It’s an exceptional device for its price and represents superb value for money. But it’s also considerably more expensive, and the entry-level iPad really doesn’t suffer from any unnecessary corners being cut. The iPad Air is the better tablet: it has a faster processor, more storage, a better rear camera, and second-generation Apple Pencil support.
Our full iPad 10.2-inch (9th Gen) review goes into it even deeper. There's also a smart new front camera that actually follows you if you move while on a video call, and always makes sure you're in the centre of the frame automatically – it's a really nice touch.Īnd despite being cheaper than the other iPad models, there's full support for everything iPadOS can do, and the full range of excellent apps available – so it can be an extremely powerful computer, as well as a way to watch YouTube. It also works the first-gen Apple Pencil, which means drawing or note-taking is highly accurate and responsive on it – though the charging process is awkward, and the iPad doesn't include a way to store the Pencil. The screen is still bright and sharp, and is now enhanced with Apple's True Tone tech, which adjust the colour balance to match the ambient lighting in your room, so that it's much easier on the eyes (and avoids the nasty blue tint that so many screens have). The storage options have been increased to 64GB or 256GB, which should be good sizes for most people, while the processor has been boosted to the slightly faster Apple A13 chip, which should make it more future-proof for receiving iPadOS updates well into the future.
The 9th generation iPad is the cheapest full-size Apple tablet, and it’s an evolution of its predecessor in some really useful ways. If you are looking for a fantastic all-round tablet experience the latest Apple iPad Air delivers, and does so at a firmly mid-tier price point. This is, in our opinion, the 'just right' product that will be ideal for most people on the market in 2021. You get much stronger specs and hardware than the standard iPad, but not quite the full works that you get on the iPad Pro. It's a really good balance of price, performance and portability, made even better by iPadOS. Price-wise and specs-wise this sits firmly in the mid-range of the Apple iPad tablet range at the moment, and that should tell you all you need to know about whether it's the best tablet for you. That extra power goes a long way to generate a more laptop-style experience.
This technically is the iPad Air 4, but it is more like the latest iPad Pro but with some of the more niche pro features removed – you can see a full run-down of iPad Air (2020) vs iPad Pro (2020).Īpple Pencil 2 support is here, though, and there's a smart connector for a keyboard too, so this is a slightly better proposition than the entry-level iPad for serious typists and those who will need to use their tablet for working. Our number one tablet recommendation for most people? That's the latest Apple iPad Air. And, crucially, you get it at an affordable price point. With the 5e, though, you get a quality all-round slate loaded with power and functionality. There's loads of cheap tablets on the market but with many of them you get what you pay for.
The best budget Android tablet is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e. In a rush? Here's our top three tablets in 2021. Whether it's a cheap tablet for the kids, an affordable Android or a premium iPad Pro, we've tapped it, swiped it and evaluated it to see if it deserves a place in our best tablets guide. To do that we've spent serious time building our guide to super slates and terrific tablets, covering every platform, every kind of user and every kind of budget. To put it simply: tablets are brilliant, and we want you to find the best tablet for you. The best tablets can also be very good computers: simply add a separate keyboard and you've got something that looks, works and feels very much like a laptop – and if you add a digital pencil, you've got an artist's easel or a really handy note taker.