with a particular focus on mobile phones and cellular technology. He’s tested most smartphones on the market over the past several years, including the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
- All picks in this guide were approved by Rebecca Isaacs, Forbes Vetted’s tech editor, a consumer technology expert who has years of experience writing about and covering all the latest gadgets.
- Many of the picks in this roundup were personally tested by Doud. For those that weren’t, we leaned on the expertise of colleagues and sorted through online reviews.
- The tech world moves fast, and we make every effort to keep up. This story was last updated in June 2024, and will continue to be refreshed to stay current and accurate.
How We Chose The Best Android Tablets
To select the best Android tablets, we combined hands-on testing insights with those of other knowledgeable contributors. We also took into consideration consumer reviews.
- For many of the products in this list, Doud had personal experience with the devices and tested and evaluated them himself.
- In some cases, Doud included impressions from other colleagues well-versed in consumer tech and tablets.
- Once we narrowed down the contenders, we went to popular shopping sites like Amazon and Best Buy and picked those that had garnered the best review scores from real customers.
- We evaluated each tablet based on such attributes as resolution, storage, battery life and any included accessories.
