If you can afford to pay a bit more, iPads are excellent tablets for students and creative kids; in fact, we have a best iPads for kids guide that will help you choose between them. And if your kid wants an Android tablet, there are some great options from Samsung that compete effectively with iPads yet cost significantly less.
The best tablets for kids you can buy today
Kids (and adults) may not be able to see the difference between the 2021 and 2020 iPads (they look exactly alike), but it has a fair number of reasons to upgrade. Not only is it still great in the ways that every regular iPad before it (colorful screen and long battery life, good sound and rock-solid design), but Apple’s made a few tweaks to make it much better in other ways. First and foremost is the A13 Bionic chip, which should enable smoother gameplay, and snappier performance (find me a child who likes slow apps, I dare you). Next up is Apple’s 12MP front-facing camera, which will make kids look sharper than ever on video calls — especially compared to the 1.2MP front-facing camera in the iPad. This camera also features Apple’s Center Stage technology, which keeps Junior framed on calls even when they bob their head left or right. And by retaining the headphone jack, kids can keep using their headphones with the new iPad. Read our full iPad 2021 review. Kids typically prefer lighter tablets, and we can’t blame them. The regular iPad may have a great simplicity about itself, but the 0.7-pound iPad mini 6 is so much easier to hold than its heavier siblings. Plus, if you get the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil with it, that stylus will be easier to keep track of since it magnetically snaps onto the side (the 1st Gen Pencil tends to just roll away). The iPad mini 6 is also better for reading, since its size is more comparable to books and comics. Everyone, especially kids watching their favorite shows and clips on YouTube will love the iPad mini 6’s colorful and super-bright screen, plus its long battery life. One other thing to know about the iPad mini 6, though, is that Kids will need a Bluetooth keyboard if they want to do a lot of typing (without banging on the glass screen), since Apple doesn’t make a Magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard for it. Read our full Apple iPad mini 6 (2021) review. Apple’s iPad Air (2020) borrows a lot of what we like from the iPad Pro, at a more affordable price, and it’s a great tablet to give an older kid if you’re willing to pay the $599+ asking price. It’s smaller and lighter than the base iPad with super-thin bezels you’ll recognize from the iPad Pro, as well as support for the $300 Magic Keyboard, which (if you’re willing to pay the extra cost) makes the Air a decent device for writing papers. On top of that, Apple’s blazing-fast A14 Bionic chip helps future-proof this tablet with enough speed for demanding apps and multitasking. Oh, and they managed to put Touch ID in the lock button. Plus, its 10.5 hours of battery life will be enough to last a kid through at least a full day of use, and its screen is bright and colorful enough to make videos look brilliant. It’s also great for Zoom calls and remote learning, thanks to its 7-megapixel webcam. We only wish the Magic Keyboard wasn’t so expensive: it’s hard to feel great buying a keyboard for nearly the same price as the entry-level iPad. Read our full iPad Air (2020) review. If you want to give a kid an Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab A7 is a great choice because it’s a decent iPad competitor that costs nearly $100 less. It’s a great tablet to give an older kid, and it’s also great to share among a family because Android lets you set up multiple profiles and set parental controls on a per-profile basis, ensuring you can filter and control what kids of content your kid(s) can access. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 review. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a bit more expensive than the Galaxy Tab A7, but if you’re willing to spend the extra cash, it’s a great Android tablet for kids, especially kids who like to draw. This excellent tablet has a ton of battery life — lasting over 12 hours on a single charge — and offers a sleek design with a bright screen and solid sound. And if you have an older kid with an artistic bent, the S-Pen stylus, which offers low-latency drawing, is included by default. Plus it snaps to the top of the Tab S6 Lite, so a child is (hopefully) less likely to lose it. Performance-wise, though, the Tab S6 Lite is a little underwhelming, especially when multitasking. But if a kid is primarily going to use the tablet for media consumption and doodling, the Tab S6 Lite is a great choice — and don’t forget it has Android’s multiple user profiles and parental controls, which are more robust than what you’ll find on Apple’s tablets. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite review.
How to choose the best tablet for kids
Still not sure which tablet is right for the kid(s) in question? Here are some important things to consider. Screen size: Tablets come in a variety of screen sizes ranging from 7 to 10 inches. If you expect your kid to be watching a lot of videos, they’ll want the biggest, nicest screen possible, so consider the Fire HD 10, the iPad, or the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7. But if you just want a tablet a kid can use to browse the web and read ebooks, a smaller display, like those on the Fire 7 or Fire HD 8, will be more than enough for your needs.
How we test tablets
After that, we do the same things you do — browse the web, watch YouTube, play games, compose emails — and then a lot more. We also try and write some (or all) of our tablet reviews on the tablets we’re testing, especially if there’s a keyboard attachment available.
title: “Best Tablets For Kids In 2023” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “Carolyn Scully”
If you can afford to pay a bit more, iPads are excellent tablets for students and creative kids; in fact, we have a best iPads for kids guide that will help you choose between them. And if your kid wants an Android tablet, there are some great options from Samsung that compete effectively with iPads yet cost significantly less.
The best tablets for kids you can buy today
Kids (and adults) may not be able to see the difference between the 2021 and 2020 iPads (they look exactly alike), but it has a fair number of reasons to upgrade. Not only is it still great in the ways that every regular iPad before it (colorful screen and long battery life, good sound and rock-solid design), but Apple’s made a few tweaks to make it much better in other ways. First and foremost is the A13 Bionic chip, which should enable smoother gameplay, and snappier performance (find me a child who likes slow apps, I dare you). Next up is Apple’s 12MP front-facing camera, which will make kids look sharper than ever on video calls — especially compared to the 1.2MP front-facing camera in the iPad. This camera also features Apple’s Center Stage technology, which keeps Junior framed on calls even when they bob their head left or right. And by retaining the headphone jack, kids can keep using their headphones with the new iPad. Read our full iPad 2021 review. Kids typically prefer lighter tablets, and we can’t blame them. The regular iPad may have a great simplicity about itself, but the 0.7-pound iPad mini 6 is so much easier to hold than its heavier siblings. Plus, if you get the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil with it, that stylus will be easier to keep track of since it magnetically snaps onto the side (the 1st Gen Pencil tends to just roll away). The iPad mini 6 is also better for reading, since its size is more comparable to books and comics. Everyone, especially kids watching their favorite shows and clips on YouTube will love the iPad mini 6’s colorful and super-bright screen, plus its long battery life. One other thing to know about the iPad mini 6, though, is that Kids will need a Bluetooth keyboard if they want to do a lot of typing (without banging on the glass screen), since Apple doesn’t make a Magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard for it. Read our full Apple iPad mini 6 (2021) review. Apple’s iPad Air (2020) borrows a lot of what we like from the iPad Pro, at a more affordable price, and it’s a great tablet to give an older kid if you’re willing to pay the $599+ asking price. It’s smaller and lighter than the base iPad with super-thin bezels you’ll recognize from the iPad Pro, as well as support for the $300 Magic Keyboard, which (if you’re willing to pay the extra cost) makes the Air a decent device for writing papers. On top of that, Apple’s blazing-fast A14 Bionic chip helps future-proof this tablet with enough speed for demanding apps and multitasking. Oh, and they managed to put Touch ID in the lock button. Plus, its 10.5 hours of battery life will be enough to last a kid through at least a full day of use, and its screen is bright and colorful enough to make videos look brilliant. It’s also great for Zoom calls and remote learning, thanks to its 7-megapixel webcam. We only wish the Magic Keyboard wasn’t so expensive: it’s hard to feel great buying a keyboard for nearly the same price as the entry-level iPad. Read our full iPad Air (2020) review. If you want to give a kid an Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab A7 is a great choice because it’s a decent iPad competitor that costs nearly $100 less. It’s a great tablet to give an older kid, and it’s also great to share among a family because Android lets you set up multiple profiles and set parental controls on a per-profile basis, ensuring you can filter and control what kids of content your kid(s) can access. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 review. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a bit more expensive than the Galaxy Tab A7, but if you’re willing to spend the extra cash, it’s a great Android tablet for kids, especially kids who like to draw. This excellent tablet has a ton of battery life — lasting over 12 hours on a single charge — and offers a sleek design with a bright screen and solid sound. And if you have an older kid with an artistic bent, the S-Pen stylus, which offers low-latency drawing, is included by default. Plus it snaps to the top of the Tab S6 Lite, so a child is (hopefully) less likely to lose it. Performance-wise, though, the Tab S6 Lite is a little underwhelming, especially when multitasking. But if a kid is primarily going to use the tablet for media consumption and doodling, the Tab S6 Lite is a great choice — and don’t forget it has Android’s multiple user profiles and parental controls, which are more robust than what you’ll find on Apple’s tablets. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite review.
How to choose the best tablet for kids
Still not sure which tablet is right for the kid(s) in question? Here are some important things to consider. Screen size: Tablets come in a variety of screen sizes ranging from 7 to 10 inches. If you expect your kid to be watching a lot of videos, they’ll want the biggest, nicest screen possible, so consider the Fire HD 10, the iPad, or the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7. But if you just want a tablet a kid can use to browse the web and read ebooks, a smaller display, like those on the Fire 7 or Fire HD 8, will be more than enough for your needs.
How we test tablets
After that, we do the same things you do — browse the web, watch YouTube, play games, compose emails — and then a lot more. We also try and write some (or all) of our tablet reviews on the tablets we’re testing, especially if there’s a keyboard attachment available.
