I take an Android tablet everywhere I go: These are the best ones you should buy

I didn’t consider myself a tablet person for a very long time. Sure, I briefly tried to use one to replace my laptop in college, but I quickly learned that it wasn’t quite a like-for-like trade. So, back to the shelf it went, waiting for the day I just wanted a larger form factor for entertainment. And, for a while, I ignored the scaled-up side of Android altogether.

Now, though, things are different. Android tablets are better than ever, and they come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from just larger than a foldable phone to nearly rivaling full-sized laptops. I’m still not sure how many of them I would trust as laptop replacements, but I’ve found that they fill so many more niches than they used to. Here are the best Android tablets that I think you should actually spend your money on.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 Plus: The best Android tablet under $200

Alright, so listen — our next pick is a bit of a cheat. We’re going to call the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus the best Android tablet that you can get for less than $200, but we’re also going to acknowledge that it retails for $219. The reason we think it still fits as a great pick for such a tight budget, though, is that it’s always on sale for less than $200. At the time of writing, the 64GB version of Samsung’s budget-friendly slate is available for $149, with the higher-spec 128GB model priced at $199.

And, for that money, it’s hard for the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus not to punch above its asking price. It brings plenty of upgrades over its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab A8 (not Plus), including a larger 11-inch display (up from 10.5 inches) and a smoother 90Hz refresh rate to replace the lowly 60Hz speed. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus also features a two-piece construction, protecting most of its internals within an aluminum shell, with a thin strip of plastic surrounding the buttons, SIM slot, and camera.

Google Pixel Tablet: The best smart home hub hybrid

I’ve hit the portability of tablets pretty heavily so far. I mean, who doesn’t love a big screen that’s easy to take just about anywhere? But if you’re Google, you tend to do things just a little differently. If you’re Google, you design your first tablet in years to double as a smart home hub any time you pop it onto its included stand — and that’s just what makes the Pixel Tablet worth buying.

Don’t get us wrong, the Pixel Tablet probably wasn’t worth buying when it launched, and we said as much. We felt like its ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ approach left it, well, a master of none. It wasn’t quite up to rivaling Google’s existing Nest Hub Max, nor was it as well-rounded as many of Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs. Since then, though, a series of updates has breathed new life into the slate.

Honorable mentions

It wouldn’t take much for us to give Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S11 a full slot on this list — it’s a pretty good tablet. The only thing holding it back, though, is that it doesn’t have a specific niche. It’s pretty good all around, offering a crisp display, solid processor, and a wide range of accessories, but it doesn’t stand as the best gaming option or the largest display for the money.

This runs the Galaxy Tab S10 FE very close for the title of best tablet under $500, but gets the runner-up medal because of its relatively lackluster update policy and heft. If you can look past those two things, though, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is a fantastic tablet for media and productivity, all at a very reasonable price.

Amazon has slowed its flow of Fire tablets in the last few years, but they’re still worth mentioning. No, they don’t technically run Android (call them Android-adjacent), but they’re some of the most affordable slates you can buy. You get easy access to things like your Kindle library and Prime Video, and the compact designs are very easy to slot into a bag and take on the go.

Since we’re already a bit loose with the rules, let’s add an iPad to the list as well. While we prefer Android tablets, there’s no denying that some of our favorite slates pull pretty heavily from the iPad Air, pairing ultra-slim designs with flagship chipsets and clean software. So, if you’re willing to walk on the iPadOS side, this is the slate to do it with. It makes the most of its battery life and is in line to receive updates longer than most competitors.

Switching back to Android — well, kind of — we have the HUAWEI MatePad Pro. It’s closer to a standard Android experience than the last two honorable mentions, but it lacks access to Google’s Play Store, which makes life more challenging. You’ll have to source most apps from the App Gallery and supplement them with APKs, but the premium hardware and crisp OLED display will reward your patience.

What to look for in a good Android tablet

Shopping for a new Android tablet is every bit as hard as finding your next phone — if not harder. While you probably won’t have to worry about a cellular plan (unless you want one), there are plenty of other criteria to consider. Some things that we look for are obvious, such as battery life and build quality, but other factors might not be so straightforward to identify.

Take a minute to check out a few things we consider must-have features before buying an Android tablet. You might not agree with all of them, but even one or two could help to steer your purchasing decision.

• Screen size: Knowing how much of a tablet you can handle is probably the number one factor before you buy. If you want to maximize your portability, you’ll probably want to look at something small like the Legion Tab Gen 3, but that won’t be the best bet to replace your laptop. If you have the space for it, either the OnePlus Pad 3 or Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra will pack a bit more punch.
• Software updates: Software commitments on Android tablets still tend to lag behind those on smartphones, but the gap is closing. You won’t typically find seven years of support, nor will your new slate be at the front of the line for updates, but as we saw with the Pixel Tablet, there’s always a chance that you’ll gain a wealth of new features over time.
• Build quality: Selecting an Android tablet based on its build quality usually means spending a little bit more for a more durable slate. Top options, such as the Galaxy Tab S11 series and OnePlus Pad 3, use aluminum from top to bottom, whereas plastic becomes more common at budget-friendly and mid-range price points.
• Accessories: Most tablet buyers can also acknowledge that these devices aren’t meant to be used with one hand. You can do so with a small tablet, but most larger options require accessories like a kickstand, a keyboard, and a stylus to unlock the full range of possibilities. Both Lenovo and Samsung have pretty excellent ecosystems to draw from, and the Pixel Tablet takes a very interesting approach by adding smart home-centric extras.
• Battery life: Another “bigger is better” feature to look for is battery life. Yes, larger tablets tend to have bigger batteries, and sometimes that means they last longer. Other times, though, the bigger battery has to power a larger display, and the extra milliamp-hours might come out to a wash.
• AI features: We’re not at the point where Android tablets offer the same AI features as their smartphone counterparts, but we’re not far off. We’ve seen the basics, such as Circle to Search, make their way across, along with a few writing tools and Gemini Live, but don’t expect to find calling features or some of the more advanced image generators, like Google’s Pixel Studio.
• Audio tuning: One thing we’ve really come to appreciate about the best Android tablets is that they get special treatment when it comes to audio. Lenovo has partnerships with both Harman/Kardon and JBL to tune its speakers across various products, and Samsung has relied on AKG for several years to ensure its multi-speaker setups sound great.
• Smart home support: And, of course, there’s smart home support. Sure, it’s Google’s bread and butter with the Pixel Tablet, but you can also monitor your video doorbell and home security feeds from plenty of other tablets. They may not offer the same intuitive hub support that Google does, but you might find that what you give up in smart home features, you gain in standard tablet capabilities.

Why you should trust me

I know I started this list by saying that I didn’t really like Android tablets for a long time. I’ll stand by that — I just couldn’t find a way to make them feel useful enough for me to carry around. These days, though, I’m a changed man, carrying a tablet of some kind with me almost everywhere I go. If I’m traveling far enough that I need a backpack, you can bet that I have a tablet slipped into my laptop pocket.

Even better, I’ve hit the point where I only need a tablet in that laptop pocket. Yes, it’s going to be a tablet with a keyboard, so I’m not furiously trying to tap out emails on a 12-inch display, but it still counts. I’ve taken more than my share of tech briefings, using only a tablet for notes, jotting down specs and software features as quickly as I can type.

And, of course, I’ve spent a lot of time reviewing Android tablets at this point. I have an entire shelf in my apartment dedicated to the ghosts of tablets past, carrying several iPads, Galaxy Tabs, and a few generations of the OnePlus Pad all in one convenient place. Occasionally, I’ll still even pull one out and power it up just to revisit an ecosystem I haven’t used in a while — only to go back to the OnePlus Pad 3 after a couple of days of exploration.

If you really want to know where my history with Android tablets began, I must admit that I started with Google’s Nexus 9. I loved everything about the look of that tablet, from the sandstone-like back panel to the iPad-like display, and I tried to make it work for as long as I could. That was back before Google really started to figure out its large-screen Android experience, so I found just as many holdups as I did highlights. Not one to be defeated, though, my Nexus 9 still has a place on my tech shelf of memories.