Wirecutter

The standard iPad is fast, easy to use, and compatible with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, and it offers the features most tablet users need.

With a large screen, a fast-enough processor, and Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support, the 9th-gen iPad offers the features that most tablet users need.

The standard iPad offers enough performance to get by and a decent screen, though it’s on the small side and uses a more-limited Lightning port rather than USB-C.

Best for Most

amazon.com

notebookcheck.net

pcmag.com

This iPad has a huge, 12.9-inch screen that’s better for multitasking or serious creative work such as digital illustration or audio editing.

Upgrade Pick

walmart

bazaarvoice

Consumer Reports

Thanks to a recent price drop, the basic. 64-gigabyte Apple iPad from 2021 just barely makes the cut for this price range. This tablet—which Apple refers to simply as the “iPad”—is the best-scoring model on this list, and also the most expensive. But it’s still one of the better values in consumer electronics, especially if you have a bunch of other Apple products to sync it up with. The 10.2-inch display is among the best in our ratings and gets bright enough to be legible in direct sunlight. That’s handy for summertime reading at the beach or in the backyard. The battery lasts 11.3 to 14.5 hours, depending on how you use it, in our tests. Watching high-res video can be more taxing on the battery, while browsing the web isn’t as demanding.The iPad also supports Apple’s Smart Keyboard cover, a physical keyboard that magnetically clips onto the tablet. Unlike a Bluetooth keyboard, this one doesn’t require charging or pairing, which comes in handy when you frequently use your iPad for emailing and word-processing tasks.

Budget Pick

gsmarena.com

target

techradar.com

This capable tablet offers a sharp display, excellent battery life, and Samsung’s S Pen stylus.

cnet.com

Though the Fire HD 8 has a smaller, lower-resolution screen than the Tab S6 Lite, it’s a great cheap tablet for reading or watching video, especially if you get that content from Amazon’s store.

The Amazon Fire HD 8 might not impress your most tech-snobby friends, but if you’re okay with some relatively minor shortcomings, this $60 device is an absolute steal. The display is admirably good for the price, and if you’re already on the hook for a $119-per-year Amazon Prime subscription, the tablet will provide you with easy access to lots of content, including movies, music, and books.
The 8-inch display is bright, and it’s legible even under intense light. The 16 gigabytes of storage might be a little tight if you carry around a lot of photos and videos, but you can fix that by popping a memory card into the microSD card slot. The Fire HD 8 clocked almost 16 hours of battery life in our web-browsing tests and just over 15 hours in our video-viewing tests.
But there is one downside. This model uses a customized version of the Android operating system known as Fire OS. That means you don’t get access to apps such as Gmail and YouTube via the Google Play store. Instead, you have to settle for the generic alternatives offered in Amazon’s app store.

The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus has an 8-inch screen that makes it a solid choice for those who enjoy reading or watching movies. It has 3 gigabytes of memory and is available with 32GB of storage, and you can also use a microSD memory card to add storage. Battery life is impressive. Our tests find that it’s slower than most other tablets in our tests, though it’s acceptable for most everyday tasks, such as web browsing and email.
For more options: Best Tablets of 2020

The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus has an 8-inch screen that makes it a solid choice for those who enjoy reading or watching movies. It has 3 gigabytes of memory and is available with 32GB of storage, and you can also use a microSD memory card to add storage. Battery life is impressive. Our tests find that it’s slower than most other tablets in our tests, though it’s acceptable for most everyday tasks, such as web browsing and email.For more options: Best Tablets of 2020

The Amazon Fire HD 8 might not impress your most tech-snobby friends, but if you’re okay with some relatively minor shortcomings, this $90 device is an absolute steal. The display is admirably good for the price, and if you’re already on the hook for a $139-per-year Amazon Prime subscription, the tablet will provide you with easy access to lots of content, including movies, music, and books.The 8-inch display is bright, and it’s legible even under intense light. The 16 gigabytes of storage might be a little tight if you carry around a lot of photos and videos, but you can fix that by popping a memory card into the microSD card slot. The Fire HD 8 clocked almost 16 hours of battery life in our web-browsing tests and just over 15 hours in our video-viewing tests.But there is one downside. This model uses a customized version of the Android operating system known as Fire OS. That means you don’t get access to apps such as Gmail and YouTube via the Google Play store. Instead, you have to settle for the generic alternatives offered in Amazon’s app store—or just access those services in a web browser.

theverge.com

If you simply want to watch Netflix and read e-books, this high-powered tablet might be overkill, but it’s a good choice if you play demanding games and regularly edit video. The display is big and bright, and the color is accurate. The device weighs 1 pound on the dot. The battery lasted just 7.7 hours in our web-browsing test, though. That’s not impressive for a tablet, but it’s just about the only knock here. The model we tested features WiFi and 4G connectivity. By contrast, the one we list here is WiFi-only. The sale price may vary by color.CR’s test results: Apple iPad Air (4G, 64GB) 2020 tablet

expert-review

Apple’s latest iPad is down to its best price ever at Amazon

The 2021 iPad Mini with 5G support is $20 off today

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a great option for people who want an Android tablet with a little extra performance. Just keep in mind that’s probably not necessary for simple tasks such as reading email, watching movies, and surfing the web. This is an impressive price for a high-performance tablet. Why it’s a good deal: It’s been on sale for a while, but just dropped $10 compared to last week, putting it just $5 higher than the lowest price we’ve seen.

Spend around $250 on this larger 10-inch tablet and you’ll bring home a machine that gives you access to all the apps in the Google Play store, and comes with a generous 64 gigabytes of built-in storage space that you can easily expand with the microSD card slot. (Samsung makes a larger  tablet that does slightly better than the Lenovo in our tests, but lately the Lenovo has been less expensive.) 
This tablet scores just below the threshold for an official CR recommendation, but its flaws might not matter to all shoppers. The display is generally impressive but somewhat dimmer than others, which may be a problem if you’re planning to use the device under bright lights—indoors or out. And it has just so-so battery life—in CR testing it runs around 8 hours while browsing the web and 6.9 hours while watching video.

The One by Wacom is the easiest-to-use and most affordable tablet we’ve found.

The Best Drawing Tablets for Beginners

The Galaxy Tab S6 has a gorgeous 10.5-inch OLED screen plus an included stylus. It’s fast, sleek, and feature-packed, but it costs more than most people should spend.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 review: master entertainer, amateur worker

This tablet has a large screen, includes Siri voice control, and is portable enough to take anywhere in the house. And this device makes it easy to engage in video and audio calls with family, friends, and caregivers.

If you favor portability over screen size, the iPad works for browsing the web and doing light note taking or writing. It’s not good for more complicated tasks, though.

With a large screen, a fast-enough processor, and Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support, the 8th-gen iPad offers the features most tablet users need.

Tablet Comparison