Are android tablets any good

The best Android tablets to spend your money on (November 2021)

There are plenty of smartphones out there with massive displays. So many, in fact, that they have an entire phablet category. However, there are still advantages to grabbing a genuine tablet for your large screen needs. We’ve tracked down just a few of the best Android tablets to show you what we mean.

Locking down your perfect tablet is easier said than done. Especially considering the list has been getting smaller every year. However, we believe there’s still a healthy market for a good Android tablet. Let’s jump right in and find out what Samsung, Amazon, and more have in store for you.

BLACK FRIDAY 2021

Samsung has discounted the Galaxy Tab S7 128GB down to $499 over on Amazon. Check out our best tablet deals selection, as well as our big Black Friday deals roundup!

Buying the best tablet for your needs

We can’t promise that it’s easy to choose the perfect tablet in just a few minutes. Picking your operating system is a great place to start, though, and it means we don’t have to worry about iPads later on.

Since you’ve already landed on Android, it’s time to move to the finer points of your tablet. That means locking down how much real estate you want. For example, the Amazon Fire HD 8 has an 8-inch screen, while Samsung’s premium Galaxy Tab S7 Plus sports a massive 12.4-inch display.

You’ll also have to narrow down your storage choices. For example, if you want to scroll through social media or catch up on Netflix, you may not need as much storage. On the other hand, those of you hoping to download movies, games, and more will want extra space and possibly an expansion slot.

One final thing to look for is build quality. Many of Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs come with aluminum bodies, which can usually handle wear and tear. Yet, the cheaper tablets on the market opt for plastic builds to save weight and cost.

The best Android tablets

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus: This is our top Android tablet, with a premium build and plentiful storage space.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A7: Here is a more affordable option if you want Samsung’s power without the price.
• Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus: This tablet offers a large display and Amazon apps at a comfortable cost.
• Amazon Fire HD 8: This pad packs Fire OS into the smallest and cheapest tablet on the list.
• Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD: It doubles as a smart display thanks to the included charging stand.

The best overall: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus

Samsung’s premium tablet holds down our top slot, and it’s not hard to see why. It checks off all of the boxes you could ask for, and our own Eric Zeman hailed the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus (and its Tab S7 sibling) as the only Android tablet to spend your money on.

Samsung packed premium hardware everywhere it could behind the 12.4-inch display. The tablet is ready for action with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 Plus SoC, up to 8GB of RAM, and as much as 512GB of storage. If that’s still not enough, you can tap into the microSD slot for even more storage. There’s even a huge 10,090mAh battery to keep the lights on for hours on end.

The inside of the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus isn’t the only way it earns points — the outside is pretty good too. You get an aluminum build, a crisp Super AMOLED display, and an S Pen for good measure. As a result, the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is by far the best Android tablet on the market, even if it has a high price tag to match.

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The Best Android Tablets for 2021

Looking for a tablet that will be used primarily for media consumption? Android offers the most flexibility in hardware choices. Here’s what to look for in an Android tablet, along with our top choices.

Our 10 Top Picks

Best Media Tablet for Amazon Fans

Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021)

Best 5G Android Tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

Inexpensive 4G Connectivity

Alcatel Joy Tab 2

Best Smart Display Alternative

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13

Best for Large-Format E Ink Reading

Onyx Boox Note Air 2

Best for Video Playback and Zoom Calls

Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020)

Lowest-Cost Model

onn. 8-Inch Tablet

Best for E Ink Computing

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

Best Low-Cost Model With Google Play

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0

Best for Taking Notes

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

You might think that Apple’s iPad has won the tablet wars, but think again. High-end iPads and Windows tablets dominate the top of the field with impressive tools for productivity, but Google’s Android operating system is very popular at lower price points. The least expensive new iPad will set you back $329. The range of Android tablets is much broader, with an option for every budget. Android tablets also sometimes show up with interesting and unusual features, such as E Ink screens.

In 2021, most Android tablet options fall in the budget category. You can find an endless array of no-name, plasticky sub-$100 slates sold at your local CVS or through mysterious «fulfilled by Amazon» drop-shippers. Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and Samsung used to deliver solid iPad competitors, but they’ve all slowed down their tablet production. The top name-brand Android tablet is the Galaxy Tab S7+.

Start With Software

Android tablet manufacturers rarely use the latest version of the OS, and software upgrades are even less common. Though most Android smartphones ship with Android 11, you’ll be hard pressed to find tablets running it. We recommend skipping over tablets running anything older than Android 10, with the exception of Amazon’s Fire lineup.

Speaking of Amazon, it and other large manufacturers like Samsung like to put their own spin on Google’s OS, adding a bevy of features, new app stores, and completely revamped user interfaces. It’s not for everyone, but those who are familiar with Amazon’s Fire OS or Samsung’s One UI should give the latest devices from each company a try. And if you’re already heavily invested in Amazon’s ecosystem, you might want to stick with one of the latest Fire tablets.

The Best Christmas Android Tablet Deals This Week*

*Deals are selected by our partner, TechBargains

Even if you don’t have the most recent OS iteration, Android continues to be the most configurable tablet operating system you’ll find. It’s a master multitasker, with an excellent notification system and top-notch integration with Google services like Gmail, Meet, and Google Maps.

Android is home to plenty of great apps, though there are far fewer tablet-specific versions than you’ll find on Apple’s App Store, and they tend to be updated less frequently.

Should You Buy a Cellular or Wi-Fi Tablet?

All of the major carriers offer a small selection of cellular-enabled tablets. It’s easy to find them on promotion when you’re upgrading your plan or bundled with a new smartphone purchase. Tablet data plans tend to run around $10 a month, although some carriers offer daily plans.

T-Mobile sells unlocked tablets, but some have very limited band support if you decide to switch carriers. AT&T and Verizon tablets are locked by default, but Verizon will unlock tablets 60 days after purchase, provided they’re paid off. If you’re thinking of switching to a different carrier in the near future, you’ll want to check out LTE band support to make sure your tablet will work without any hiccups.

Frequent travelers and car commuters will find cellular connectivity to be a must. If you’re the type who primarily uses your tablet for streaming at home, Wi-Fi connectivity will save you some money. Most carriers allow you to use your phone as a hotspot for those times when you’re not close to Wi-Fi, and many newer cars have LTE connectivity built in for road trips or keeping your child occupied while sitting in traffic. Of course, hotspotting will quickly burn through your phone battery, but that’s where power banks come in. You’ll want to check out your phone plan before making any decisions, though, because carriers limit the amount of data that can be used with a mobile hotspot.

Don’t Forget About Design

Performance on even the least expensive tablets is typically fine for media streaming or surfing the web. There’s also a slim chance you’ll see a software upgrade that offers a performance boost as well. What won’t change, however, is the build, so think twice before buying a tablet with a flimsy plastic body.

Low-cost tablets also tend to have dull 1,024-by-600 or 1,280-by-800 screens that can look grainy even to those who own budget phones. Higher-quality tablets are often in the 2,048-by-1,536 range, which is notably sharper.

There are plenty of bargain bin options out there promising the same Android experience as big names. Many of these off-label tabs are perfectly serviceable, but we recommend choosing a brand you can count on for software support and hardware quality control. For more, see our favorite budget-friendly models.

These are the best Android tablets we’ve tested. If you’re looking for a great phone to complement your new tablet, head over to our roundup of the best Android phones. Or if you want to look beyond the realm of Android, check out our roundups of the best tablets overall, which includes our favorite Apple options.

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Top 10: The Best Android Tablets | 2021 Edition

You are looking for the best Android tablets in 2021? I review all new devices and here I list the ten best ones available in every price class.

Last updated on

January 21, 2020

What is the best Android tablet right now? New devices are being released every month and it’s hard to even know what is out there. That’s what I am for. I’m visiting almost every trade show to check out new announcements. Once an Android tablet is available, I review it thoroughly. I’ve been doing this since 2008 and I used almost every tablet that has been released since then. In this guide, I’m giving you an overview of the best Android tablets you can buy right now in 2021.

At the beginning of this guide, I’m giving you a quick overview in case you quickly want to find what you’re looking for without reading my in-depth explanations. Further down, you can read more detailed information about the tablets and I also included links to my full reviews.

You might notice that some Android tablets are not on this list. While I usually did review them, I just can’t justify putting them on this list because they’re not good enough for some reason. But if you’re looking for a specific tablet, you can check out all my tablet reviews here.

Best Android Tablets: An Overview

Here is a quick overview of the best Android tablets that I can recommend right now.

• Best overall: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 & S7+ (on Amazon*). The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7+ are the best Android tablets. Due to their Snapdragon 865+ processor, they’re faster than all competitors. We get lots of features like great speakers, fingerprint readers, the S Pen is included and you can get optional keyboard docks. The bigger one is the S7+ with an outstanding 12.4-inch Super AMOLED screen and the S7 has a smaller 11-inch LCD panel. Both support 120Hz.
• Best mid-range: Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e (on Amazon*). I think the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e is a fantastic alternative if you don’t need a pen and are not into high-end gaming. The Tab S5e has a fantastic 10.5-inch Super AMOLED screen, great speakers, a fingerprint scanner, and is super slim and premium-feeling. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for a high-quality media tablet.
• Best mid-range with a stylus: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (on Amazon*). The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a great choice for those looking for a more affordable Android tablet with active pen support. Like with the S7, the S Pen is included and it is and works almost the same. It features a good 10.4-inch screen, a metal body, and a decent processor. But don’t expect the best gaming performance.
• Coolest design: Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab (on Amazon*). The Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab offers a unique design with an integrated kickstand and a huge battery. Here we get great speakers, a pretty 10.1-inch screen, and a decent performance. The design and Google Assistant integration are the most interesting aspects of this tablet. I think it’s a great tablet for watching YouTube but you can’t watch Netflix with HD resolution.
• Best budget value: Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (on Amazon*). If you don’t need a pen, no fancy design, no fingerprint scanner, and no high-end performance, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 offers the best budget value. At an affordable price, we get a good 10.4-inch screen, decent speakers, up-to-date software and the performance is almost as good as with the pricier S6 Lite. I think it’s a fantastic budget tablet.
• Super cheap: Amazon Fire HD 10 (on Amazon*). The Amazon Fire HD 10 is the cheapest 10-inch tablet that I can currently recommend. It has a good 10.1-inch screen, the performance is fine for most apps and many games, and like the Tab A7, it’s lacking all premium features. The Google Play Store is missing out of the box but you do get fast and easy access to all Amazon services.
• Best 8-inch Android tablet: Lenovo Tab M8 (on Amazon*). In most countries, you can’t get a high-end 8-inch Android tablet right now. But a good mid-range to budget option is the Lenovo Tab M8 which you can get with a good 8-inch screen that can offer an HD or full HD resolution. It has a high-end feeling metal body but the performance is fine for simpler games only.
• The cheapest tablet I can recommend: Amazon Fire HD 8 (on Amazon*). The Amazon Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus are the cheapest tablets that I can comfortably recommend. Sure, the plastic body feels cheap and the 8-inch HD screen is not laminated. But the performance is fine for basic use if you’re looking for something simple and affordable. The Google Play Store is missing by default but you do get access to all of Amazon’s features.

Best Android Tablets: In-Depth Look

Okay, let’s check out the best options in more detail! Don’t forget to also read the full reviews linked under each tablet.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 & S7+: The Fastest Android Tablets

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7+ are the best Android tablets you can buy right now. They’re almost the same devices but their size is different. While the Galaxy Tab S7 has a pretty 11-inch LCD screen, the Galaxy Tab S7+ features an outstanding 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display. These screens are very pretty and the only ones on Android tablets that support a refresh rate of 120Hz. Because of that, animations and drawing with the S Pen look very smooth.

Due to their Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor, they’re faster than all competitors. That means you can play games like PUBG Mobile, Call Of Duty, and Fortnite with the highest graphics settings. Heavy multitasking is possible too, because, depending on the version, we get 6GB or 8GB of RAM. You can get them with 128GB up to 512GB of internal storage. LTE 4G and even 5G are options as well.

With both, the S Pen is included at no extra charge. That’s an active pen that is pressure sensitive. You can use it for handwritten notes, for drawings, but also to just navigate the touchscreen. The Samsung Notes app and many more features for the pen are preinstalled and work great. A useful feature is that you can use the stylus as a remote in Microsoft PowerPoint.

The Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+ come with lots of premium features like four great speakers, a USB C 3.1 port, a microSD card slot, and a fingerprint scanner. Both feel like expensive high-end devices because of their slim metal bodies. On a negative note, both are missing a headphone jack.

Samsung ships them running Android 10 and OneUI in version 2.5. In the past, the Korean company has been better than most of what updates are concerned. And with the Tab S7 series, they’re promising to update them for at least three years which is great.

As long as you’re not into heavy video or photo editing, you can use these to replace a laptop. That’s because you can get official keyboard covers which I liked a lot in my review. Together with the Samsung DeX desktop mode and Microsoft Office, I was able to get a surprising amount of work done with the Tab S7.

The only major downside is the price. Yes, they’re the fastest Android tablets you can buy right now. But they’re also much pricier than the other ones on this list.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6: A Great Alternative

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is the predecessor of the Galaxy Tab S7 which means it’s about a year older. If you can find a good deal, it continues to be a great option if you want to save some money compared to the Tab S7. Like most tablets, it has a standard 60Hz screen but that doesn’t change the 10.5-inch Super AMOLED panel from being excellent.

Just like with the S7, the S Pen is included at no extra cost. And the features including the Samsung Notes app are pretty much the same. In fact, all S Pens are interchangeable, so you could use the pen from a Galaxy Note smartphone as well.

Since the Galaxy Tab S6 is a premium tablet, it has all the premium features you would expect. Among these are four great speakers, a fingerprint scanner that’s hidden below the touchscreen, as well as a USB C 3.1 port, and a premium-feeling metal body. Yes, a headphone jack is missing here too.

The Tab S6 ships with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor with 6GB to 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB internal storage. LTE 4G is an option. Sure, the Snapdragon 855 is not as fast as the newer 865+, but it’s fast enough for high-end gaming and heavy multitasking. The Tab S6 continues to be faster than newer mid-range tablets for games like PUBG Mobile and Fortnite.

I didn’t like the official keyboard cover as much as I did on the newer Tab S7. But the Samsung DeX desktop mode is supported here too and thanks to an update, it’s running almost the same Android 10 software.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e: A Fantastic Mid-Range Tablet

The Samsung Galaxy tab S5e is a fantastic mid-range tablet. I think it’s a good choice if you don’t need the best performance for gaming but still want an excellent experience with a great screen, speakers, and a premium built. It does not support the S Pen but its 10.5-inch Super AMOLED screen is basically the same one as the Tab S6. The S5e is a fantastic media tablet.

Inside the Galaxy Tab S5e runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 chipset with 4GB to 6GB of RAM and a 64GB up to 128GB internal storage. The performance of that processor is great for most tasks. But you can’t play Fortnite with the highest graphic settings, for instance. Heavy multitasking with the Samsung DeX desktop mode is possible though.

As I said, the S5e has a premium metal body. It’s crazy thin with just 5.5mm. We get four good speakers, a fingerprint scanner that’s built into the power button, as well as a USB C port, and a microSD card slot. There’s no headphone jack again, which sadly is standard on higher-end devices now.

Even though Samsung released it running Android 9, it did get an update to Android 10 already. So, it’s running almost the same software as other current tablets from Samsung are. As I said, the S Pen is missing, but you can get an official keyboard cover.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite: Best Mid-Range With Stylus

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a fantastic choice if you want the S Pen but don’t want to get the expensive Galaxy Tab S7 or S6. Here, that stylus is included again at no extra charge. And the features for the S Pen are mostly the same including the Samsung Notes app and the so-called Air Commands. But you can’t use the pen as a remote in Microsoft PowerPoint as is possible with the S7.

Now, since the Tab S6 Lite is so much cheaper than the S6, it does not have all the premium features, of course. The 10.4-inch LCD screen is a good one but the resolution von 2000 x 1200 pixels is lower. The performance of the Exynos 9611 processor with its 4GB of RAM is weaker too. It’s fine for basic gaming, but demanding titles like Fortnite are barely playable. For standard tasks and especially for note-taking with the S Pen, the performance is fine though. You can get 64GB and 128GB of internal storage.

The Tab S6 Lite has a metal body and two good speakers. But it’s lacking a fingerprint scanner and even though it’s running Android 10 out of the box, the Samsung DeX desktop mode is not supported. Samsung is not selling an official keyboard cover either. On a positive note, it does have a standard headphone jack and a microSD card slot.

Don’t get me wrong. Yes, it’s much weaker than the Tab S7 or S6, but I think it’s a fantastic mid-range tablet if you want to save some money and want to use the S Pen. But the S Pen should be the main reason you get it. Otherwise, I think you’ll be better off with the S5e.

Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab: A Unique Design

The Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab is a very interesting tablet. It does not have the best performance and it does not have the best screen ever. But it has a very unique design with an integrated grip, kickstand, and a big battery that is built into the grip. With that grip, it kind of looks like a folded paper magazine. I think the Yoga Smart Tab is a good choice if you’re looking for an affordable tablet for watching YouTube and to use the Google Assistant.

Lenovo is shipping the Yoga Smart Tab with Android 9 and it does support the Google Assistant Ambient Mode. That means you can use it as a standard tablet but also as a smart speaker. There’s even a hole punched into the kickstand so that you can hang it to your wall in the bathroom or so.

The tablet has a good 10.1-inch full HD screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. And it has two pretty good speakers. That’s why I think it’s a fantastic tablet for watching YouTube. With that being said, I can’t recommend it for Netflix because it does not support the necessary DRM standards to watch Netflix with HD resolution. You’re stuck with the standard definition.

It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. While that’s fine for basic tasks and many games, it’s not possible to play very demanding ones like Fortnite. So, I can’t recommend it as a gaming tablet. And certainly not as a Netflix tablet. But I do love the design, it’s very unique.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7: Best Budget Value

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 offers a fantastic value. It’s much cheaper than the previous devices on this list and it’s lacking all premium features. That means you don’t get the S Pen, there’s no fingerprint scanner, the Samsung DeX desktop mode is not supported, and while the built quality is fine, it’s not as premium feeling. But you do get a good basic tablet.

Samsung is shipping the Galaxy Tab A7 with a 10.4-inch LCD screen that’s very similar to the S6 Lite. It even has the same resolution of 2000 x 1200 pixels but it’s a bit darker. And it does not support any active pen. But it’s a decent screen and unlike the Yoga Smart Tab, you can watch Netflix in HD.

The performance of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 with its 3GB of RAM and 32GB to 64GB of internal storage is fine for most tasks. Light multitasking is possible and you can play many games like PUBG Mobile. But demanding games like Fortnite crash all the time. So, this certainly is not a high-end gaming device.

I like that the Galaxy Tab A7 ships with Android 10. We do still get a headphone jack, it has a microSD card slot, and a USB C 2.0 port. Even though it has four speakers, the overall quality is a bit worse than on the S6 Lite.

So, don’t expect a premium tablet here. But I do think the Tab A7 is a great choice if you’re looking for an inexpensive budget tablet that does not have any special features but is fine for basic tasks.

Amazon Fire HD 10: Super Cheap 10-Incher

The Amazon Fire HD 10 is the cheapest 10-inch Android tablet that I can comfortably recommend. Its 10.1-inch screen with its standard full HD resolution is very similar to the Galaxy Tab A7. And while the CPU performance of the Samsung tablet is faster, the graphics performance is about the same. So, the Fire HD 10 is a pretty good but cheap gaming tablet as long as you don’t expect to play high-end titles.

With its full plastic body, the Fire HD 10 feels much cheaper than the other tablets on this list. But it has two decent speakers, a USB C port, a microSD card slot, and even a headphone jack.

It’s important to know that while the Fire HD 10 is an Android tablet, it’s not running Google’s Android but Amazon’s version of Android. That means out of the box, you don’t have access to the Google Play Store and all other apps from Google. Instead, you get apps from the Amazon App Store and you’ve got fast and easy access to all services from Amazon.

On a positive note, if you want, it’s pretty easy to install the Google Play Store yourself. Once you do that, you can use apps like Chrome, YouTube, and Gmail on here too.

I think the Amazon Fire HD 10 is a good choice if you love the services from Amazon and want to save as much money as possible. Needless to say that it’s lacking all premium features. There’s no fingerprint scanner, no active pen support, no official keyboard cover, and, again, we get a cheap-feeling plastic body.

Lenovo Tab M8: Best 8-Inch Android Tablet

There are not many 8-inch Android tablets being released these days. One of the better options is the Lenovo Tab M8 which you can get in two versions. There’s one with an 8-inch HD screen and another one with an 8-inch full HD screen. I reviewed the HD version only, but if you can get the one with a Full HD resolution, it’s a bit better choice, of course.

If you’re looking for a premium 8-inch tablet, you’ll have to get an iPad Mini, as there are no super high-end 8-inch tablets running Android right now. The Lenovo Tab M8 is a mid-range to lower-end tablet with a pretty good screen. In fact, it’s metal body makes it feel much higher-end than it really is. This device is very well built.

The performance of the MediaTek A22 processor inside the HD version is fine for standard tasks and simpler games. But you won’t be able to play very demanding games like Fortnite on here. PUBG Mobile does run but you’ll have to expect some stutters while playing.

I like that the Lenovo Tab M8 ships with almost vanilla Android 9 without any major customizations. That’s great. But sadly, you’ll have to live with a bad webcam, micro USB instead of USB C, and I think future software updates are unlikely.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2019: A Samsung Alternative

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2019 is an interesting alternative to the Lenovo Tab M8 HD. It has a similar 8-inch HD screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and the performance of its Qualcomm Snapdragon 429 processor is almost the same. But Samsung tends to update their tablets longer.

Unlike the Lenovo, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 has a plastic frame with a metal back only instead of a full metal body. It feels cheaper, even though the price is about the same. There’s no version with a full HD resolution in almost all countries.

I think the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2019 can be a good alternative to the Lenovo Tab M8 if you prefer longer updates and if you can find it at a similar or cheaper price. But often you’ll have to pay a bit more, so it’s lower on this list.

Amazon Fire HD 8 & HD 8 Plus

The Amazon Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus are the cheapest tablets that I can comfortably recommend. The standard version and the Plus version are almost the same, but the Plus supports Wireless Charging and you can get it with a Wireless Charging Dock. Both tablets support the Alexa Voice Assistant and the Echo Show Mode. But with the Charging Dock, you can use the Fire HD 8 Plus pretty much like an Echo Show.

If you don’t care about Alexa and the Echo Show Mode, it makes no sense to spend more for the Plus instead of the standard Fire HD 8.

With the Fire HD 8, we’re getting an 8-inch LCD screen that has an HD resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Unlike the Lenovo and Samsung, the screen is not laminated here. That means you can see a small air gap below the touchscreen. Because of its full plastic body, it’s a much cheaper-feeling tablet too. Well, it is cheaper.

Now, even though it feels cheap, the Fire HD 8 is a decent choice. That’s because the speakers are pretty good for their size and the performance is on a similar level. Sure, don’t expect to play Fortnite. But at under 100 Dollars, you can play lots of games and they perform okay.

Amazon is selling an Android tablet here. But like with the Fire HD 10, it’s Amazon’s version of Android and not Google’s. So, the Google Play Store, YouTube, Chrome, and Gmail are missing by default. Instead, you’ve got easy access to all of Amazon’s services. But if you want, you can install the Play Store yourself without too much hassle.

What About Huawei Tablets?

Like Samsung, Lenovo, and Amazon, Huawei is releasing new Android tablets every year. And in the past, I loved many of them and many were listed quite high on this list. But because of the trade war between the United States and China, the Google Play Store and all of Google’s Services are missing on new Huawei devices now. And you can’t install them as easily yourself as you can on Amazon’s devices.

Because of that, I can’t recommend any Huawei tablet for most people right now. If you’re getting an Android tablet, you usually want the Google Play Store, Google Chrome, YouTube, and Gmail. And you can’t even watch Netflix with HD resolution for a similar reason. That doesn’t stop me from reviewing them, of course.

If you’re looking for a mid-range tablet with active pen support, you can check out the Huawei MatePad 10.4. You can get it with an active stylus called the M Pencil. Basically, this tablet is very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.

A cheap 8-inch tablet is the Huawei MatePad T8. It has an HD resolution, the performance is fine for simple tasks, but the 16GB internal storage is a bit too low. This is very similar to the Lenovo Tab M8 HD but without the Google Play Store.

The Huawei MatePad T10s is a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 and Amazon Fire HD 10. I like the metal body and the speakers are surprisingly good for their price. The 10.1-inch screen is fine too. But again, it’s missing the Google Play Store and you can’t install it as easily as you can on the Fire HD 10. So, for most, I don’t see why you would want to get it.

Questions & Answers

Here I’m answering a couple of questions that I get asked frequently.

An Android tablet is a tablet running Android. They’re just bigger smartphones with a little bit of different software because the internal hardware is usually the same. That goes for the basic operating system as well. If you own an Android smartphone, you can mostly use the same apps on an Android tablet. As I said, the basic operating system is the same, but the screens are bigger.

Compared to a phone, tablets offer a couple of advantages. The screen is bigger, sure. But often we also get better speakers, the battery might last longer, and for many, you can get great accessories like active pens and keyboard covers. You can make phone calls with any LTE 4G tablets. So, if you like, you could even replace your phone with an 8-inch tablet.

Often I get asked how much you should spend on an Android tablet. How much performance do you need and when are you just wasting your money?

First: I can recommend all devices on this list. That’s why I’ve listed them above. But as you can imagine, the pricier tablets usually are more powerful than the cheaper ones. Usually, they also have better screens and more features like fingerprint scanners and four speakers.

But even with the cheapest ones, you can surf the web and watch videos on YouTube or Netflix just fine. Especially simpler games run on almost all tablets without any major issues. But yes, if you’re into gaming and want a good graphics performance, you’ll have to spend a bit more.

Unlike with Windows, Android tablets don’t get updated by the software maker Google directly but by the manufacture. No brand is perfect regarding this. In the past, Samsung has been the best because their devices usually get at least two big software updates. Starting with the Galaxy Tab S7, Samsung even promises to update them for three years.

Other brands like Lenovo and Huawei haven’t been as good in the past. And while Amazon does update theirs regularly, it has almost nothing to do with Google’s updates anymore.

If there’s a software update available for your tablet, you usually get a notification that you can download and install the newest version. But you can check that manually yourself too by going into the settings to “About tablet” and “Software updates”.

The short answer is: Yes. Microsoft Office is preinstalled on many tablets but you can also download it for free in the Google Play Store. Once you do that, you can use the mobile versions from apps like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, OneDrive, and so on. These apps are optimized for touchscreens.

With that being said, you don’t get all the features from the desktop versions. And you might need to be a subscriber of Microsoft 365 if your tablet is bigger than 10.1 inches.

Well, that depends on what you need from a laptop, of course. I would not want to use it to heavily edit videos or photos every day. But if you need a notebook for standard office work only, then yes, many Android tablets can replace your laptop. Among these are the high-end ones from Samsung, for instance, because they support the Samsung DeX desktop mode and you can buy official keyboard covers.

Yes. You can attach almost any mouse to an Android tablet. That works by using a Bluetooth connection or with a micro USB or USB C adapter.

That depends on what you’re looking for. A major advantage of Android tablets is the wide variety of different devices that you can get. The operating system is more open too. For instance, you can install apps that are not listed in the Google Play Store easily. That’s not possible on an iPad.

In the media, you can often read that Android tablets are dead. But that’s just a dramatic headline. In reality, all big brands including Samsung, Lenovo, Huawei, and Amazon are releasing several Android tablets each year. So, no, Android tablets are not dead.

How I Review Android Tablets

I reviewed all devices on this list myself. I test almost every tablet that gets released unless I’m not able to buy it because it’s released in other countries only. My reviews are linked above to all the devices on this list. If you want to find more, just check out the category “Reviews” on this website. There you’ll find others that haven’t made it to this list.

For my reviews, I’m always running a couple of basic, standard tests so that I get comparable results. Among those are a couple of benchmarks like AnTuTu, Geekbench, 3D Mark, and others that test the performance of the processor and graphics chip. If supported, I also always play the same couple of games like Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, Call Of Duty, Asphalt 9, and others, so that I get a feel about the real performance.

To kind of get comparable battery life results, I always do the same battery test on all devices. I’m looping an HD video on YouTube at maximum brightness until the tablet shuts itself off. That’s a pretty realistic scenario that’s easy to run on every device. Sometimes I also do a battery test with videos running locally in case I want to compare it to an older tablet.

More important than benchmark results are my personal impression, though. A tablet can sound amazing on paper but if the software is not optimized, it can seem slow anyway. That’s why I use every tablet as my daily tablet for a while. I watch Netflix and YouTube, play a couple of games, use apps like Skype and I even get some work done in Microsoft Office and Adobe Lightroom.

Read my reviews to find out everything I do in more detail.

Update History

• This article was originally published on June 21st 2018.
• On May 10th 2018 I added the Huawei MediaPad M5 10.
• The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite 10, and T5 10 were added on September 26th. They replace the ASUS ZenPad 3S, Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, and Lenovo Tab4 10 Plus.
• I removed the old Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 and added the Lenovo Tab P10 on November 26th.
• On May 10th 2019, I removed the Huawei MediaPad T5 10, Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2017, and Lenovo Tab4 8. I replaced them with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019, Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 with S Pen, and Chuwi Hi9 Pro.
• Added the Galaxy Tab S5e on June 7th and removed the Lenovo Tab P10.
• The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 replaced the Galaxy Tab S4 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 SM-T290 replaced the Chuwi Hi9 Pro on October 7th 2019.
• I added the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab and removed the Huawei MediaPad M5 10 on Januar 21st 2020. And I replaced the old Fire HD 10 with the new one.
• On November 25th 2020, I added the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, S6 Lite and A7 and removed a couple of older ones. I also added a couple of words about current Huawei tablets.

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