The best Android tablet has a lot to offer anyone who already has an Android smartphone. You'll get a similar interface, so it'll be easy and intuitive to operate. And you'll be able to download and use all your favourite Android apps, too.
There was a time when the best tablets were all made by Apple and Microsoft. But nowadays, some Android tablets are surprisingly capable, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab range in particular is competitive with even the best iPads.
Below, we'll share our top picks for the best Android tablets available today, for a range of budgets. And we'll include all the important specs, so you can compare like with like, and find the best Android tablet for your specific needs, at the best possible price.
The best Android tablets in 2023
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There's no need to quibble: the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is quite simply the best Android tablet on the market today.
Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor makes everything run smoothly and quickly. The large (14.6-inch) screen offers a high resolution picture (1848 x 2960) and smooth frame rates (120Hz). And it's very thin, at just 5mm, making it both portable and stylish.
It also has the best tablet camera for Android users. On the rear you get a 13MP sensor, measuring 1/3.4-inch, an f/2 lens and a 26mm focal length, along with 6MP ultrawide sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. On the front are two 12MP selfie cameras, with auto-framing and some neat integration with the Galaxy S22 Ultra phone. Both front and rear cameras support 4K at 60fps.
The 11,200mAh battery is generous , offering up to 14 hours of video playback. The speakers are good. And there's lots of storage, with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB options on offer. In short, the only reasons to look elsewhere are price (the S8 is quite expensive) or that you prefer a smaller tablet. For more details, read our Samsung Galaxy S8 Tab Ultra review.
If you want to save money, but still get one of the best Android tablets around, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+, first launched in 2020, is a great option. While it's not as large or advanced as its successor the S8 (number one) it's still a very powerful tablet, and much, much cheaper.
It's nice and slim (5.7mm). It comes with an impressively fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor, and a generous 10,090mAh battery. And it has a beautiful 12.4in Super AMOLED screen, which offers 2800 x 1752 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.
The Tab S7+ is also great for doing art or design work when teamed with the S Pen stylus. Alternatively, you can turn it into a decent hybrid laptop by combining it with a Samsung Book Cover Keyboard (sold separately).
Its cameras are good for a tablet too, with the 13MP wide and 5MP ultrawide sensors on the rear capturing vivid, rich colors, and supporting 4K video at 30fps. Meanwhile the 8MP camera on the front is great for video calls and selfies.
As you've probably twigged by now, we're pretty impressed with Samsung, and believe that overall, they make the best Android tablets on the market today. We will get on to other brands in a moment, but we couldn't move on without mentioning the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6.
If the first two tablets on our list are too expensive for you, this forerunner – launched in 2019 – may still suit your needs for less money (prices do vary enormously, though, so do check what the difference is first).
Like the S7+, the S6 comes with an S Pen Stylus, and can be teamed with a smart keyboard (sold separately). You get the same cameras, the same memory, the same quad speakers and the same in-display fingerprint sensors.
That said, most other specs compare unfavourably. For instance, the smaller (10.5 inch) screen offers only half the refresh rate (60Hz), the battery offers just 7,040 mAh, there's no support for 5G, and the processor is older and less zippy. However, if you can get one for a lower price than the S7+, these may be compromises you're willing to make.
Samsung is not the only name to consider when it comes to Android tablets. Lenovo also does a great line, and the Smart Tab M8 is startlingly cheap.
Don't get us wrong: you get what you pay for, and this is very much a basic, entry level tablet. But it is stylishly designed, with an all-glass front and Slate Grey aluminum back. Weighing just 305g, it's great for taking on day trips. The 8-inch HD screen, while not spectacular, is good enough for watching video. And the 5,000 mAh battery offers many hours of unwired use.
On the downside, it's an older tablet (launched in 2019), and the processor isn't very fast, especially as there's just 2GB of RAM on board. There's just one speaker, and the cameras (5MP on the rear, 2MP on the front) are limited, too. That said, you do get a good-enough tablet for tasks like web surfing and watching movies, at a remarkably low price.
Do you need a tablet for hiking, camping or other activities that may involve cold, wet and windy conditions? Then the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 is the best Android tablet for you.
Weighing just 429g it's nice and light. And yet it's also very rugged: being IP68 rated dustproof water-resistant, drop-proof to 1.5m, and coming with a replaceable battery. You also get a special cover to protect the dust-and water resistant S Pen. And you can even use the touchscreen with gloves on.
Overall, this isn't the most powerful of tablets. Released in 2020, the cameras in particular are quite limited, and the Exynos 9810 processor isn't super-fast. But when it comes to ruggedness in an Android tablet, you won't find finer.
Hankering after a Samsung Galaxy Tab but short on cash? At a strikingly low price, this model still brings you very close to a premium tablet experience.
Be warned, though: while it looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 (number 3 on our list), the internals are less powerful and sophisticated. For example, the LCD screen isn't as good as the S6's AMOLED; there are just two speakers to the S6's four, and the older processor (Exynos 9611) with 4GB RAM isn't as speedy.
Also, the camera setup is also less impressive, there's no S-Pen stylus, and you can't attach a keyboard. However, if all you want a tablet for is some light web surfing, watching videos and using Android apps, it will do a pretty decent job of all of that.
Lenovo's Yoga Tab 13 is a great option if your primary interest is entertainment. It has a built-in stand, so you can prop it up for watching videos. You get a great picture from the 13-inch screen, which boasts 1350 x 2160 resolution, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and 400 nits of brightness. Plus four-speaker JBL setup provides excellent quality, immersive audio. Anyone who's had to suffer feeble, tiny sound when watching Netflix on a tablet will appreciate that.
More broadly, the Snapdragon 870 processor does a decent job of running everything smoothly, and there’s a micro HDMI port which allows you to use this tablet as a second screen for your laptop or desktop computer. On the front you'll find a good-ish 8MP camera with a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor. But do be aware that, quite unusually, there's no rear camera on this tablet at all.
The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro is another great choice in the mid-range price bracket, if your main interest is watching video and listening to music.
That's because it comes with a great color-accurate, 11.5-inch, OLED screen, which offers high resolution (1600 x 2560) and 500 nits of brightness. Typically for a Lenovo tablet you get strong audio, too, coming from two pairs of JBL speakers on the left and right. The 8,600mAh battery is pretty powerful as well.
Otherwise, the specs are more what you'd expect from the price. For example, it doesn’t have the fastest processor (Qualcomm SDM730 Snapdragon 730G). And when it comes to photography, the 13MP wide + 5MP ultrawide sensors on the rear aren't very good at all. However, if your main reason for buying a tablet is consuming entertainment, along with the occasional bit of web surfing and app use, then the great screen, audio and battery life means this reasonably-priced device might be just the ticket.
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