Best Tablet 2026: Top Tablets From Apple, Samsung, Amazon and More
Key takeaways
- Fear not non-Apple users, there are plenty of other quality tablets I've tested, including several appealing Android tablets, and they're all on this list.
- CNET provides expert, unbiased reviews of products and services.
- A lot of the time, just going with the basics is best.
Apple still has the highest global market share for tablets, according to recent data, and all its i Pads are among the best you can buy, including the entry-level 11th-gen i Pad and i Pad Air M3, both of which were released in 2025 (the newish seventh-gen i Pad Mini was released in late 2024). Note that Apple typically announces upgrades to its entry-level i Pad and i Pad Air in the spring, so expect a 12th-gen i Pad with an A18 or A19 chip (and perhaps 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB) and an i Pad Air M4 in the next few months. Fear not non-Apple users, there are plenty of other quality tablets I've tested, including several appealing Android tablets, and they're all on this list. I've also selected some affordable budget tablets, which are good for consuming media or playing casual games but don't quite qualify as a professional productivity tool or true laptop replacement.
CNET provides expert, unbiased reviews of products and services. When we assign a score, we use a scale of 1-10. Each product we score is evaluated by criteria specific to its category with most assessing pricing, quality, features and performance.
A lot of the time, just going with the basics is best. That's certainly the case with the Apple iPad.