Many tablet fans love the best Android tablets for their ability to side-load apps and ability to handle games better. So, while Apple's own portables are popular, these Android-powered devices are lauded for these unique strengths. That's on top of the range of sizes, features, and use cases that allow them to cater to different types of users.
Of course, with all the choices on the market, it's vital to be even more discerning when it comes to picking the best tablet for you. You also have your daily needs and budget to consider, to ensure that you're getting your money's worth, whichever device you end up with.
Luckily, we can narrow down your options to make things easier. We've lived with and reviewed plenty of Android tablets over the years, and we know which models to recommend and which models to skip entirely. We also made sure to have an option for every type of user.
After all, while Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra may top our list, we also have options for those seeking one of the best cheap tablets. We also included some mid-range picks from brands like Amazon, Google, and even Honor to give a better range.
Of course, if you change your made and want an iPadOS-powered device instead, our picks of the best iPads should help. If you're sticking with Android, take a look at our guide of the best Android tablets below, complete with each device's pros and cons, along with who it's best suited for.
The best Android tablets 2023
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The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is the ultimate Android tablet, just like its predecessor. It comes with polished OneUI software that takes advantage of its big and beautiful 14.6-inch screen, and the included S Pen stylus and optional keyboard should make this a great device for creating artwork, editing documents, taking notes, and other productivity tasks.
For a tablet of this size, the display is its selling point. It is massive, sure, but it is also beautiful at 1848 x 2960 resolution and smooth at a 120Hz refresh rate. It packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset with up to 16GB of RAM, and the storage goes up to 1TB. In other words, this really, really wants to convince you it can replace your laptop.
In our review, we were very impressed with both the software and its performance. Qualcomm's processor really put in the work here, and Samsung's OneUI software makes this feel like a real laptop with enhanced multitasking capabilities that you simply won't find on offerings from Apple or Google. Unfortunately, its biggest flaw is that it continues to feel like a real laptop without actually being one. If you want a laptop to do all the laptop things, you'll still be better served running a real laptop. But as a big tablet? Unmatched.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review
The Google Pixel Tablet comes with Google's tablet-optimized version of Android. It's a pleasure to use, as the company has built out a suite of apps that now work well with large-screen devices and tablets, including the Google Suite of apps, its entertainment apps like YouTube, Google Play apps, and more.
The tablet is powered by Google's custom Tensor G2 chip that you'll find in the Pixel 7a, 7, and 7 Pro as well. This processor provides plenty of power for even the most demanding tasks. The screen is 11 inches (albeit IPS LCD and not OLED) and has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. It's worth noting that there's no 90 or 120Hz refresh rate, which is a shame. Even the cheaper Pixel 7a comes with a 90Hz display.
The speaker dock has four speakers that produce rich, immersive sound when playing music or watching video. As with other Pixels, this tablet receives regular security updates and software updates from Google. You'll get Android 14 the minute it's ready, the same will hold for Android 15 and 16 as well.
Despite all that power and security, this tablet isn't meant for productivity, though. You're meant to see it as an entertainment device, whether you lean into Google's positioning of this as a smart home device, or you use it as a tablet. With a lovely screen, a powerful speaker dock, and quick updates, the Pixel Tablet certainly lives up to the hype.
Read our full Google Pixel Tablet review
OnePlus's first tablet was impressive with some of the perks we expect from OnePlus phones. It integrates with both OnePlus and Oppo phones, ships with Android 13, has a sharp and bright LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, a large battery, and 67W super-fast charging.
However, we found it was held back by the performance that wasn't quite as speedy as what you could get on the best phones. It uses a MediaTek Dimensity 9000, a chip that's a step down from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that most of the top Android phones – the OnePlus 11 included – use. This meant that for some tasks like using Adobe Lightroom, there was enough lag that it would be annoying.
Due to the relatively weak premium Android tablet market, the OnePlus also didn't offer separate storage offerings. It did, however, come with a lovely green shade that we praised in our review.
The OnePlus Pad's few flaws are covered by its $479 price. Samsung's Galaxy Tab S tablets are the only competition for Android fans, and they cost $200 more in most cases.
Read our full OnePlus Pad review
It might not be the best of the bunch for Android tablets but the Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus (2021) has a lot going for it thanks to its attractive 10.1-inch display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution. That means it's ideal for watching your favorite movies or shows, especially as we also found that it manages around 12 hours of battery life, so you won't run out of juice at a pivotal moment.
In our review, we were also fairly impressed with the speakers for the money, so this is a capable budget media machine. Storage is limited at either 32GB or 64GB and we'd like speedier performance in an ideal world, as the chipset was a little bit dated even at launch, but at this price, it's not bad at all.
Read our full Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus (2021) review
The Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021) isn't the speediest tablet, but at a low price it creeps onto our best Android tablets list for good reason. For the price, you get a good quality and large screen with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, which we found was ideal for watching films or your favorite YouTube videos.
This is a slate you can use all day too, as our reviewer found that if anything the battery life is even better than Amazon’s 12-hour estimate. In our tests we found the software was a bit limited and the processor a tad slow, meaning there are better options out there. However, if you're on a budget and don't mind making some compromises, you could do a lot worse than the Fire HD 10.
Read our full Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021) review
The Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 is a bit different to most tablets, and that helps it stand out. While the slate works brilliantly as a conventional tablet, it also has a built-in stand, so you can prop it up without a case, and there’s a micro HDMI port, so you can easily use it as a second screen for a laptop or other device - two features which we found very useful.
The Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 also has an enormous speaker by tablet standards, making it great for anything involving audio. Beyond that, you get a big 13-inch 1350 x 2160 screen, a moderately powerful Snapdragon 870 chipset, and a respectable amount of storage.
What you don’t get – in another unusual move – is a rear camera, but then tablets are never ideal for taking photos anyway, and we also found the design made it hard to use with a case. Still, if a kickstand or micro HDMI are important to you then this is the Android tablet to get.
Read our full Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review
The Samsung Galaxy A8 is a cheap and cheerful option that exists for those who love Samsung's Android efforts but don't want to pony up for its more expensive tablets.
We found that the design and display of the Tab A8 stood out as gorgeous and vibrant, especially compared to other devices in its price range. Samsung's prowess shines in this regard.
Of course, it's an inexpensive device, so corners have to be cut somewhere. Sacrificed in this device are performance and charging speeds. With either 3GB or 4GB of RAM to keep this chugging along, this tablet won't replace your gaming phone or handle everything you can throw at it, but it will make a great Netflix machine or e-book reader.
When you get down to it, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is a great option for those looking for a wallet-friendly tablet with a great display and long battery life. However, if you need a tablet for demanding tasks like gaming or video editing, you'll want to look further up this list at options from Samsung, OnePlus, and Google.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 review
The TCL Nxtpaper 10S stands out as a unique Android tablet that opts for a blue-light-reducing matte display. It's a useful change at a time when most of us are ruining our eyes and staring constantly into screens, and it's also a powerhouse to boot. It also comes with several reading modes that make using it for media consumption ideal.
We found that it was good at handling multiple apps, despite not having a flagship-class MediaTek processor, handling common tasks like video calls and mobile gaming with ease.
Of course, there are trade-offs. That matte screen is constructed in such a way that it adds fuzziness where clarity would be desired, and as such, detail may be lost when watching movies.
Still, the Nxtpaper 10S is a unique tablet, and worth considering for that display alone.
Read our full TCL Nxtpaper 10s review here
The Honor Pad 8 is one of the nicer inexpensive Android tablets out there. However, our first review of it found flaws such as a weak processor, awkward unoptimized software compared to the likes of the Pixel Tablet and the OnePlus Pad, and even a dearth of specialized accessories like cases, styli, and keyboards.
On the other hand, it's a cheap, large-screen tablet with a good screen and speakers. I've been using it with Disney Plus, Crunchyroll, and the Kindle app predominantly. As a media machine, it has proven very capable. The battery is also long-lasting and the charging quick. All in all, a very capable media machine for the money.
When it comes down to it, the Honor Pad 8 is a great option for those looking for a cheap tablet for media consumption with a massive display. Should you need a tablet for more demanding tasks like heavy gaming or complex productivity tasks, you'll want to look at more powerful tablets.
Read our full Honor Pad 8 review here
How to choose the best Android tablet for you
Size and price are the two biggest considerations when buying a tablet. Consider whether you want the biggest screen possible - which is great for media and productivity, or something smaller and therefore more portable.
Consider how much you want and need to spend too. If you don't need top-end power then you can usually save some money.
Beyond that, other things to pay attention to are the screen resolution (higher is better), and the battery life - obviously longer is better, but how important that is will depend on whether you mostly plan to use your tablet at home (where you can plug it in at any time) or when out and about (where you might have to rely heavily on the battery).
If you plan to use your tablet for work or creative endeavors then it's also worth seeing whether it supports a keyboard or stylus, and whether any such things are included.
Is mobile data important?
Some tablets come with the option of 5G or 4G, but getting a data plan adds to the cost, so consider how much you'd need data when away from Wi-Fi - and remember that you can always tether your smartphone to your tablet to share your phone's connection instead.
How we test
Every tablet included in this guide has been reviewed in full, so we've spent a lot of time with each of them working out what's good, what's bad, and how they compare.
We've made sure to fully test out their performance with apps and games, how good content looks on their screens, whether their interface is intuitive, how long the battery lasts, and how the cameras hold up, as well as assessing their design and build quality.
With that experience we've also considered how they're priced and whether there are newer models in the range, to come up with this ranking.
