Best tablet for students 2023

It's back to school season once again, and if you're looking for a stellar student tablet, you've come to the right place. We understand that when it comes to buying a school-friendly device, you want something that's powerful enough to last all day yet durable and lightweight enough to carry in a backpack. Something that's equally handy for scribbling notes in class and streaming movies after class, with enough power to be productive, but at a low enough price that you can afford it. 

Luckily, there are plenty of options out there, and we've gathered them all below. Our favorite overall pick that checks nearly all boxes is the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus, which has the S Pen included, has plenty of RAM for fast performance, and sports a beautiful display for procrastinating. But of course, every student is different, so keep reading to see all of the best options under the sun. 

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At a glance

Best overall

If you need a tablet capable of handling almost any task, then you don't want to look past the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus. You'll also be happy to know that Samsung includes an S Pen with every purchase, so you don't have to fork over extra cash for extra productivity.

Under the hood, the Tab S8 Plus sports 8GB of RAM, and either 128GB or 256GB of expandable storage. This combines with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, the same flagship chipset that also appeared in the Galaxy S22 lineup. It offers all of the power and smarts to enable Samsung DeX Mode, which turns your Tab S8 Plus into a desktop-like experience. 

Playing around on what is essentially a desktop on a 12.4-inch display is an extremely portable experience that you won't want to leave behind. And while battery life isn't as impressive as the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, we found that the Tab S8 Plus lasted for somewhere between 9 and 12 hours regularly. 

While you won't have to pay extra for the amazing S Pen and those features, you will want the full package. Unfortunately, this means extra dough upfront to get the Samsung Keyboard Cover or another Bluetooth keyboard to stay productive during classes.

Best Apple tablet

Despite our site focusing on all things Android, our laudatory iPad Air 2022 review shows that we're not afraid to acknowledge when Apple knocks it out of the park. While not as large as the iPad Pro 2021, the iPad Air (2022) offers impressive performance for demanding creativity apps at about half the price compared to the iPad Pro.

It has a lightweight, thin-bezel design with five metallic color finishes, Touch ID built into the power button, and two powerful speakers. Its 2360x1640 LCD only hits 60Hz (compared to 120Hz on the Tab S8+), but it hits 500 nits of brightness with anti-reflective coating, perfect for use in direct sunlight or for late-night binges. 

Its Apple M1 chipset — also found in the excellent iPad Pro and MacBook Air — produces incredible performance speeds that surpass the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 found in the best Android tablets. You can even add cellular data if your school's Wi-Fi network isn't reliable.

Add in iPadOS — better optimized in general than Android tablet apps — and USB-C charging, and the iPad Air 2022 has very few downsides. You'll have to pay a good chunk for extra storage since the 64GB base variant really isn't enough. And as is the case with many Apple products, its battery life is only so-so, with about an eight-hour average just out of the box in our tests. Still, it's great for students and non-students alike.

Best value

With the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, the company opted to replace the S5e that previously had been one of our favorite value tablets. With this new tablet, you'll get a familiar, lightweight, sleek design, along with the solid specs you would expect from a Samsung tablet.

Samsung has equipped the S6 Lite with 12 hours of battery life, along with a microSD card slot, making it a perfect tablet for storing classwork or media files. The company also unveiled an updated S Pen, which sports a new design, a finer tip, and improved latency than the S Pen found with the standard Galaxy Tab S6. All of this makes for an impressive Android tablet, packed with loads of features and more to do almost anything for you.

With a 10.4-inch screen and just 4GB of memory, it's a more compact model that'll work great for scratching out notes and streaming Netflix, but isn't built for laptop-level efficiency. But as it sells for less than half the price of the S8+, it's a much better choice for students planning to do most of their work on a laptop anyway. There's no point in overpaying for features that most students won't need.

Considering that the Tab S6 Lite is aimed at the value market, some corners had to be cut. Going back to media consumption, Samsung included two AKG-tuned speakers instead of the four found in its sibling, the Tab S6. Plus, the microSD card slot can only use up to a 512GB card, while other tablets offer support up to 1TB.

Best Chromebook

2-in-1 Chromebooks like the Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Duet 3 work well for parents or students looking for a tablet designed with a detachable keyboard in mind, letting it double as your laptop once you're back to your room or dorm. The Duet is one of the best Chromebook tablets for students by far thanks to its epic battery life, included productivity accessories, bright display, and very reasonable price.

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 sports a 10.9-inch display with 400 nits of brightness, enough that it'll remain visible in direct sunlight. It has a 7000mAh battery that could last you several days on casual use, or about 10–12 hours with constant use. It doesn't have the most power with its 4GB of RAM and 64GB of base storage, but Chromebooks like the Duet 3 are designed to handle most Chrome OS apps without using much power.

You'll slot on the attachable keyboard and type notes during class, then pull it off and enjoy relaxing with your favorite media apps. Because ChromeOS is fully designed for both touchscreens and laptops, it'll work well in either context. 

Unlike many of our other picks, it lacks a microSD card slot, so you'll have to make do with just 64GB-128GB of storage. That should be plenty if your notes, homework, or creative projects can be stored in the cloud.

If you want affordable, portable power for your school laptop, you can also check out the best student Chromebooks.

Best cheap tablet

Many of the perks that make the Galaxy Tab A8 our best cheap Android tablet pick also apply to why students will love it. It has a hefty 7040mAh battery that'll never die on you in class, plus USB-C charging, so it can quickly jump back up to full capacity. 

It has quad speakers that'll make movie nights a blast and drive your roommate nuts. At just barely over a pound (508 grams) with a 10.5-inch display, it's lightweight enough for its size to make holding it while reading textbooks easy. 

We're huge fans of the design. Most budget tablets like the Fire HD 10 and base iPad have thick, uneven bezels, while the Galaxy Tab A8 looks more uniform and attractive, particularly thanks to its aluminum finish. And alongside the USB-C port, we also think students will appreciate the headphone jack and 1TB-capable microSD card slot.

Its Unisoc Tiger T618 chipset and up to 4GB of RAM aren't particularly powerful, but certainly respectable for its price range. While some students will miss the quick fingerprint scanner you get with the Tab S8+, there is at least facial recognition for a quick unlock. And its 1920x1200 display, while not as vivid as Samsung's other AMOLED panels, does give you a slight upgrade on 1080p displays.

Best Amazon tablet

With its new 2021 tablets, Amazon focused on making them more "productive," selling a Productivity bundle that includes a snap-on Bluetooth keyboard, Microsoft 365 subscription, and 1TB of cloud storage alongside the new Fire HD 10 Plus. Our reviewer was very impressed with the new tablet as an alternative to cheap 2-in-1 Chromebooks for getting work done.

You can buy the standard Fire HD 10 or the Plus for $30 extra, which gives you 4GB of RAM instead of 3GB, and enables wireless charging. Since the tablet is already so affordable, we'd recommend choosing the Plus, which gives scrolling and typing some extra smoothness and responsiveness. 

You can now split-screen apps to be productive while streaming your video app of choice, and that extra memory will come in handy then. It can even double as an Echo Show if having a smart display appeals to you.

Otherwise, the Fire HD 10 Plus hasn't changed much from its 2019 predecessor. It still has a 1080p display that gets bright, but isn't particularly pretty. It still runs a version of Android 9 that doesn't incorporate the new advances and improvements in Android since then. 

You also can't access Play Store apps unless you sideload them; that makes your app options much more limited than if you used a traditional Android tablet. Despite the new productivity branding, some students may simply enjoy it as a cheap way to enjoy streaming apps.

Also, if the "students" you're shopping for are children or pre-teens, Amazon sells a Kids Pro edition with similar performance, excellent parental controls, and fun apps geared towards kids.

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How to choose

How to pick the best tablet for students

It's easy to see why the tablet market is dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung. These are the most reliable options on the market, are more durable than others, and pack the most features compared to the competition. But if you're trying to figure out what the best student tablet is, there are a few things to take into consideration.

Pretty much any of these tablets are capable of running video calling apps or services, so that's not really much of a concern. But if you need to do any presentations, you'll be better suited for something like the iPad Air or the Tab S8+ thanks to the superior camera quality for video calls. Apple and Samsung have also included features that make sure that you remain in the center of the frame, at all times, thanks to built-in software capabilities.

Another deciding factor when picking a tablet is what you actually plan on using it for. Do you need stylus support where Samsung's S Pen and the Chromebook Duet 3's USI compatibility come in handy? Or would you prefer to type out your notes, essentially turning your tablet into a laptop? 

Lenovo's Chromebook Duet 3 is the only option on this list that includes a keyboard cover in the box, however, there are some first-party and third-party case options available for the others. 

When it comes to battery life, there isn't a single option on this list for the best student tablets that won't last at least eight hours. And the Tab S8+ is arguably above the rest, as you'll be able to get up to 12 hours on a single charge unless you start messing around and are watching YouTube or Netflix instead of studying.

There are some other features that might entice you to one tablet or another. For example, many of the best Samsung tablets include DeX mode, which gets rid of the basic Android interface in favor of a desktop-like one. This includes using apps in different windows, as opposed to relying on multitasking gestures. 

Apple's M1 iPad Pro will also be getting a similar feature in the form of Stage Manager when iPadOS 16 is released, but that's not expected to arrive until sometime in September. 

Bottom line

There are quite a few different Android tablets to pick from, especially if you're a student. Of course, use-cases are different for everyone, but our favorite Android tablet is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE for almost every situation. 

It has plenty of power for multitasking and getting some work done, but best of all, Samsung includes an S Pen in the box, allowing you to take notes wherever along with using the S Pen's features.

You can take advantage of the new Samsung DeX Mode for more of a desktop-like experience when you pick up Samsung's Keyboard Cover. Since the processor is 5G-enabled, the tablet can take advantage of the fastest network speeds. Going from class to class and not needing to rely on spotty Wi-Fi can be a real game-changer.

If you're looking for more options, check out our best Android tablets for kids to shop for the younger students in your lives, or our choices for the best Android tablets overall.

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