2026 changed the tablet market more than any year in a while. Prices went up: Apple raised every iPad in June (the iPad Air went from $599 to $749), and Samsung and Lenovo raised theirs in April, all blamed on the cost of memory. Google left: the Pixel Tablet disappeared from stores in September and its successor was cancelled. And Amazon replaced its Fire tablets with new Android tablets that run the Google Play Store, shipping October 14.
With that in mind, here are the ten tablets we would buy today, one for each kind of buyer. Prices were checked on Amazon on October 10, 2026; Amazon is often below the new list prices.
Quick comparison
| # | Tablet | Best for | Screen | Amazon (Oct 10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple iPad Air (M4) | Best overall | 11” or 13” LCD, 60Hz | $649.00 (11”, 128GB) |
| 2 | Apple iPad Pro (M5) | Creatives | 11” or 13” tandem OLED, 120Hz | $1,099.99 (11”, 256GB) |
| 3 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 | Best Android | 11” AMOLED, 120Hz | $999.99 (128GB) |
| 4 | Apple iPad (A16) | Best value iPad | 11” LCD, 60Hz | $399.00 (128GB) |
| 5 | Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ | Best budget | 11” LCD, 90Hz | $289.00 (5G, 128GB) |
| 6 | Amazon Kids Tablet 11 | Kids and media | 11” 2.5K LCD, 90Hz | $329.99 (ships Oct 14) |
| 7 | Microsoft Surface Pro (2026) | Windows 2-in-1 | 13” LCD or OLED, 120Hz | $1,199.99 |
| 8 | Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro) | Small | 8.3” LCD, 60Hz | $569.00 (128GB) |
| 9 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE | Students | 10.9” LCD, 90Hz | $549.99 (128GB) |
| 10 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra | Large screen | 14.6” AMOLED, 120Hz | from $1,399.99 list |
1. Apple iPad Air (M4): the best tablet for most people
Why it’s good: the March 2026 iPad Air gets Apple’s M4 chip with 12GB of memory, up from 8GB, plus Wi-Fi 7 through Apple’s N1 chip. It comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, works with the Apple Pencil Pro and the Magic Keyboard for iPad Air, and Apple rates it for up to 10 hours. Tom’s Guide calls it “small tweaks to the gold standard”: fast enough for anything most people do on a tablet, for far less than an iPad Pro.
👤 Ideal for: almost everyone: notes, drawing, streaming, school and light work.
Keep in mind: the screen is a 60Hz LCD, not the iPad Pro’s 120Hz OLED. Apple’s list price is now $749, but Amazon had the 11-inch at $649.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
2. Apple iPad Pro (M5): the best for creatives
Why it’s good: the M5 iPad Pro has the best tablet screen you can buy: an Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED with ProMotion from 10 to 120Hz and up to 1,600 nits for HDR. Tom’s Guide measured about 11% faster CPU and 34% faster graphics than the M4 model. The 1TB and 2TB versions get a 10-core CPU and 16GB of memory.
👤 Ideal for: illustrators, photo and video editors, and anyone who uses a tablet as a main work device.
Keep in mind: Apple is reported to be preparing new iPad Pro models for spring 2027. The list price is now $1,199; Amazon had it at $1,099.99.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
3. Samsung Galaxy Tab S11: the best Android tablet
Why it’s good: an 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen at 120Hz, a MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ with 12GB of memory, IP68 water resistance and an S Pen in the box. Samsung promises 7 Android upgrades and 7 years of security updates, the longest support of any Android tablet. microSD lets you add storage cheaply.
👤 Ideal for: Android and Samsung phone users, note-takers, and anyone who wants a pen without paying extra.
Keep in mind: Amazon listed it at $999.99, above Samsung’s $899.99 list price after April’s increase. Check Samsung’s store too.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
4. Apple iPad (A16): the best value iPad
Why it’s good: the basic 11-inch iPad with the A16 chip does everything most families and students need, and Engadget measured 11 hours 19 minutes of battery life. It has a 2360x1640 screen, USB-C, and works with the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the Magic Keyboard Folio. With more than 29,000 ratings on Amazon at 4.7 stars, it is the safe pick.
👤 Ideal for: kids, streaming, reading, email and school work.
Keep in mind: it does not support Apple Intelligence, and the screen is not laminated. A new iPad with Apple Intelligence is reportedly not expected before 2027. Apple’s list price is $449; Amazon had it at $399.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
5. Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+: the best budget tablet
Why it’s good: an 11-inch 90Hz screen, a MediaTek Dimensity 7300, four speakers, a headphone jack, microSD up to 2TB and the same 7 years of updates as Samsung’s expensive tablets. Android Authority called it the best budget Android tablet “by default”, and with the Pixel Tablet and Fire tablets gone, it is.
👤 Ideal for: video, reading, games for kids, and a shared family tablet on a tight budget.
Keep in mind: the Amazon listing we checked is the 5G unlocked model at $289.00; the Wi-Fi-only version lists at $299.99. There is no pen.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
6. Amazon Kids Tablet 11: the new pick for kids and media
Why it’s good: Amazon’s new tablets replace Fire OS with Android 16 and the Google Play Store. The Kids Tablet 11 has an 11-inch 2.5K screen at 90Hz, 8GB of memory, a kid-proof case, parental controls and a year of Kids+ content included, for $329.99. Amazon claims up to 15 hours of video. An adult version, the Alexa Tablet 11, costs the same.
👤 Ideal for: children (age 6 to 12 version linked below; there is also a 3+ version) and families who want a durable, managed tablet.
Keep in mind: it ships October 14, so there are no full independent reviews yet, and Amazon has not stated how many years of updates it will get. If you need one today, the Galaxy Tab A11+ is the safer choice.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
7. Microsoft Surface Pro (2026): the best Windows 2-in-1
Why it’s good: a full Windows 11 PC in tablet form, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Plus or X2 Elite, 16GB of memory or more, and a 13-inch 120Hz screen (OLED optional). Notebookcheck measured 11 hours 50 minutes of Wi-Fi browsing and graphics 40 to 53% faster than the 2024 model.
👤 Ideal for: students and professionals who need real Windows apps, Office and a keyboard in a tablet.
Keep in mind: the keyboard and pen are sold separately, and CPU speed barely changed from the previous model. A smaller 12-inch Surface Pro starting at $1,149 launches October 13.
Related: our ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review covers a Ryzen AI Max+ 395 Windows tablet, and Minisforum’s V3 tablet shows what happens when a Windows tablet stops getting updates.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
8. Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro): the best small tablet, but wait two weeks
Why it’s good: an 8.3-inch tablet that fits in a jacket pocket, with the A17 Pro chip, Apple Intelligence support and Apple Pencil Pro support. Nothing else this small is this capable.
👤 Ideal for: reading, travel, pilots and anyone who wants a tablet in one hand.
Keep in mind: multiple reports, including Bloomberg on October 8, say Apple will introduce an OLED iPad mini in late October. Unless you need one now, wait: either buy the new model or get this one on discount. Amazon had the Wi-Fi 128GB at $569.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
9. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE: the best for students
Why it’s good: a 10.9-inch 90Hz screen, IP68, a large 10,090mAh battery, microSD and an S Pen in the box, with Samsung’s 7-year update promise. It is the pen-included Android answer to the basic iPad.
👤 Ideal for: students who take handwritten notes and want a tablet that survives a backpack.
Keep in mind: list price is $549.99 after April’s increase, which Amazon matched when we checked. It is often $380 to $450 on sale.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
10. Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra: the best large tablet
Why it’s good: a huge 14.6-inch AMOLED at 120Hz and 1,600 nits, in a body just 5.1mm thick, with the new Dimensity 9500, up to 16GB of memory and an S Pen in the box. Engadget gave it 9/10 and measured 19 hours 39 minutes of video playback.
👤 Ideal for: artists, multitaskers and anyone who wants a laptop-sized screen without a laptop.
Keep in mind: it costs $1,399.99 at list, $200 more than the S11 Ultra, which is almost the same tablet and often cheaper. We did not find the S12 Ultra on Amazon yet; Samsung sells it directly.
Tablets we left out
- Google Pixel Tablet: discontinued, with no successor.
- Amazon Fire HD and Fire Max: no longer made; existing ones get updates for 4 more years.
- OnePlus Pad 3 and Lenovo Yoga Tab: good tablets at $699.99 and $619.99, but the Samsung picks have longer update promises.
- Xiaomi and Honor tablets: strong value, but not officially sold in the US.
Need more than a tablet? See our new laptops section, including the Surface Laptop Ultra with NVIDIA RTX Spark.
Prices checked on Amazon on October 10, 2026, and they are changing often this year.