In our quest to help you find the right Android tablet, we tested many in the lab, measuring battery life and performance, as well as screen quality. When it comes to app quality (something of a lingering question for even the best Android tablets) we’ve found that your decision might start with how many apps you want — and not all of these Android tablets get the same apps.
The best Android tablets you can buy today
The Galaxy Tab S8 is good at a lot of things, but it’s best at being a premium Android tablet. You can use it to get work done in a pinch, but in our experience it’s best enjoyed as a speedy all-purpose device for making work and play a bit more enjoyable. On the couch, it’s great for gaming or reading comics. At work, it’s nice to have as a note-keeping device or secondary display, especially if you go to the trouble of investing in the Galaxy ecosystem and making your workspace DeX-friendly. If you absolutely must have the biggest, baddest Android slate possible you probably want the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, but if you just need a great premium Android tablet the Galaxy Tab S8 delivers — and in the process, sets a new standard for what we should expect from the category. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 review. This is the budget Android tablet that fans have long deserved. In the history of iPad alternatives, the Galaxy Tab A7 stands out with its lower $219 price, $100 less than the iPad. On top of that, it’s got thinner bezels than the 10.2-inch iPad and crazy 13+ hour battery life — so you can enjoy more of what you’re watching and reading for a lot longer time. And even at this price, you get facial recognition to unlock the device. It’s also got USB-C charging, so you can use the same cable you charge modern phones and laptops with. And while we wish it was a tad brighter or faster, it’s got the real, unadulterated Android experience — with the Google Play app store and Google apps — so you’re not confined to web-only Gmail and YouTube. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 review. The Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 is an entertainment-focused Android tablet with an impressive 13-inch display and quality speakers. It makes you feel like you’re watching movies and shows on a proper TV instead of a bulky tablet. Playing games is a delight too, thanks to the speedy Snapdragon 870 processor and 8GB of memory. The slate can even act as a secondary monitor for your laptop or tablet, giving its 2K screen a bit of extra versatility. Though great at what it does, it’s not the most portable device out there. It’s also all but impossible to find a protective cover due to its unusual design. The lack of 5G support is also a letdown, as is the lack of a headphone jack. Still, if you’re looking for an entertainment-focused tablet that you don’t plan to cart around much, the Yoga Tab 13 is a good choice. Read our full Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review. Its impressive 13+ hours of battery life stands out in a sea of tablets we already complement for endurance, and, yes, you can get the reversible USB-C port at this wallet-friendly price. Even its selfie camera is pretty decent, beating the webcams in more expensive laptops. The latest Fire 7 also fixes a mistake of previous updates, allowing you to summon the Alexa digital assistant with your own voice. Yes, it should have been there since day 1 (Alexa wasn’t meant to be clicked into existence), but a $50 tablet can get away with a lot of cut corners. Its low-low price should be a good indicator to shoppers that they shouldn’t expect iPad-level features. Its sub-HD screen is good enough for younger children streaming kids’ shows on Prime, but their older siblings (who’ve seen a few tablets in their time) might ask for something a little sharper. Android tablet lovers have needed the Samsung Galaxy S7 before they even knew it existed. This beautiful slate is thin, light and packs slim bezels for an all-screen aesthetic that Apple’s given users for years with the iPad Pro. The Tab S7’s screen is so bright and colorful that you’ll love to use it for your next Netflix binge-watch. Oh, and it put in a time of over 13 hours on our battery life test. On top of that, you get a windowed Android app experience in DeX mode (which could use some polish) but is pretty decent for getting work done. We want more from the Tab S7’s Book Cover Keyboard (a $199 extra add-on) though. Its number keys will be too small for some and assembling its two-piece design is a little annoying if you transition from laptop to tablet mode often. Also, we wish the Snapdragon 865+ had a bit more pep in its step, as benchmarks show Intel Core i5 and Apple A12Z chips running circles around it. So while some will opt for the cheaper (and still good) Android tablets, the Galaxy Tab S7 is the high-end tablet that Android users deserve. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 review. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra ($1,099) is the first tablet that casts a literal shadow over the iPad Pro. With its ginormous 14.6-inch OLED display, this Android slate makes the 12.9-inch iPad Pro seem cute by comparison. And with the optional keyboard attachment and improved multi-window mode, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra could potentially replace a laptop. Samsung is clearly targeting hybrid and at-home workers with the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, as it packs dual front cameras with support to up to 4K resolution for video calls as well as auto framing for keeping you in the frame as you move around. Plus, there’s advanced noise reduction to make sure you come through loud and clear. Other highlights of the Tab S8 Ultra include a fast Snapdragon 8 Gen-1 chip, a low-latency S Pen experience, 45W fast charging and improved integration with Galaxy S series phones. At $1,099, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra commands a heck of a premium. But it delivers an intoxicating blend of size, speed and versatility that makes it one of the best tablets on the market. Read our Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra review.
How to choose the best Android tablet for you
When it comes to picking the best Android tablet for you, start by thinking about the apps you want. Yes, battery life and performance are so similar across many of these tablets that you can easily cross off half of this list by thinking about if you need your next Android tablet for more than just Netflix and Spotify. If you want all of the apps, you have three questions, each with its own answer. Are you mainly going to be consuming content? Get the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. Looking for a machine where you can crank out a Word document and possibly replace your laptop? The Galaxy Tab S6 is right for you. Looking for a tablet to share with the family? Huawei’s MediaPad M5 Lite is your best bet.
How we test Android tablets
The first thing we do to separate the great tablets from the jokers is to test all their different facets. Our web-surfing-based battery test times how long a tablet can browse the internet for, with its display set to 150 nits of brightness. But in order to figure out what percentage of brightness equals 150 nits, we perform a series of display tests to measure how colorful the panel can get (measured with its sRGB output number) as well as how bright it can get. Then, we run benchmark tests on said tablet, including the latest version of the Geekbench general performance benchmark. Then, we just use the tablets like we would if we owned them. Opening tab after tab and app after app to see if we can multitask without hiccups. We also watch YouTube videos because the color output (sRGB) and brightness (nits) measurements don’t tell the whole story. Only through all of these tests, can we be sure that we’re giving you a complete assessment of a tablet’s value.
