Tablets are wonderfully versatile devices, but they don’t have to do as much as a smartphone. You’re not going to navigate your drive with a tablet, and most people realize that holding a tablet like a point-and-shoot camera just feels silly. Tablets don’t balance very well on wireless charging stations and you’re not going to tap your tablet at the cash register to pay for groceries.
But to watch movies, surf the web, play mobile games on the big screen, or even get a little productive, today’s basic tablets will get the job done. For those tasks, tablets can provide a lot of power, much cheaper than a Apple iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy.
There’s no doubt that Apple’s iPads are great tablets — our list of the best tablets you can buy right now includes six iPads. That doesn’t mean they’re the only great tablets, though. We’ve reviewed tons of tablets on the market right now and several were clearly a cut above the rest. Here are some that earned four stars in our reviews, and that should work well for everything you need.
Lenovo Tab P11 Plus: the one with the bigger screen
The Lenovo Tab P11 is an all-round competent tablet and Lenovo recently updated it with a minor chipset change to make the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus. We reviewed the Tab P11 and loved the large screen and parental controls that made it kid-friendly. The screen is huge at 11 inches, about an inch larger than most competitors. The version we reviewed was a little slow under heavy load, so we’re curious to see how upgrading to a MediaTek Helio G90T chipset affects performance.
If you want to get serious with this tablet, the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus is also compatible with the Lenovo Pen accessories, precision-powered drawing devices similar to the Apple Pencil. You can also find plenty of keyboard options, both from Lenovo and third-party vendors. You may not be able to play the fastest games, but for some light office work or drawing, the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus should do a fine job.
Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus: the one with Alexa and Prime
If you mainly watch movies on a tablet, the Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus is a great choice. Sure, an Amazon Prime subscription is a must, but Amazon tablets aren’t limited to just the Amazon ecosystem. Amazon has its own robust Appstore marketplace and you can find most of the well-known Android apps; just don’t expect anything from Google – not even YouTube. Of course, you can still use your Google apps through the web browser.
The Amazon Fire HD tablet also has a nice ecosystem of accessories built around it. If you want to get productive, Amazon has a bundle that gives you a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365, which includes all Office apps and lots of Drive storage space, plus a keyboard attachment. The tablet also supports wireless charging and Amazon offers a large charging stand that supports the tablet nicely, making it more of an Alexa device for the home.
Nokia T20: the one built like a Nokia phone
The Nokia T20 looks more expensive than it is, and it delivers everything you’d expect from a modern Nokia tablet. It’s built solidly, offers just the right amount of features and comes at an affordable price for what you get. It’s by no means a flagship tablet: the screen quality is just okay and performance can be slow, with lags when opening and switching apps. It still got bright enough and managed to cut out soundtracks at a respectable volume, making it a smart choice for watching movies, if not editing videos.
There’s a lot to be said for a solid board, though, and the Nokia T20’s metal body feels premium compared to cheaper plastic competitors. It’s definitely a tablet that you can give to your kids knowing they won’t destroy it. It’s currently stuck on Android 11, but there are plenty of kid-friendly features built in and Nokia has promised two years of upgrades, so hopefully this will get an update soon.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite: the one for real artists
Samsung’s current flagship tablet is the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultrabut you can buy a new one Galaxy Tab S6 Lite direct from the company, and it’s a bargain. You can even trade in your old tablet or phone to get a discount, and Samsung takes plenty of branded options as trade-ins. The Tab S6 Lite is the most expensive choice on our list, but you get a lot more for the money. You get a stylus included and Samsung uses high-quality Wacom technology that does not need to be charged.
We enjoyed the battery life of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite and it got us through a day without any problems. Samsung has put a lot of work into designing the interface for premium devices, so the Tab S6 Lite takes advantage of Samsung’s One UI, which is great fun for customizing your homepage and making the tablet feel your own.
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