The Best Tablets for Work and Play
Tablets aren't essential, but they are nice to have around. A good tablet can be a portable TV screen around the house and a way to get some light work done away from your desk. Also, with a wealth of apps for drawing, painting, and making music, they're a great outlet for your creative impulses.
The iPad's ease of use and best-in-breed software makes it the obvious choice for most people, but if you don't want an iPad, other options exist. Android tablets have grown more powerful in recent years. Amazon's Fire tablets are also an affordable way to get the basics like watching movies and browsing the web, as long as you don't mind their limitations. If you want a tablet that can double as a laptop, an iPad or a Windows 2-in-1 might be your best bet. Our picks of the best tablets can help you decide.
Be sure to check out our other buying guides, including the Best iPads, Best iPad Accessories, and Best Fire Tablets.
Updated October 2021: We've added new iPads and Surface devices.
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- Photograph: Apple
Best for Most People
Apple iPad (2021, 9th Gen)It's surprisingly hard to find another tablet that performs as smoothly as Apple's base iPad. The ninth-generation model (8/10, WIRED Recommends) uses the same A13 Bionic chip that powers the iPhone 11, which outclasses similarly priced slates. Sure, it looks like an iPad from five years ago thanks to thick borders around the screen and a classic home button (with Touch ID), but maybe that's what you want. It's the only iPad with this design anymore, and the only one that comes with an audio jack.
The best addition to the 2021 model is the 12-megapixel selfie camera with support for Center Stage. The camera will ensure you're always visible in the frame, handy if you're cooking and Zooming with mom. You also get Apple's class-leading ecosystem of tablet-optimized apps, which truly make this a slate capable of entertainment and work. The latter is especially true if you hook up Apple's Smart Keyboard (or a third-party alternative). It supports the first-gen Apple Pencil too, but this is the only iPad with a larger air gap between the glass and screen. There's a discernible space between your fingertip and the actual pixels, which makes using the iPad feel a little less natural than its siblings. If you need a slate for sketching, upgrade to another iPad.
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A Good Upgrade
Apple iPad Air (2020, 4th Gen)If you want a more modern-looking tablet, try Apple's 2020 iPad Air. It brings many of the same features from the pricier iPad Pro, like slim bezels, no home button, USB-C for charging, and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil (Amazon), which magnetically attaches to the slate and wirelessly recharges while stuck there. The Air also adds similar performance, thanks to the latest A14 Bionic chip inside (the same processor as in the iPhone 12). That makes it powerful for any task, even bulky video and photo editing. There's no Face ID, but Touch ID is integrated into the power button.
The 10.9-inch LCD screen gives you a slightly larger canvas to work off of compared to the standard iPad above, and the laminated display offers a more natural drawing experience because there's less distance between the glass and pixels. There are some complaints about the screen's backlight bleeding in from the edges, which is noticeable when watching movies. It's something WIRED writer Lauren Goode encountered in her review unit.
★ The ultimate iPad: The 12.9-inch 2021 iPad Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is much more expensive at $1,099, but it's more feature-rich. The large screen makes it great for drawing. It has new Mini-LED backlighting technology that outputs a brighter display with better contrast, and the M1 chip delivers more power. You also get a 120-Hz screen refresh rate, two extra speakers, 5G, and Face ID, among other features. A cheaper 11-inch model is also available, but it doesn't use the new Mini-LED display.
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Best Tablet Under $200
Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021)Amazon's Fire tablets aren't for everyone. They really push Amazon Prime services and apps, and they're best for more passive tasks like playing games and watching movies. There's no Google Play Store, so not every Android app is readily available. But for $150, it's hard to beat the 2021 Fire HD 10 (7/10, WIRED Recommends), which is our favorite Fire Tablet. It has enough power for most tasks, even some light work if you snag the “Productivity Bundle” Amazon sells, which includes a Bluetooth keyboard case and a year of Microsoft 365.
There's a USB-C port, so there's a good chance you can charge it with the same cable as your laptop or Android phone, and it has hands-free Alexa support, meaning it can double as an Echo Show. If you snag the Fire HD 10 Plus model, you get an extra gig of RAM and wireless charging.
Note: Amazon steeply discounts its Fire tablets on Prime Day and Black Friday, so if you can, you should wait until those sale events to buy one.
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Best Tablet Under $100
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020)The 2020 Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus tablets aren't drastically different from the Fire HD 10. They perform well, have a USB-C charging port, stereo sound, and hands-free Alexa. You get all that in a travel-friendly 8-inch size. The screen isn't as nice, and it can be a little tough to see images and text clearly if you're outside, but this is the best tablet you can get without spending a lot of money.
Paying the extra $20 for the Fire HD 8 Plus is wise, as it nets you extra RAM (which helps when you're scrolling the web or juggling multiple apps) and wireless charging, so you can recharge it on almost any charging pad. You can also use Amazon's wireless charging dock, which also props up the tablet and turns it into an Echo Show while it's juicing up. Either way, consider picking up Amazon's magnetic cover to hold the tablet steady when you're binging TV shows.
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Best Portable Tablet
Apple iPad Mini (2021, 6th Gen)Need a little more power? The 8.3-inch iPad Mini with its refreshed iPad Pro-like design will satisfy you. It has the latest A15 Bionic processor, the same that powers the iPhone 13 range, slim borders, and Touch ID embedded inside the power button. It also features Center Stage, like the base iPad and iPad Pro, and USB-C for charging. It's unbelievably small and cute, and you can attach the second-gen Apple Pencil to it for on-the-go sketching.
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Best Kids Tablet
Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids EditionWhen you're giving a tablet to a kid, you want something durable and cheap. That way if it breaks, a replacement won't be too costly. Amazon offers kid-friendly versions of all its Fire tablets, and the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition sits in the sweet spot of having a kid-friendly size and a wallet-friendly price.
It's the exact same as the Fire HD 8 above, but the extra $50 gets you a bulky case to protect the tablet and a two-year worry-free damage plan. That means if your kid breaks it, you can return it and Amazon will send you a replacement for free. You also get a year of Amazon's Kids+ service, which provides access to kid-friendly books, movies, games, and apps, all with parental controls. It's $3 per month after the first year.
The Fire HD 10 Kids Edition comes in two variants. One for kids aged 3 to 7, and a Kids Pro Edition for kids aged 6 to 12. Both are pricier and might be too big for younger children to comfortably use.
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Best Cheap Android Tablet
Walmart Onn 10.1 TabletMy expectations were low for this ultra-cheap 10.1-inch tablet from Walmart's in-house Onn brand, but I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the low-end MediaTek processor and paltry 2 GB of RAM, performance is decently smooth. That wasn't just the case browsing Twitter and Reddit. I was able to run games like Alto's Odyssey without any game-disrupting stutters, and it even juggled multiple apps when I was planning an upcoming trip. That's nuts considering its price.
It has a USB-C port, battery life that lasts several days (if you don't use it 24/7), and you can expand the 32 gigabytes of storage with a MicroSD card. It does have a few weak links: The LCD screen's 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution isn't sharp, but I still found it OK for watching YouTube and shows before bed. There's a persistent Walmart icon near the Android navigation buttons you can't remove. (You'll see ads from the Walmart app too, but you can disable it.) Software updates are the real problem. It's currently outdated, running Android 10, and it hasn't seen a security update since November 2020. But it's slim pickings for Android slates with the Google Play Store, and this is about as cheap as they come.
Another cheap option: Lenovo's Smart Tab M10 HD ($129) is weirdly a little more stuttery than the Onn, but it's good enough for casual browsing. I used it to follow a recipe in the kitchen with no trouble, and despite the low-res screen, I watched Mulan before bed. (It has decent speakers!) It comes with a dock that turns it into a Google Assistant smart display while it's charging.
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Best Android Tablet
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ and S7If you're firmly anti-iPad but you want something powerful for work and play, the Tab S7+ is our top-performing Android pick. It has a quad-speaker setup that rivals the iPad Pro's audio, and the 12.4-inch OLED screen with its 120-Hz refresh rate turns it into one of the best tablets for consuming media and playing games.
Samsung's S Pen is included, so you can start sketching right away without having to spend extra on accessories. It also comes with Samsung's DeX software that converts Android into a desktop-like computing interface when you need it. Run DeX mode with a Bluetooth keyboard and the Tab S7+ becomes a decent productivity tool.
Like the iPad Pro, the Tab S7+ is spendy. If you don't mind a smaller 11-inch screen that uses an LCD panel instead of OLED (blacks won't look as deep nor colors as vibrant), get the Tab S7. The rest of the features are nearly the same, but you'll save some money. Both models have a version with LTE/5G, in case you need connectivity outside the house or office.
Another alternative: You can save a little if you go with Lenovo's P11 Pro ($500). It's cheaper than the S7+ and has a nicer 11.5-inch OLED screen than the standard Tab S7. It performs well, has good speakers, and you can add a keyboard ($90) or stylus ($70). It's not a laptop replacement, but it's great for media consumption and maybe some very light work.
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Best 2-in-1
Microsoft Surface Pro 8Who says tablets need to run operating systems originally designed for smartphones? Microsoft's Surface line employs Windows, making it a suitable choice for heavy, desktop-grade workflows. The Surface Pro 8 is your best choice: It's powerful, has a large 13-inch screen, and has a 120-Hz refresh rate. The best part is the built-in kickstand, which lets you plop it down on almost any surface. It's not as polished as an iPad in tablet mode, but Windows 11 has larger touch targets that make it easier to use. Our main gripe? Battery life is lackluster.
The Surface Go 3 suffers from similar battery woes, but it's a cheaper option. It's not as powerful, so it's better suited for simpler tasks like writing emails, browsing the web, and watching Netflix.
We recommend the Surface Pro 8 with the Intel Core i5 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and a 128-GB SSD for most people.
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