Otherwise, read on to see the best Android tablets to get for any purpose. Under the hood, you’re looking at a device with a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor and configuration options of 6GB or 8GB RAM and 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage. All the variants of the slate can take an additional 1TB in microSD memory. You also have the option of picking up a 5G connected model, giving you data connectivity everywhere you go on top of the dual-band Wi-Fi 6. Needless to say, the Tab S7+ is a tablet without compromise. Screen Size: 12.4 inches | Resolution: 2800x1752 | Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ | Camera: 13MP/5MP rear and 8MP front | Battery: 10,090mAh To function as a 2-in-1 tablet, the Tab S6 connects to a detachable keyboard cover much like Microsoft’s Surface Pro does. And like the Surface Pro, this essential keyboard is sold separately and adds to an already rich price tag. The S Pen stylus comes included, though, snapping magnetically to a spot on the back of the tablet. It’s an excellent accessory that’s handy not just for drawing and jotting down notes, but also for Bluetooth controls and new motion gestures. Perhaps more helpful for productivity is Samsung DeX, which extends a desktop-ish version of your interface onto an external display, all while keeping your device in tablet mode. In our hands-on experience, using the Tab S6 with DeX along with a keyboard made for something very close to a productive laptop experience. Screen Size: 10.5 inches | Resolution: 2560x1600 | Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 | Camera: 13MP/5MP rear and 8MP front | Battery: 7,040mAh Once you get the tablet powered on, there are a few things you’ll notice. The 2560 x 1600 OLED screen, from a color perspective, is vibrant and beautiful. But because the display uses Pentile tech, there’s some fuzziness you’ll notice on particularly small text. The Snapdragon 730G isn’t the flagship Qualcomm chip, but it will handle almost anything short of heavy gaming with ease. You can pick up the tablet with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, though you’ll want the higher total for productivity. The battery life is billed at up to 15 hours of use and is more capable than even the more premium offerings from Samsung. All of this comes in at a price right around $500, which isn’t terrible but might irk some users when you factor in the mid-tier processor and less-desirable display tech. Screen Size: 11.5 inches | Resolution: 2560x1600 | Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G | Camera: 13MP/5MP rear and 8MP/8MP front | Battery: 8,600mAh Screen Size: 10.1 inches | Resolution: 1920x1280 | Processor: Mediatek MT8183 Helio P60T| Camera: 2MP rear and 2MP front | Battery: 6,300mAh This refresh rate also helps with the S-Pen, which feels remarkably lifelike in drawing and note taking, thanks also to the Wacom-support stylus tech and the sub-9 ms latency. And, because the S-Pen comes bundled with the Tab S7 at no extra charge, the only accessory you might buy is the official keyboard cover from Samsung (and we recommend it because it will expand the functionality a lot). Speaking of that productivity, another key advantage of going with the Tab S7 is the clever Samsung DeX option. This basically operates like a skin on top of Samsung’s One UI and makes everything look like a laptop operating system–letting you open multiple overlapping windows and browse files in a taskbar-based experience. The display feels a little small for heavy productivity, but it will certainly do the trick in a pinch. The Snapdragon 865+ and the integrated graphics are also very capable of running games, which is great because since Xbox Game Pass lets you stream triple-A titles right to your tablet, it makes the Tab S7 a viable gaming option. The base configuration with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM will run you about $650, which isn’t cheap but also not exorbitant. What’s nice is you can expand the storage with microSD card compatibility. Overall, if you don’t have allegiances to the iOS ecosystem, and you don’t mind getting past a few of the Android hiccups, this is a very recommendable tablet. Screen Size: 11.0 inches | Resolution: 2560x1600 | Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ | Camera: 13MP/5MP rear and 8MP front | Battery: 8,000mAh Though the battery is slightly smaller in the 2020 model (though only barely, at 5,000mAh vs. 5,100mAh), it’s still got the capacity to keep you browsing, reading, and gaming for long stretches without needing to be reupped. It’s also very affordable for an LTE tablet, and is also 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 water mark 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 The 7-inch screen is IPS, giving you good viewing angles, though the 1024x600 resolution is a little on the fuzzy side at 171ppi. The processor is also nothing to write home about, consisting of a 1.3GHz quad-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. It’s enough to get most basic browsing, web apps, and some games, but not much beyond that. Still, for the price, it’s hard to ask for much more. The Fire 7 serves as a great device for Kindle books, Netflix, Spotify, Audible, Prime Video, and other services. The only thing you won’t have access to is Google services like Google docs, Chrome, and Google Sheets, but ultimately that’s not a huge deal since the Fire 7 wasn’t designed with productivity in mind. As a kid’s tablet or general living room family tablet, it’ll do a great job. Screen Size: 7 inches | Resolution: 1024x600 | Processor: 1.3GHz quad-core | Camera: 2MP rear and VGA front | Battery: 8 hours regular usage Under the hood is an Exynos 9610 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage. You can also use a microSD card slot if you need more space. It can handle browsing and a reasonable amount of multitasking, but it won’t be a good option if you like to play games. It doesn’t have quad speakers, but it does support dual stereo speakers with solid audio that’s enhanced by AKG and Doly Atmos so it’s still a nice option for watching Netflix. Another place this slate excels is for a certain amount of productivity. That’s because it comes with the S Pen, allowing it you to use it for writing and sketching. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a keyboard attachment like the Tab S6 or S7+ so you’re held back from using it as a full 2-in-1 laptop replacement. Screen Size: 10.4 inches | Resolution: 2000x1200 | Processor: Exynos 9611 | Camera: 8MP rear and 5MP front | Battery: 7,040mAh mAh Screen Size: 8.0 inches | Resolution: 1280x800 | Processor: MediaTek MT8168 | Camera: 2MP rear and 2MP front | Battery: Up to 12 hours regular usage Jordan Oloman holds a Master’s in Media and Journalism and has written for a number of publications about gaming and tech, including in-depth tablet testing and reviews for Lifewire. Anton Galang started as a writer and editor in the tech industry in 2007. He focuses on the areas of technology and education, reviewing and writing about a variety of products for Lifewire. Andy Zahn has been reviewing products for Lifewire since 2019, and he has a background in consumer technology and photography. Erika Rawes has been writing for Lifewire since 2019, and also writes for DigitalTrends, USA Today, and other publications. Jason Schneider has been writing for Lifewire since 2019 and boasts ten years’ worth of experience covering consomer technology. Ajay Kumar is a Tech Editor at Lifewire with nearly ten years of experience covering the industry. He’s previously been published on PCMag and Newsweek where he reviewed hundreds of phones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

The Ultimate Android Tablet Buying Guide

As far as gadgets go, the Android tablet market is probably more limited than you might think. This is largely due to two things: Apple and Microsoft have commanded the tablet/all-in-on market in a big way, and the Android OS is probably not the preference when you can get a tablet-style laptop that runs full-on Windows. That doesn’t mean you can’t get a nice tablet with Android—there are plenty of capable options out there. What it does mean is that your decision isn’t quite as cumbersome as if you’re searching for one of the best laptops. There’s still a solid number of choice, high-end Android tablets to choose from, including offerings from Samsung, Asus, and Lenovo, but also from overseas, “flagship killer” brands like Huawei. In this guide, we’ll break down the key pillars when shopping for a tablet, from form factor and display to processing power and battery life.

Size, Weight, and Durability

The design of any tablet has to balance two factors: sleekness and durability. If your tablet is too thin and futuristic, it risks being bent in your bag. But if your tablet is too thick and chunky, it’ll be hard to handle. Take the Galaxy Tab S6, a current flagship from Samsung—at only 5.7mm thick and weighing a mere 420g, this tablet goes toe to toe with Apple’s flagship iPad pro on the sleekness scale. But because Samsung seems to have used a more durable metallic enclosure, there is slightly less concern about durability. One last note on durability is the presence of water and dust resistance. There are a slew of non-flagship tablets out there that do offer some degree of ruggedness (there’s even a Galaxy Tab Active), but the Sony Xperia Z series is one of the only lines that offered an IP rating with their main tablets. The rest of the market seems to have decided that users don’t need to use tablets in the elements, and have elected to move away from IP ratings. If you’re planning to use your tablet for flying drones outdoors or to bring with you on hikes, you’ll need to go for a decidedly less sleek, more rugged Android tablet.

Display

Flagship tablets from Samsung will give you around 2500x1500 in resolution (what is often referred to as UHD or QHD). You won’t tend to find 4K resolution on tablets though, as the screen size doesn’t really require it in the same way that a flatscreen TV does. Anything that is in the 2000-pixel territory, essentially doubling what we used to consider true-HD, 1080p resolution, will be more than enough for the average human eye.Most premium tablets will feature OLED technology for the most vibrant colors and truest blacks, but if you go for more budget options, expect to see an IPS display or LCD. This, again, isn’t a huge deal since you’ll be looking at the screen so close to your face. But since these tablets are largely focused on entertainment, making sure that Netflix streaming looks as good as possible is actually a pretty prevalent concern.

Processor, Storage, and RAM

Many Android users know all too well how important it is for an Android device to be built around top-tier internals. That’s largely because so many different brands develop different hardware that needs to run Android’s software (more on that later), rather than a soup-to-nuts iOS experience. On the processor front, you’ll see most Android tablets running a mobile processor, most typically from the brand Qualcomm. The latest iteration, the Snapdragon 855, can provide speeds nearing 3 GHz on a single core, and many of the most premium tablets will go for a four- or even eight-core setup. While these aren’t CPUs that you’ll see in a high-end laptop, they are more than enough processing power for a tablet experience. The other side of the performance coin is how much RAM is included. You’ll see a lot more variance in this, but tablets will usually have at least 2GB of RAM, and sometimes up to 8 GB. Additionally, you’ll find Android tablets that offer as little as 16GB of pure internal storage (like the budget level Asus tablets) and as much as 512GB or even 1TB of storage on truly flagship models. All of these numbers are important, but they should only be purchase deciders if you plan to use your Android tablet as a full-on computer. Most people who want to play mobile games, browse the web, or watch video, will find that even 2 or 4GB of RAM is enough, and those same users likely won’t need to store files directly on the tablet.

Speakers, Camera, and Interface

Software

Android is an operating system designed, first and foremost, for mobile phones. As a result, it’s really ideal for tablet usage that leans in that direction, rather than treating it like a computer. Google itself has sort of confirmed this fact by opting for Chrome OS in the Pixel Slate, rather than Android. The latest version, Android 10, is certainly getting closer to a computer-like experience, offering improved performance and stepping up multi-tasking. We recommend limiting your modern tablet search to those devices that feature Android 10 or at least Android 9, as these are the two most recent versions, and will likely get timelier support and updates. Android does roll out updates regularly, but they can be slow to arrive for some brands. The other consideration on the software front is the “skin” that many manufacturers put over the raw Android OS. While Apple builds their iPads themselves and loads them up with software that has been designed specifically for the hardware, Android devices usually require a bit of porting for the software to work well on the wildly different hardware out there. Samsung is a brand notorious for putting heavy UI skins on Android, ultimately eating up more processing power than necessary. This is why many people seek what’s called “Stock Android” from their phones and tablets. The closest example to this that we could find is in the Huawei MediaPad. This device offers a really light skin out of the box, and as a result, runs very smoothly.

Battery Life and Connectivity

One last feature consideration is how friendly a tablet is to your on-the-go lifestyle. That basically breaks down into a couple of categories. Firstly, battery life is an important concern if you’re planning to rely on your tablet for long trips or business meetings. Because these devices are larger than smartphones, they have more room for bigger batteries, but they also have much larger screens to power. Most Android tablets will have a battery around 7,000mAh, and these will tend to last you around 10 to 15 hours of video watching—basically enough for a full day of basic use. If you’re on the go, the other thing to consider is whether you want cellular connectivity or if Wi-Fi will suffice. Many tablet models will offer the same exact device with and without the 4G connectivity, but you’ll likely have to pay a premium (sometimes a few hundred dollars) to get that feature—not including the monthly charge you’ll incur on the service itself. And, because most people use a tablet as a secondary device in addition to their phone, the inclusion of cell service is very specific to those that want to use their tablet as a primary device. Otherwise, we recommend getting a Wi-Fi-only model and using your phone’s hotspot.

Price

Because Android tablets don’t quite have the mainstream market share of, say, Apple and Microsoft, you can actually find great value throughout the full range. Flagship units from marquis brands can run you a reasonable $500 retail price tag, even for top specs and a big, beautiful display. You can also find a lot of great value in the middle of the range, with options from Lenovo’s Tab line hovering around $200. You can even get into the Android tablet game for as little as $50 (even less during holiday sales) if you go for a bottom-spec Kindle Fire. We actually find that it’s really hard to find super-premium Android tablets, like you’d find with the latest iPad Pro, because when you get to that price point, most manufacturers will switch to a touchscreen laptop or a Chrome tablet setup.

Samsung:

The king of the Android phone market is sort of the de facto king of the Android tablet market. These aren’t necessarily the best tablets for the money, but if you love the Samsung experience, going for something in the Tab S line (even a generation or two old) is an excellent deal.

Lenovo:

One of the most capable manufacturers of tablets is Lenovo, and even though many of the touchscreen offerings lean the way of Windows (like the Yoga series), you’ll find excellent options in their Android-centric range.

Huawei:

The wild card in the game comes from Huawei. While many of this Chinese brand’s products are currently difficult to get in every country, you can’t argue that the MediaPad line gives you clean, snappy performance for a fraction of the price of more well-known brands. These aren’t budget tablets, but for the performance, they are a steal.

Accessories

The real standout accessories deal with productivity. Samsung, for instance, offers a really nice Bluetooth keyboard case for getting work done, and the latest Tab S6 comes standard with the now ubiquitous S Pen. In fact, many tablets offer keyboard cases and will function reasonably well with styluses. Again, this is mostly important for those who want a replacement for their laptop, rather than those who are just browsing and watching video. But seeing as iPads and Surface products are taking over a lot of the traveling business world, it’s important to note that you can get pretty close to that experience here, too.

Conclusion

Android tablets are sort of the black sheep of the tablet space. They aren’t quite full-on computers as the Android OS is really not set up for that. On the other hand, because so many hardware manufacturers have to retrofit Android to their devices, you aren’t getting the clean, stock experience of an iPad. What you do get with Android tablets is customization of the OS (like you’d see on an Android phone) and, most importantly, a really good deal. Because the demand is lower, as long as you don’t need a full-on computer experience, and as long as you are okay with the Android workflow, this is where you’ll find the best deal in the tablet market.