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Best Tablets for College Students

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Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
Apple 2021 iPad Pro
Apple
2021 iPad Pro
The New Standard

Premier iPad is perfect as a laptop replacement and works with iPhones and Mac products for a streamlined connection between your devices.

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The New Standard
Bottom Line

Premier iPad is perfect as a laptop replacement and works with iPhones and Mac products for a streamlined connection between your devices.

Pros

All-day battery life is perfect for a long day of class, studying, homework, and music. Features 512GB of storage and the 12.9-inch screen makes every pixel pop. M1 chip keeps the iPad running through heavy use. Pairs with Apple Pencil for next-level digital note-taking.

Cons

Keyboard and mouse sold separately.

Best Bang for the Buck
Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus Tablet
Amazon
Fire HD 10 Plus Tablet
Down-time Tablet

A 10-inch display and 12-hour battery life make this ideal for viewing media or browsing social media during off-hours.

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Down-time Tablet
Bottom Line

A 10-inch display and 12-hour battery life make this ideal for viewing media or browsing social media during off-hours.

Pros

Integrates with Alexa and can connect with other Amazon devices. Has a headphone jack and a USB-C charging port. Expandable storage via an SD card and an ad-displaying lock screen further reduces its cost.

Cons

Doesn't have the same breadth of features as competitors.

Apple 2021 iPad Mini
Apple
2021 iPad Mini
Ultra-portable

The 6th-generation iPad Mini brings styling and features from the Pro and Air down to a highly portable size.

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Ultra-portable
Bottom Line

The 6th-generation iPad Mini brings styling and features from the Pro and Air down to a highly portable size.

Pros

Rounded corners and squared edges for an updated look. Widescreen 12MP front camera provides excellent video conferencing. A15 processor is fast and capable for most apps. Stereo speakers are now in landscape orientation. Comes with USB-C port for wide compatibility.

Cons

Doesn't have an M1 processor. Screen and keyboard can feel cramped.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A8
Samsung
Galaxy Tab A8
Simple Yet Solid

An up-to-date USB-C port, nice screen size, and excellent reviews make this affordable Android tablet a great value.

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Simple Yet Solid
Bottom Line

An up-to-date USB-C port, nice screen size, and excellent reviews make this affordable Android tablet a great value.

Pros

Roomy 1900 x 1200-pixel, 10.5-inch screen is great for watching videos for study or entertainment. Internal storage from 32 to 128GB provides room for storing media on the device. The 7,040 mAh battery enables hours of operation. USB-C port ensures up-to-date standard connectivity.

Cons

LCD screen not as good as OLED. The cameras are mediocre.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Samsung
Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Excellent Value

A more affordable version of the S6 that still delivers the same great performance and display.

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Excellent Value
Bottom Line

A more affordable version of the S6 that still delivers the same great performance and display.

Pros

The simple design promotes portability and makes it a great smartphone replacement. AMOLED display is still stunning and delivers solid color and brightness. UI has many customization options to suit every user’s needs.

Cons

S Pen has some issues with this device.

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

First Reviewed
August 22, 2021
30
Models
considered
8
Hours
researched
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Buying guide for Best tablets for college students

laura
Written by laura

Updated November 2022

Small size and portability are both big pluses with a tablet, especially when choosing a tablet for a college student. Tablets excel at web surfing, e-books, app usage, and streaming. A keyboard or stylus peripheral adds functionality and can be particularly good for note taking as well as art disciplines.

Tablets offer a great replacement for textbooks since downloading is instant and often cheaper. In some cases, a tablet may offer all the technology a student needs, although some college programs insist on a laptop. Even then, a tablet is also a good bet as a supplemental tool for additional uses including social media and connectivity, like video chat. Look for a tablet with long battery life, a decent display size, and good storage space.

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Focus on your schoolwork on your tablet by putting the most important apps on the home screen. You can customize your tablet and put apps into folders or on separate screens. We recommend putting some care into what apps you include on the default home screen. Minimize distractions by keeping mobile games out of sight.

Key considerations

Before you start looking, think about how you’ll be using your tablet and what kind of tablet you want. Start by answering these questions.

Do you want a tablet as a laptop replacement or a secondary device?

Think about some of the typical tasks you’ll be doing on your tablet. If you intend to use your tablet full time as your primary device, you can do that; you’ll just need to look at the most powerful and most expensive models. If you’re getting a tablet for use as a secondary device, you can save a lot of money by looking at models with smaller screens and fewer bells and whistles.

What size screen do you need?

Tablet screen sizes range anywhere from 7 to 13 inches, and the user experience can be entirely different based on what size you get. Bigger screens are also more expensive, so consider how you might want to balance price point with screen real estate. Our best advice: if you’re getting a tablet as a secondary device to your laptop, a 7- or 9.7-inch screen will work well, but if you’re getting a tablet as your primary device, a 10.5- or 12.9-inch screen is a better choice.

Features of tablets for college students

When you’re ready to start comparing models, start with these features to see how they stack up against one another.

Screen resolution

While the screen size definitely determines how big your tablet is, screen resolution controls how sharp the image quality is. Some tablets with larger screens compromise on resolution, so compare the numbers when looking at different models. We recommend a minimum screen resolution of 1200 x 1800. Some premium tablets have screens with resolutions of up to 2732 x 2048.

Speed

Every tablet has a central processing unit (CPU) on board, which controls how fast it is. The problem is that tablets all use different CPUs that are hard to compare. The bottom line: pay attention to how different tablets are marketed. If you see a tablet that’s shown doing simple or passive tasks, like streaming movies or basic mobile games, it will be moderately fast. If you see a tablet that’s marketed for completing active tasks (like editing photos, creating video content, or working with spreadsheets), it will likely have a CPU on board that’s fast enough to keep up.

File storage

Consider how much space you’ll need for your apps and personal files. If you mostly use web-based services or small files, you don’t need a lot of onboard storage. On the other hand, if you want to keep a lot of your personal media on hand, or your schoolwork involves a lot of larger files, you’re going to need a lot of space. Check to see if the model you’re considering has expandable storage, and if it doesn’t, make sure to get one with enough room by default. We typically recommend starting with a minimum of 64 GB.

Unique accessories

There are a lot of unique add-ons for tablets out there, and a lot of them are proprietary, so spend some time browsing peripherals first. Check to see if there are any official matching keyboards, styluses, or cases with unique functionality. It can add a lot of conveniences.

"If you plan to present work from your tablet, get an HDMI adapter. It makes it easy to connect your tablet to a TV or projector and share your screen for presentations and demonstrations. Tablet HDMI adapters can be expensive, but they’re good at what they do, so they’re worth it."
STAFF
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Price of tablets for college students

Inexpensive

Between $50 and $200, you’ll find entry-level and mid-range Android tablets. Screen sizes tend to be smaller, although there are a few ten-inch options that are worthwhile. When it comes to tablets, inexpensive doesn’t mean cheap, so if you’re looking for a moderately powerful tablet that’s good as a secondary device, you don’t have to spend a lot.

Mid-range

Between $200 and $500, you’ll see tablets that are plenty fast and have big, beautiful screens. Models in this price range are a little fancier and come with nicer finishes. Some models even include LTE connectivity, so you can get web access without WiFi (although you’ll need a data plan from a wireless provider to do that). If you’re looking for a tablet that will last several years and has a high-quality screen, this is the price range to keep in mind.

Expensive

Between $500 and $1,400 are the tablets that strive to be laptop replacements. Models in this price range pull out all the stops: tons of onboard storage, enormous 13-inch screens, and ten-hour battery life all cost at least this much. If you’re looking for a tablet that can act as your main machine for your entire college career, this is how much you’ll need to spend.

Tips

  • Take advantage of your tablet’s built-in security features. All tablets have basic security features included by default, such as passcode entry. Enable every security option that comes on your tablet, and if you’re using any sensitive online accounts on your tablet, make sure those are protected by two-factor authentication.
  • Keep a power bank handy. Tablet batteries last a while, and in most cases all day, but sometimes they run out of power at inopportune times. We’re big believers in being prepared, so we always recommend keeping a spare charger or two around for just those moments. Start by determining how big your tablet battery is, measured in milliamp hours (mAH), and then get a power bank that can store enough mAH to recharge your tablet at least twice.
  • Pick a cloud service. There are dozens of cloud services available for storing, backing up, and sharing your documents, and it’s easy to find yourself with files spread across multiple platforms. Create a backup strategy before you start using your tablet and consolidate all of your content to a single service like DropBox, Google Drive, or Amazon Drive, so you never have to waste time trying to remember where a particular file is.
A person in a long sleeved blue shirt holds a tablet with a blue cover while sitting on a park bendch.
Get a case and a screen protector for your tablet to keep it safe. Accidents happen, and tablet screens get scratched or cracked. If you’re carrying your tablet everywhere, get a rugged case and screen protector made of glass for extra protection.

FAQ

Q. Can I use Microsoft Word on a tablet?

A. Yes! Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint all have mobile versions that you can download to your tablet for viewing and creating work files. You’ll need to subscribe to their online service, Microsoft Office 365, to edit documents and take advantage of cloud storage, but viewing documents is typically free (and there are dozens of good third-party apps that can view files made with Office).

Q. Can I add file storage space to my tablet after I get it?

A. It depends. Android tablets usually include microSD card slots so you can add storage. Apple’s iPads cannot be upgraded beyond the storage included, although both platforms work well with cloud services that can help relieve some of the burden of local storage. If you plan on keeping your large collections of photos, music, or movies on your tablet, get one with as much built-in storage as you can just to be safe.

Q. Do tablets typically include headphones?

A. Not usually. Most tablet manufacturers expect you to bring your own headphones to the party, and some tablets don’t have headphone jacks, so you’ll need to make sure you’ve got a pair of Bluetooth headphones. It’s actually a good thing that headphones aren’t included. There are so many affordable options in different form factors, colors, and features that we recommend picking out the perfect pair separately.

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