Other pills to consider
We test tons of tablets every year. Here are a few others we like, but not as much as our picks above.
Apple iPad Pro (M4, 2024) for $899: Save some money and buy iPad Pro 2024 instead of the latest model. Just make sure you actually buy it at a decent discount. There are two size options – 11 or 13 inches– and both are incredibly thin and light, complemented by incredibly bright OLED displays with 120Hz refresh rate. These are the only iPad models with Face ID for authentication and optional nano-texture glass to reduce glare—a must-have for those who frequently use the iPad outdoors or near a window. They deliver MacBook-level performance thanks to the M4 chipset, and you can take advantage of the new multitasking features in iPadOS 26.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Boost Celero 5G Tab for $200: I didn't particularly enjoy using the 10.95-inch Boost Celero 5G Tab—performance can be slow, making it a little annoying to use—but it's worth $200 and is ideal for entertainment, whether it's playing very light games or watching Netflix. You can only buy it on Boost, which means you can get it even cheaper if you include it in your Boost plan. Since it has 5G, you can add a cellular plan for an always-on connection. This is really the calling card of this tablet because you'll be hard-pressed to find a cheap tablet with built-in cellular connectivity. If you don't want to connect to Wi-Fi or tether from your phone, Celero is a decent option, especially considering cheapest iPad with cellular connectivity will still cost you over $400.
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Lenovo Tab Plus for $200.: There are many cheap Android tablets available online, and I urge you to be careful about what you buy. If Amazon Fire tablets don't interest you (see below), consider Lenovo Tab Plus Tablet. I used it for a month purely for fun. The 11.5-inch screen is nice and large compared to a phone screen, but it's also portable enough for travel. The built-in stand is excellent and should be standard on all tablets. It's not the fastest result, but performance was more than adequate. While the software is generally fine, on rare occasions a few pre-installed apps caused full-screen ads to appear on the screen (one of which was about “virus protection”). It's crazy that Lenovo allows such crap to appear, but the easy solution is to remove all the bloatware.
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Google Pixel tablet with dock for $354: Google Pixel Tablet (7 out of 10, WIRED recommends) part tablet, part smart display. This 11-inch tablet is like big pixel phonewith a clear LCD screen, good speakers and excellent software. It works quite well thanks to the internal Tensor G2 processor. However, it comes with a hub, so when you're done using it as a tablet, you can attach it magnetically to start charging automatically. This hub doubles as a speaker, and since the Pixel Tablet is the first tablet to natively support Google Cast technology, you can stream music or shows from your phone or laptop to it, resulting in improved audio quality from the system. When you're not using it, you can turn the display into a Google Home Hub screensaver, allowing you to see and control your smart home devices at any time. It supports multi-user work with up to eight profiles, so each family member can switch to a personal profile, securely locked with a fingerprint. I don't think it's worth the MSRP anymore, so try to catch it on sale.
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OnePlus Pad 2 for $530: OnePlus is still selling Site 2which is a 2024 tablet and the predecessor to the current Pad 3. The 12.1-inch screen is not as big and the performance is a little slower due to the internal Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. However, it is enough to handle most apps and games. You'll have a hard time finding accessories (like a keyboard), but if the Pad 3 is too expensive, it's not a bad buy.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series for $703+: 2023 Galaxy Tab S9 series (7/10, WIRED recommends) consists of three tablets: Table S9Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra. They are all expensive, although prices have come down since their release (some are harder to find). The hardware is still excellent, and given that the new Tab S10 and Tab S11 series aren't all that different from each other, the Tab S9 series is still worth a look. They feature ultra-bright 120Hz screens and IP68 water resistance, and Samsung includes an S Pen stylus.
Honor MagicPad 2 for £500: This cool tablet is not sold in the US. Very similar to the OnePlus Pad 2 we recommended above, it boasts a truly gorgeous OLED display with impressive specs (3K resolution, 1600 nits, 144Hz refresh rate) that aren't typically available at this price. Combined with eight speakers, watching movies and playing games on this tablet is a pleasure. The stylus and keyboard are great (I love the handwriting and formula recognition), but they don't seem to be available in the UK. I found Honor's AI features, such as Magic Portal, which is good at predicting what you want to do, very useful, perhaps more useful on a tablet than on a phone. Battery life is good and charging is fast (66W). The only real downside here is the limited processing power, which can't match something like an iPad (though you'll pay a lot more for an equivalent Apple device). —Simon Hill
Accessories for tablets
Tablets often don't have stands or enough ports, so it's a good idea to purchase a few accessories to enhance your experience. These are some of our favorite tablet accessories, many of which you can also find in our The Best Guide to iPad Accessories.
Satechi Aluminum Table Stand for $40.: This is my favorite tablet stand, so much so that I take it with me on trips. It packs relatively well and it's Very stable – there is no wobble here. You can also adjust the angle slightly. It can also handle huge sizes – it worked great with my 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Logitech K380 Pebble Bluetooth Keyboard for $38: Want a simple Bluetooth keyboard for your tablet instead of spending half the price of the tablet on a keyboard case? I've been using the Logitech K380 for years and it works great. It requires two AA batteries, which I have yet to replace (Logitech says they'll last two years), and you can switch between three connected devices via Bluetooth.
Twelve South StayGo Mini USB-C Hub for $30: This works great with iPad and other tablets. You can either plug it in and keep it flush with the edge of the slate, or use the included cord to keep it extended. You get a USB-C port that can be used for pass-through charging, USB-A, HDMI, and a headphone jack.
Lamicall Gooseneck Tablet Holder for $18: I've been using it on my bed frame to hold various tablets for over a year. The gooseneck requires some effort to get into the correct position, and if you constantly tap the tablet, it will will swing around. But this great hands-free way watch movies. You can attach the clip to any surface, such as a desk or kitchen counter.
Twelve South HoverBar Duo Mount/Stand for $80: You can use it as a stand or as a wrist mount, and the Twelve South makes it easy to switch between the two. This means you can easily attach the tablet to a bedside bracket and then place it on the stand in your home office in the morning. Both are durable and the arm fit is highly adjustable. The best part is that it doesn't shake as much as the Lmicall above when you touch the screen.
Anker Nano 3 30W Charge Adapter for $17: Most tablets charge at around 18W, so this 30W charger from Anker is more than capable. The plugs fold up and it is quite compact.
Ugreen 145W Portable Charger for $70: This power bank Surprisingly compact considering its 25,000 mAh capacity. This is enough to charge most tablets two or three times. It delivers up to 145W of power, which means it has enough power to charge even a laptop. You can fast charge using USB-C ports and use the USB-A port on another device. There is a small LED showing the current battery charge.
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