12 best tablets for 2024, from Apple iPad models to Samsung Galaxy
Tablets have come a long way since Apple launched the iPad more than a decade ago. It wasn’t the first tablet on the market but it was – and remains – the most important. Its sleek design, unbelievably intuitive interface and its carefully optimised apps made it an immediate hit, and successive releases have built on the original offering.
The range of available apps is now around 1.8 million, and the ones for the iPad are either unique to, or optimised for, the larger display a tablet offers. Apple’s range still dominates, but there are plenty of other brands that have made tablets of their own.
For value, it’s hard to beat the basic but highly useful fire range from Amazon. Samsung makes tablets with high-end OLED screens, while Microsoft squeezes a full-on Windows computer into a thin glass-and-metal slab. All have wifi connectivity and a few – mostly from Apple and Microsoft – have options with cellular connectivity, so you can stay online wherever there’s a mobile signal. Although, these cellular options have a price premium.
No longer is a tablet just a convenient way to consume video or read an ebook. Now, you can use it like a regular laptop with a keyboard option, a digital canvas (with the addition of a stylus) or play thousands of video games.
How we tested the best tablets
Fore each of the tablets, the first test was how easy it was to set up, and how quickly you could use it after opening the box. We looked at how straightforward it was to use the devices, and how quickly we could transfer personal data to them. Apple’s system was almost impossible to beat in this regard: place the
