Tablet specification sheets are unusually misleading, and two numbers on them are close to useless on their own. Knowing which two saves you both money and disappointment.
From a tested field of 73 tablets, here is what actually decides whether you like one.
The display is the most important component — and IPS is fine
Display quality carries the heaviest weighting of any single factor, so start there. The good news is that it is also where you are least likely to need to spend.
IPS LCD is the most widespread standard, and it is the one to look for in a product description: it reliably indicates at least good contrast and usable viewing-angle stability. Crucially it is common even on inexpensive models, which means you do not have to accept a markedly weaker TN panel at the budget end. TN is outdated technology and now appears only in very cheap tablets — if you see it, that is a reason to look elsewhere.
AMOLED and Super AMOLED promise exceptional colour, deep blacks and strong contrast, and they deliver on that. But this does not make IPS obsolete: with high pixel density and high brightness, IPS panels still achieve excellent scores. AMOLED is a preference, not a requirement.
There is a genuinely subjective element here that no test resolves for you. What one person admires as vivid colour, another sees as unrealistic and garish. So if you have any opportunity to look at the screen in person before buying, take it — this is one specification where your own eyes outrank any measurement.
Battery capacity tells you almost nothing
This is the most useful thing in this guide. The tested tablets carry batteries from 2,750 mAh to 11,200 mAh, and you would reasonably expect runtime to track capacity. It does not.
Among the tablets with the largest batteries, measured runtimes varied between 8 and 13 hours. Meanwhile some tablets with half that capacity ran for a full 15 hours. A bigger number on the box routinely loses to a smaller one.
Three things explain it:
Processor efficiency. More powerful silicon generally draws more, and the gap between an entry-level tablet and an upper-mid-range one is significant. But it is not a simple ladder — the current top-tier Snapdragon processors are less energy-efficient than the generation before them. Apple, tuning its own silicon to its own hardware and operating system in a closed setup, usually comes out ahead on battery life for this reason.
Screen size. A larger display simply needs more power to light, whatever else is equal.
What you actually do. Web browsing and reading eBooks put mostly white pages on screen, which drains the battery harder than video playback, where darker scenes dominate. Testing controls for brightness by fixing it at 200 candela per square metre so peak-brightness differences do not distort the comparison — but your own usage pattern will move the figure more than the specification does.
Buy last year's processor
The processor is the main engine, and there is a straightforward saving available. Looking at the previous generation of a current processor usually gives a better price-to-performance ratio, and slightly older silicon still offers more than enough performance for everyday use.
Apple now runs two lines: the A-series mobile processors, shared with the iPhone, and — on its top iPads — the M-series notebook processor, which is what delivers the step up in performance at the high end. Elsewhere you will find Qualcomm's Snapdragon, HiSilicon Kirin, Samsung Exynos and MediaTek, each in upper and mid-range versions.
RAM matters alongside the processor. Three or four gigabytes used to be standard; top models now carry 6 to 8 GB, while some very cheap tablets make do with 2 GB. More is better as a rule, but treat the figure as a rough indicator only — the system has to manage that memory properly for it to count.
Storage is the specification that ages worst
The range across the tested field runs from 8 GB to 512 GB, with some models offering up to 2 TB. Storage is a significant part of what you pay, so it is worth being deliberate rather than simply maximising.
The floors matter more than the ceilings. 8 GB is definitely too little — realistically it covers eBook reading and nothing else. 16 GB is the lower pain threshold for most people, and even that is tighter than it sounds: the operating system permanently occupies several gigabytes, and a few hundred photos will start to squeeze what remains.
The practical hedge is a microSD slot, which lets you expand capacity cheaply later. Check for one before buying — and note that some manufacturers, Apple among them, no longer offer the option at all. On those, the storage you buy is the storage you keep.
Wireless: do not overthink it
Every tablet has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and whether they are the very newest versions rarely has much practical effect. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.0 are the standard, and the preceding generation is perfectly serviceable. The USB standard only matters if you routinely move large amounts of data between tablet and computer.
The picks
Best overall — Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (256GB, Wi-Fi). The test winner, and the model where Apple's M-series notebook silicon does the most visible work. Measured battery life runs from about 13.5 to 15 hours depending on what you ask of it, and half an hour on the charger returns roughly half the battery. There is an anti-reflective nano-texture glass option. In the UK it is listed as the M5 generation.
Best Android tablet — Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. The strongest non-Apple option in the field, with a video runtime of around 14.5 hours and a processor that holds its own against Apple silicon in demanding tasks. We have a full Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review on the site, and a separate Galaxy Tab S11 review for the standard model, which is also recommended here in its own right.
Best value — HONOR Pad 10. The endurance winner of the whole field: its very large battery sustained 16 hours 42 minutes of continuous use in testing, and 30 minutes on a USB-C cable brings it back to roughly half. The HONOR MagicPad2 is the alternative at a similar level. These are where the "last year's processor" logic pays off most obviously.
Also strong — Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (256GB, Wi-Fi) if you want the larger panel, and Apple iPad mini 6 (256GB, 5G) as the compact recommendation. The iPad 9 (64GB) remains the cheapest iPad worth owning, though its smaller battery reaches only about 10.5 hours in the online-use test, and the storage caution above applies to it particularly.
Before you buy
Four questions. Have you seen the screen? It is the heaviest-weighted component and partly a matter of taste. Are you judging battery by capacity? Stop — it predicts runtime poorly, and a smaller battery with efficient silicon frequently wins. Do you need this year's processor? Usually not, and last year's is cheaper. And is there a microSD slot? — because if there is not, decide your storage now rather than later.
If you want something smaller and cheaper for reading rather than working, our best budget tablets and best e-readers guides cover those instead.
