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Nov 03, 2023

7 Best Tablets of 2023

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.

Apple's new iPad Air puts the core experience of the iPad Pro into a more affordable package without sacrificing any of the highlights. Read More

With a discrete graphics card, a top-tier processor, and an eye-catching design, the ROG Flow Z13 is the best Windows tablet you can buy for everything. Read More

Apple's iPad Mini (6th-gen) is a fantastic small tablet, but a high price and the limitations of a small screen make it a niche device. Read More

The One Plus Pad's excellent build quality, audio, and display are dragged down its limited storage space. Read More

Apple's iPad is an outstanding budget tablet and, if you buy the right accessories, much more. Read More

Updated May 9, 2023

Tablets are a versatile tool that can touch all facets of your life. The best tablets can surpass expectations to be your ultimate workhorse. They enable amazing productivity and allow you to enjoy your favorite games, streaming video, books, or websites. Not all tablets are created equally, though.

After testing a wide variety of today's top-rated tablets, we found that Apple's 2022 iPad Air (available at Amazon) is the best tablet for most people. Apple's powerful M1 chip and the even-newer M2 chip drive performance and provide longevity to the devices they’re placed in, making for hardware that’ll serve you well for years to come.

People who prefer working with Microsoft's Windows operating system should consider the Asus’ ROG Flow Z13 (available at Best Buy). This amazing tablet is a productivity, creative, and gaming powerhouse.

If you're an Android user, the OnePlus Pad is an outstanding choice. Its power, build quality, and premium feature set make it a tablet to be reckoned with.

Whether you're trying to get serious work done on the move or just stream Netflix, there's a great tablet on this list for you.

The Apple iPad Air, like the iPad Pro, features the company's laptop-class M1 chip, helping it deliver the same performance and much of the core experience as the more expensive Pro.

The Air doesn't have some of the extras of the Pro, like FaceID, an extra camera, and a LiDAR sensor on the back. Still, both tablets run on iPadOS, so there's nothing that you’re missing software-wise by choosing the Air.

If you plan to do more than casual web browsing, we recommend the 256GB option rather than the 64GB, as the upgrade will give you plenty of storage. However, with the upgrade cost and price of accessories like a Magic Keyboard, the iPad Air M1 can reach nearly the same cost as a MacBook Air M1.

The iPad Air has an excellent battery life, lasting about 10 hours for light browsing and 8 hours for more vigorous work. Even an hour or two of streaming movies or TV shows won't kill the battery.

Read the full Apple iPad Air M1 review for more information.

Similar experience to iPad Pro

Snappy performance

All-day battery life

TouchID isn't as good as FaceID

The base model isn't a good value

It's held back by iPadOS

The back panel is a bit flimsy

Asus' ROG Flow Z13 is an incredible jack-of-all-trades gaming tablet.

Asus's phenomenal ROG Flow Z13 is the full-fledged gaming tablet that we wish we could see from the Microsoft Surface line. It outperforms every major tablet on the market—and it looks so darn cool while doing it, too.

The Z13 is the fastest, true all-around tablet you can get currently. We tested the top-tier model, which comes with an Intel Core i9-12900H. It's faster in single-core and multi-core synthetic benchmarks than Apple's M1 Max chip and AMD's Ryzen 9 5900HX and Ryzen 9 6900HX. It also renders 3D images in Blender up to 90 seconds faster than all three of those chips.

It's no slouch in gaming, either, although its an entry-level RTX 3050 Ti graphics card means you will need to turn down the graphics settings and/or enable DLSS in demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077. Unlike the 2-in-1 gaming laptop Asus released last year, the Z13 has a fully detachable keyboard that also functions as a screen cover. Like its big sibling, this tablet has a proprietary connection to one of Asus’ external GPUs if you need more gaming power.

This tablet's one major downfall is its battery life, which is just under five hours. That's not five hours of gaming, either: that's just everyday internet use like browsing the web or watching videos on YouTube.

For a main machine, you might be better off looking at gaming or creator laptops or sticking with the Apple iPad Pro. But if you’re looking for a unique and portable secondary machine, that short battery life might not be an issue.

Stunning design

Excellent performance

Stylus support

Power-hungry

Weak battery life

Read the full ROG Flow Z13 review for more information.

The Apple iPad Mini 6th-gen is much smaller in size compared to the standard iPad.

The iPad Mini is defined by its size. It's easy to hold for longer periods of time even when reclining or gripping the device one-handed. It's ideal for taking notes with the second-gen Apple Pencil. You can support it comfortably with one hand while writing with the other.

Performance remains excellent. It outperforms the base iPad, landing closer to the iPad Air, and it's quicker than most similarly-priced PC laptops. During testing, it was great as a day-to-day- use device for tasks like streaming video, reading, and answering emails. But it can also power through heavier apps like 3D games and photo editors.

We do have a few complaints. The display is good but not as bright and enjoyable as iPad Pro models. Multitasking can be difficult due to the display's compact size. Like the iPad Air, the Mini lacks Face ID facial recognition login and relies on Touch ID inconveniently bundled into the power button.

Still, the iPad Mini is the best choice for small tablet enthusiasts. Few competitors exist and those that do, like Amazon's Fire HD 8 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab Lite, are far less powerful. The iPad Mini is as capable as other iPads, but smaller.

Read the full iPad Mini review for more information.

Light, portable, and easy to handle

Perfect for use with Apple Pencil

Superb performance

Unimpressive display

Not great for multitasking

No Face ID

The OnePlus Pad's bright, responsive 11.61-inch display makes every app and video on the tablet look like a million bucks.

The OnePlus Pad is an impressive first-generation Android tablet that gets so much right, it's easy to overlook its few faults. Its MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor and 8GB of RAM make it ideal for resource-hungry apps, such as Adobe Lightroom and Diablo Immortal. The tablet's design is modern, lightweight, and of the highest build quality. What's more, it's available in your favorite color--provided that color is Halo Green. We love that the OnePlus Pad supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3: two speedy standards that improve the tablet's overall performance. We were, however, disappointed by its 128GB of storage, with no option to upgrade via Micro SD card. With the increasing size of apps, video, and audio files, you could run out of room, fast.

While testing this tablet, we experienced a number of software glitches, including issues with setting the tablet up for the first time, and a malfunctioning on-screen keyboard. But again, this is a first-generation device. OnePlus will no doubt correct these problems in a future software update. . but they are likely to be resolved through future software updates. Although the additional accessories required to get the most out of the tablet can also increase the cost of ownership, the OnePlus Pad's fast and powerful performance, along with its outstanding build quality and fast charging capabilities, make it a good option for those looking for a high-end Android tablet.

Despite its flaws, this is an outstanding device that's a great option for anyone in the market for a high-end Android tablet.

Read the full OnePlus Pad review for more information.

Outstanding build quality

Fast Charging

Fast and Powerful

Only available with 128GB of storage

The iPad is compact enough to fit in most backpacks and bags, yet large enough to look great while web browsing or watching Netflix. Apps open quickly, multitasking feels responsive, and demanding 3D games look attractive. Battery life is solid, with up to 10 hours of video playback.

It also supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, which is great for jotting down notes. You can add a keyboard and mouse, as well, transforming the iPad into a barebones computer competitive with Microsoft's Surface Go 3 and most Chromebooks.

The iPad is compatible with the same apps, Apple services, and most of the peripherals as the iPad Pro, too. And while it lacks the iPad Pro's juggernaut specs, it's a fraction of the price.

Apple does make a few other sacrifices to keep the price low. The display is glossy and a bit dim, so it can be difficult to use outdoors or near a sunlit window. Audio quality is unimpressive and lacks volume, and the design is old-fashioned. Overall, though, it is an excellent tablet.

Read the full iPad review for more information

Great performance

Extremely versatile

Excellent value

Display could use an upgrade

Weak speakers

Design feels old

Suppose you like the idea of owning a Microsoft Surface Pro 8 for productivity tasks but prefer using a smaller device when the time comes to use your tablet, well, like a tablet. In that case, Microsoft's sturdy, magnesium-clad Surface Go 3 might make you happy, provided you can see your way past its faults.

It's a delight to pick up and use with its keyboard detached to stream movies or browse the news. The built-in kickstand helps showcase the many viewing angles that the sharp PixelSense Display allows.

This tablet's Intel Pentium Gold processor and limited 4GB or 8GB RAM is sufficient for word processing, email, and some games. However, if you need a tablet for heavy-duty gaming or productivity tasks, such as processing photos in Adobe Lightroom, you should look elsewhere.

The Go 3 only comes with 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage. Given the hefty storage requirements for Windows 11 and must-haves like Microsoft 365, that's not a lot of wiggle room for your photos, documents, and media files. A microSD card or a storage device attached to the lone USB-C slot can serve as workarounds, of course. But that's an additional investment, if you don't already own them.

The Surface Go 3 also doesn't include the keyboard cover or Surface Pen that you’ll need in order to effectively use Windows 11. Having to purchase these extras can suddenly make this slab a whole lot more expensive.

_Read the full Surface Go 3 review for more information.

Vivid 1080p touch display

Beautiful solid magnesium body

Windows 11 pre-installed

Slow

Dismal battery life

Accessories sold separately

The Amazon Fire 7 is cheap enough to give as a gift at your office Christmas party and has enough features to make receiving it as a gift feel like a win.

As its name suggests, this device comes equipped with a seven-inch display. Don't expect any high-definition miracles here: it's only capable of outputting 720p content.

The Fire 7's onboard storage options—16GB or 32GB—are insufficient for most people to do much of anything beyond streaming. If you plan on using this device to host local audio, video, or other files, you’ll need to invest in a microSD card for a little digital breathing room. The Fire 7 can use MicroSD cards up to 1TB in size.

The latest release in line of Fire tablets has doubled its RAM to 2GB, and the Quad-core 2.0 GHz is an upgrade over the 2019 version. However, this tablet can still be irritatingly slow, even with the most mundane tasks. It's also clear that this tablet is meant as an entryway into Amazon's storefront. Couple that with Amazon's less than robust offerings in its app store, and it's another reason why this tablet doesn't rank higher.

Still, for people looking for a budget tablet or parents buying one for a child, the Fire 7 could be an okay choice. That said, there's more value to be found with other options, and parents can find tablets for kids that perform better and are more durable.

Simple, straightforward design

Affordable upgrades

It's painfully slow

You’re stuck in Amazon's ecosystem

To test the best tablets, we spend time using them as you would. After loading each device with the apps we use to work or to unwind (when they’re available), we spend days with each device to figure out how it works as a full-time companion.

Is it pleasant to hold and use for long periods of time? How are its speakers? Do its build quality and design make it feel like a sound investment?

In addition to documenting our subjective experiences with each of the tablets, we also carefully put them through tests our team has developed, including:

Tablets are an excellent bridge between your phone and your computer. Here are some things to consider when looking for a tablet.

While to some degree that's a matter of taste, most people will do best with iPadOS for its simplicity of use, stability, security, and the long-term free operating system and security updates that Apple provides.

Others prefer Windows 11 because of an almost endless variety of desktop and (considerably fewer) tablet applications that can be run on the platform.

Android is lauded by those who appreciate the ability to customize their tablet's user experience and for how easily files can be transferred between Android devices and a Windows 11 computer. But Android falls short by not offering all its smartphone apps for its tablet.

Given the relatively steep purchase price of most tablets, it's best to consider which OS and app ecosystem is best suited to meet your needs. But for most users, we recommend Apple.

The price of tablets can vary greatly, with inexpensive options costing less than $100. However, as with the best laptops, you often get what you pay for.

For example, the lowest-priced tablet in this roundup was the Amazon Fire 7, which does not begin to touch any of the Apple products we reviewed. While the Fire 7 may be perfectly fine for some people, others will need and want more from their tablet.

You should also factor in the cost of accessories. To make the most of your new tablet, you may need to purchase a stylus, extra storage, a microSD card for even more memory, and so on. The price of those upgrades can add up quickly.

How you plan to use a tablet should be a big factor in what tablet you should purchase. A tablet used mostly for entertainment needs different features than one that will be used for productivity or educational purposes. Our favorite tablets can handle all these requirements to varying degrees.

Reviewed Staff

Contributors, Writers, Editors

The Reviewed staff is based in the heart of Cambridge, MA. Backed by our knowledgeable writers and rigorous test labs, we're working hard to make sure you can make the right decisions about what to buy.

Matthew S. Smith

Contributor

Matthew S. Smith is a veteran tech journalist and general-purpose PC hardware nerd. Formerly the Lead Editor of Reviews at Digital Trends, he has over a decade of experience covering PC hardware. Matt often flies the virtual skies in Microsoft Flight Simulator and is on a quest to grow the perfect heirloom tomato.

Christian de Looper

Contributor

Originally from Australia, Christian has long had a passion for gadgets and consumer electronics. Christian has experience reviewing products in all areas of the consumer tech world, and is dedicated to helping people find the best products for their lifestyle.

Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.