The best Android tablets in 2024

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The best Android tablets make excellent alternatives to the best iPads. These devices pack enough power to run apps and games with minimal or no slowdown. They're also power-efficient enough to last long on a single charge. And with a keyboard attachment, some Android tablets can double as decent laptop replacements.

We've tested many Android tablets to find the right ones for specific users. This includes slates like the OnePlus Pad 2, with its unique aspect ratio and rear camera, to the super-sized Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, the affordable Amazon Fire HD 8 and many more.

We measure battery life, performance and screen quality. App quality is a lingering question for Android tablets. Because of that, your decision might start with how many apps you want — as not all Android tablets get the same apps.

Here are the best Android tablets, based on our hands-on testing and review of dozens from Amazon, Samsung, Nokia and even OnePlus.

The quick list

Here's a quick overview of the best Android tablets you can buy right now based on our testing and reviews.

Tony Polanco author photo
Tony Polanco

Tony is a senior writer at Tom’s Guide covering laptops, tablets, Windows, and iPadOS. Though he mostly uses iPads, he won't dismiss Android tablets. Some of his favorites include Samsung Galaxy Tab and OnePlus Tab tablets. He's always on the hunt for the next best Android tablet.

The best Android tablets you can buy today

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The best Android tablet overall

OnePlus Pad 2Editor's Choice

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Specifications

CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Display: 12.1-inch 3K OLED (3,000 x 2,120), 7:5 aspect ratio | 144Hz adaptive refresh rate
Storage: 256GB
Memory: 12GB
Ports: 1x USB-C
Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.6 x 0.2 inches
Weight: 1.29 pounds

Reasons to buy

+
Unique design
+
Vivid display
+
Strong performance
+
Epic battery life

Reasons to avoid

-
Mediocre rear camera quality

The OnePlus Pad 2 is an Android tablet worth getting excited about and a worthy successor to its predecessor. With a huge 13MP rear camera, curved edges and a unique 7:5 aspect ratio, OnePlus’ newest tablet stands out from the competition. Like the original OnePlus Pad, it's now one of my favorite Android tablets.

This slate has plenty going for it besides its distinctive design. Videos and ebooks look great on its vivid 12.1-inch 144Hz display, and thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU and Android 14 OS (an upgrade over the old MediaTek Dimensity 9000 and Android 13, respectively), apps and games run smooth and fast. The lightweight OnePlus Pad 2 also has exceptional battery life, lasting nearly 15 hours in our testing.

Ironically, the only negative aspect of this tablet is its 13MP rear camera. While the picture quality isn't horrendous, images aren't as sharp and defined as I would have liked. However, the upgraded speakers (six speakers instead of four from before) deliver incredible sound. So even if picture quality isn't the best, you're at least treated to a fantastic aural experience.

The OnePlus Pad 2 looks great and runs even better. If you’re looking for an excellent Android tablet for under $600, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Read our full OnePlus Pad 2 review.

The best affordable Android tablet

Amazon Fire HD 8 (2022) displayTom's Guide Recommended product badge

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Specifications

CPU: 2GHz hexa-core
Display: 8-inch 1280x800 LCD Touch
Storage: 32GB, 64GB
Memory: 2GB RAM
Ports: 1 USB-C, 1 microSD slot, 1 Headphone jack
Dimensions: 7.94 x 5.4 x 0.37 inches
Weight: 0.7 pounds

Reasons to buy

+
Bright screen
+
Excellent battery life
+
Fantastic value
+
Strong speakers

Reasons to avoid

-
Performance limitations
-
Rough cameras
-
Amazon’s ecosystem
-
Lock screen ads

Amazon’s tablets have long maintained the reputation of being shockingly good for their low prices, and the middle-sized device — the Amazon Fire HD 8 — represents the sweet spot in terms of price, power, and functionality. That’s unchanged with the new 2022 model, although it comes with some nice tweaks and upgrades from the last edition.

This 12th-generation Fire HD 8 tablet packs roughly 30% more power than the last model, helping to smooth out some of the spurts of lag we saw when we reviewed the older hardware. It’s also lighter and feels more durable. Granted, it’s also $10 more expensive than before.

But the overall experience and value equation are much the same: this is an amazingly solid tablet for the price ($100) if you can deal with modest performance, along with more pressing annoyances like lock screen ads and the limitations of Amazon’s app ecosystem. If that doesn't bother you, this is a good budget tablet to get.

Read our full Amazon Fire HD 8 review.

The best Samsung tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 review unitEditor's Choice

(Image credit: Future)

Specifications

CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Display: 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz
Storage: 128GB/256GB
Memory: 8GB RAM
Ports: USB-C, microSD
Dimensions: 9.99 x 6.51 x 0.25 inches
Weight: 1.1 pounds

Reasons to buy

+
AMOLED upgrade is great
+
Bright, beautiful display
+
Good speakers
+
Included S Pen stylus is a great value

Reasons to avoid

-
Slower than cheaper, older iPad Air
-
Middling battery life

The Galaxy Tab S9 is good at a lot of things, but it's best at being a premium Android tablet. You can use it to get work done in a pinch, but in our experience, it's best enjoyed as a speedy all-purpose device for making work and play a bit more enjoyable.

Though basically identical to last year's model, the S9 is more powerful and has a beautiful new AMOLED display that makes everything you do on it look great. On the couch, it's great for gaming or reading comics. At work, it's nice to have as a note-keeping device or secondary display, especially if you go through the trouble of investing in the Galaxy ecosystem and making your workspace DeX-friendly.

If you absolutely must have the biggest, baddest Android slate possible you probably want the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, but if you just need a great premium Android tablet the Galaxy Tab S9 delivers — and in the process, sets a new standard for what we should expect from the category.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 review.

The best smart home Android tablet

Google Pixel TabletTom's Guide Recommended product badge

(Image credit: Future)

Specifications

CPU: Tensor G2
Camera Resolution: 8MP, f/2.0 front and rear
Display: 11-inch 2560 x 1600 LCD, 60Hz
Storage: 128GB, 256GB
Ports: USB-C
Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches (tablet); 6.6 x 3.7 x 2.7 (dock)
Weight: 1.08 pounds

Reasons to buy

+
Charging dock a useful accessory
+
Good photo quality
+
Strong photo editing features

Reasons to avoid

-
Average performance
-
Few productivity accessories available

The Google Pixel Tablet stands out from every other on this list by being the only one to come with its own speaker/charging dock. It's both a tablet and a smart home device.

It's a clear attempt on Google's part to help the tablet stand out from the pack, and it pays off. No other tablet on the market doubles as an out-of-the-box smart home hub in quite the same way, and we found it works quite well.

The speakers on the tablet's charging dock are also great, delivering more satisfying bass at the expense of some treble. It's a solid Android tablet too, comparable to Apple's base iPad despite costing $50 less. However, its support for various smart home technologies varies, and it can't match the capabilities or sound quality of a good dedicated smart home hub like the Nest Hub Max. 

Read our full Google Pixel Tablet review.  

The best laptop replacement

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 UltraEditor's Choice

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Specifications

CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Camera Resolution: 12MP + 12MP UW (front), 13MP AF + 6MP UW (back)
Display: 14.6-inch, 2960 x 1848-pixel
Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Ports: 1x USB-C, microSD
Dimensions: 12.85 x 8.21 x 0.22 inches
Weight: 1.4 pounds
Wi-Fi: WiFi 6E (2.4/5/6GHz)

Reasons to buy

+
Gorgeous 14.6-inch OLED display
+
Slim, lightweight design
+
Fast performance

Reasons to avoid

-
Pricey compared to the competition
-
DeX mode is a poor Windows 11 imitation

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is the ultimate Samsung tablet for those who absolutely need a ginormous slate.

Like its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, this model features a gorgeous 14.6-inch OLED display, an ultra-slim svelte design and plenty of power thanks to its speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. If you’re ingrained in the Samsung ecosystem and need a tablet with laptop-like functionality, the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra will serve you well.

Of course, Samsung’s monstrous tablet isn’t flawless. While you can use it as a laptop when it’s paired with the Samsung Book Cover Keyboard, the accessory adds an extra $349 cost to an already pricey $1,200 machine. And while the Tab S9 Ultra is a light 1.6 pounds, its large size can make it cumbersome to use when compared to a smaller tablet.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review.

How to choose the best Android tablet

When it comes to picking the best Android tablet for you, start by thinking about the apps you want. Yes, battery life and performance are so similar across many of these tablets that you can easily cross off half of this list by thinking about if you need your next Android tablet for more than just Netflix and Spotify.

Those who want every single application on their Android phone should probably look away from the Amazon Fire tablets, as those require jumping through hoops (and disabling security protection features) to get Gmail or any of the Google apps as apps. If you don't need those apps on your tablet, or could stand to use older, less-than-stellar versions of those applications in a web browser, then you can consider the Fire tablets.

If you want all of the apps, you have three questions, each with its own answer. Are you mainly going to be consuming content? Get the Galaxy Tab S9. Looking for a machine where you can crank out a Word document and possibly replace your laptop? The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is right for you. 

Those OK with the limitations of Amazon tablets should grab a Fire 7 for less demanding uses, and the Fire HD 8 if they're shopping for folks with slightly higher standards. And if you're looking for the best of the budget bunch, the Fire HD 10 is right for you.

If you need more guidance, we have detailed buying guides for the best Samsung tablets, the best Amazon Fire tablets and the best cheap tablets.

How we test the best Android tablets

The first thing we do to separate the great tablets from the jokers is to test all their different facets. Our web-surfing-based battery test times how long a tablet can browse the internet for, with its display set to 150 nits of brightness. But in order to figure out what percentage of brightness equals 150 nits, we perform a series of display tests to measure how colorful the panel can get (measured with its sRGB output number) as well as how bright it can get. Then, we run benchmark tests on said tablet, including the latest version of the Geekbench general performance benchmark.

Another thing we do to evaluate Android tablets is check out the app store to see if you're getting a true Android experience or some company's vision thereof. The latter is a major disappointment — though we don't expect anything different from Amazon at this stage. On tablets with parental controls settings, we try and find the loopholes in said limitations, to find red flags before your kids can.

Then, we just use the tablets like we would if we owned them. Opening tab after tab and app after app to see if we can multitask without hiccups. We also watch YouTube videos because the color output (sRGB) and brightness (nits) measurements don't tell the whole story. Only through all of these tests, can we be sure that we're giving you a complete assessment of a tablet's value.

Tony Polanco
Computing Writer

Tony is a computing writer at Tom’s Guide covering laptops, tablets, Windows, and iOS. During his off-hours, Tony enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, reading speculative fiction novels, and spending too much time on X/Twitter. His non-nerdy pursuits involve attending Hard Rock/Heavy Metal concerts and going to NYC bars with friends and colleagues. His work has appeared in publications such as Laptop Mag, PC Mag, and various independent gaming sites.