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Keep Yourself Entertained With the Best Tablets

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Keep Yourself Entertained With the Best Tablets

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Buying Guide: Tablets

We’re living in the internet age, and tablets are helping to increase our access to the web. Popularized in 2010 with the launch of the first iPad, it’s actually a pretty niche category of devices that some people have never owned, while others just can’t live without. Tablets are larger than phones, yet handier than laptops, hitting that sweet spot for the optimal viewing experience and portability. There are more choices than ever before for your next tablet. Brands like Samsung and Amazon have joined the market, along with Apple and other competitors. So, which one should you buy? Well, there are a lot of features and differences to look at, but this list has it all sorted out for you. Here are the top tablets of 2023, along with a buyer’s guide at the end to help you choose

We’ve gone over the description, pros, and cons of some of the finest tablets you can find on the market today. But, purchasing tech has less to do with the options you’ve got, and more to do with what you need it for. Do you plan on handing it over to your kids to keep them busy while you get some chores done? Are you a digital artist? An avid reader? Let’s go over the options in this in-depth buying guide. 

Do You Plan On Reading With It?

Believe it or not, tablets can be super fun to read on. Sure, nothing can beat that tactile feel of turning papers as you progress further into a book, but the portability and handiness of digital reading have perks of their own.  So, if you’re a bookworm, and plan on spending hours reading on your tablet, then you’re probably better off with an Amazon Fire device. That’s because Amazon Kindle seems to have a monopoly over digital reading, and it works like a breeze with the company’s own tablet device through native support.  Aside from reading e-books, Amazon Fire tablets are just as capable of other tablet-related entertainment consumption like streaming videos, casual web browsing, social media use, etc.  Sure, the displays won’t be as crisp as an iPad’s retina display, but a reader wouldn’t care too much about seeing text in high resolution, right?

Do You Need It To Be Portable?

Most tablets spend most of their time indoors, so before you sacrifice a larger display for portability, ask yourself how badly you need the “on the go” factor (if at all).  Consider how often you are likely to take the tablet with you when you travel. It may be worth it to purchase a smaller device if you often find yourself on the go. For those who are looking to use their tablet mainly at home, a larger option may be better. 

Budget Constraints

Tablets can come for a cheap price, but with a depressing ton of shortcomings. Many tablets start under $200 and have a decent set of features to keep you entertained at all times.  Your own budget, as well as your needs, will determine what you should spend on your next tablet. 

Do You Have Kids?

If you’re primarily buying a tablet for kids, you will need it to be durable. You should also consider that your child should have limits on what they can access on the tablet. You can even create custom profiles to ensure safe use for your children, allowing you to limit the apps they can access.

Do You Need a 2-in-1 Laptop and Tablet?

For students, a tablet that also doubles as a laptop makes a lot of sense. That’s because they can conveniently take notes in tablet form, and get their work, assignments, and research papers done in laptop form. For that, we’d recommend looking for a tablet with an attached keyboard, as well as a pencil for note taking. 

Features To Look For in Your New Tablet

By now, you’ve probably realized that a tablet is a highly personal type of device, and the right choice vastly varies on what you plan on doing with it. 

Operating system

Your new tablet will either run on Apple’s iOS, or Google’s Android — unless, of course, you buy a Surface device running on Windows.  Each operating system has its own sets of pros and cons, and they can be must-haves for some and deal breakers for others. For instance, this is where the “ecosystem” can potentially come into play. If you’ve already got an iPhone, AirPods, or a MacBook that you carry around everywhere with you, you’re probably going to have a way better user experience with an iPad, due to convenient features like AirDrop and seamless connectivity between devices.  Similarly, if you’ve always been an Android user and love the amount of personalization and freedom you get on Google’s side of things, the monotony of iOS might be a major turnoff for you.

Ports

If you’re someone who avidly moves data around their devices, you’ll need ports on the tablet, lots of them. This could be true for students who record their lectures and then move them to their laptop or workstation once they get home. You wouldn’t be able to do that so easily on an iPad, since it notoriously lacks ports. Unless, of course, you’ve got a Macbook or iMac, in which case you could simply AirDrop the files.

Battery life

Battery life is an essential specification to consider for every type of buyer out there. Generally, anything between the 7 to 9-hour range is good. Any lower than that, and you’d lose out on that “portability” promise, which is basically what tablets are all about. If battery life is extremely important to you, then Apple’s latest iPads that are equipped with the M1 chip are worth a look. They can offer up to 10 hours of usage through the miraculous energy efficiency of that chip.

01 Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet

The Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet secures the number one spot on this list, simply because it’s capable of doing anything you could want your tablet to do. Its octa-core processor and 3 gigabytes of RAM are sufficient for all your streaming, social media, gaming, and connectivity needs. It has a 10% brighter display than the previous generation, with a 1080p Full HD display to offer a decent streaming solution. For a bump in price, you can get it with a keyboard and Microsoft Office 365, which essentially turns it into a laptop as well.

It’s the perfect device for digital reading thanks to its native functionality with Amazon Kindle, which makes it the best option on this list overall.

Pros

  • Seamlessly works with Alexa
  • Very cost-effective
  • Vivid and bright for high-quality streaming
  • Four trendy colors to choose from

Cons

  • Display isn’t on par with the competition
Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet

02 Apple iPad Tablet

Next, we’ve got Apple’s own Tablet, the good old entry-level iPad. It’s the world’s most popular tablet, and probably because it stumps the competition in every single department except for the price. It’s powered by the A13 Bionic chip which was the fastest mobile processor in the whole world when it came out. 

It’s equipped with a stunning 10.2-inch retina display with a way sharper resolution than the Amazon tablet above. It’s also equipped with iPad OS, one of the most stable pieces of software to ever run on a tablet. You can hook it up with a keyboard and it essentially turns into a fully functional laptop, making it the ideal choice for students who can afford it.

Pros

  • Amazing user experience
  • Highly interactive and stable operating system
  • Very responsive user interface
  • Gorgeous retina display

Cons

  • Higher in price
Apple iPad Tablet

03 Samsung Galaxy Tablet

If you’re a fan of razor-sharp images and an industry-leading viewing and streaming experience, the Samsung Galaxy Tablet won’t let you down. This Korean tech giant has always been known for its impeccable displays, to the point that even a tech giant like Apple relies on their world-class OLED tech.

This particular tablet screen has a high resolution of ‎2560 x 1600 pixels, which translates to an insanely high pixel density for a 12.4-inch display. The result is the sharpest possible image and the highest-quality streaming experience you can imagine. It also comes with a pen included, so it’s a decent choice for digital artists.

Pros

  • Available in several colors
  • Long-lasting battery
  • Incredible display quality

Cons

  • Too large to be portable
Samsung Galaxy Tablet

04 Dragon Touch Max10 Tablet

If you’ve never heard of the Dragon Touch Max10 Tablet before, don’t worry, most people haven’t. But, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be your next choice for a tablet. It comes in at a pretty great price, especially when you take a look at its impressive specification sheet.

It features a powerful 64-bit octa-core processor, 3 gigabytes of RAM, a 10-inch display, 32 gigabytes of memory, and an expandable storage slot supporting a MicroSD card of up to 128 gigabytes. It runs on Android 10, allowing you to download all your favorite apps through the play store, and freely stream or use your social media apps on the go.

Pros

  • Good value for the money
  • Impressive storage options
  • Impressive screen display

Cons

  • Not a reliable brand name
Dragon Touch Max10 Tablet

05 Lenovo M10 Plus Tablet

Lastly, we have the Lenovo M10 Plus Tablet. In our books, it’s a value champ. For a very reasonable price, you get everything you could possibly wish for in a tablet. It’s one of the only machines that ship with Android 12. It also comes with a promise of three years worth of security and other software updates, so this affordable option will stay relevant for quite some time. It features a full HD display that looks crisp enough for its size, and runs on all-day battery life.

Pros

  • High value for money
  • Runs on the latest Android 12
  • Guarantees three years of future updates
  • All-day battery

Cons

  • Only available in gray
Lenovo M10 Plus Tablet

People Also Asked

Should I get a data plan with my tablet?

Technically, LTE tablets can run without Wi-Fi as long as there’s an active data plan. WiFi-only tablets rely on a nearby network to stay connected to the internet. So, if you can, you should get one with LTE or even 5G support.

Is my tablet safer from hacks than my laptop?

Yes, laptops are much more vulnerable to malware attacks, trojan war, and viruses. That’s because most of these attacks are designed to attack and mess with computers, so tablets are naturally safer.

Can my tablet replace my laptop?

Technically, yes. For instance, an iPad paired with a keyboard runs on iPad OS, yet still manages to perform all activities that you would generally think of performing on a laptop. But for now, laptops are far ahead of tablets in terms of productivity and power, whereas tablets are way more convenient and portable.

Alex Baum

Sep 14, 2022

37 Articles Published

Our Process & Method

We're not just tech junkies, but we're also tech experts. Each and every "Best of.." list on TechJunkie is curated by our content-area subject matter experts to provide a well-rounded, unbiased perspective to help and inform you, our reader. Our lists are constantly reviewed and updated, so you can be sure you're reading relevant and up to date information.

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