Positive, most individuals’s go-to pill will doubtless be an iPad however there are many the explanation why an Android-based pill may make for a greater match, and we’ve rounded up vary of choices value contemplating.
Android tablets range in dimension and high quality, however some are exceptionally good worth and may make very very good iPad alternate options for these with smaller budgets. Within the chart beneath we rank the very best Android tablets available for purchase within the UK in 2022.
When you don’t particularly want an Android pill, make sure to try our record of the
greatest tablets for any working system, together with the newest iPads and the occasional Home windows pill.
Greatest Android Tablets 2022
1. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely – Greatest total
Professionals
Beautiful 120Hz show
Stellar efficiency
Included S Pen
Cons
Worth
Middling software program optimisation
No charger in-box
Offered you’re not postpone by the Tab S8 Extremely’s sheer dimension or sizeable asking worth, it stands as probably the most succesful Android pill accessible proper now.
On the entrance, you’ll discover an expansive, crisp and vibrant 14.6in 120Hz AMOLED show with help for the included S Pen stylus. Efficiency is top-notch, because of the newest Snapdragon Eight Gen 1 chipset and when paired with the devoted keyboard cowl (bought individually) the Tab S8 Extremely is equally at dwelling as a killer multimedia machine or a productiveness slate.
Samsung has achieved properly to tailor its person expertise to the Tab S8 Extremely’s massive show, however Android has its personal native quirks that current a couple of challenges to any pill operating on Google’s cell OS.
Learn our full
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely assessment
2. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ – Very good efficiency
Professionals
Beautiful show
Stellar efficiency
Nice audio system
Cons
Middling software program optimisation
S-Pen charging is awkward
Whereas the Galaxy Tab S8 collection is anticipated to be proper across the nook is the plain alternative on the prime finish of the Android pill market, 2020’s Galaxy Tab S7+ continues to be an excellent slate value contemplating, particularly as its worth continues to fall.
As with its successors, it’s so succesful that what the S7+ actually highlights is the disparity between the {hardware} and the underdeveloped nature of Android as a pill OS.
Samsung has labored laborious to optimise the person expertise on its Tabs and it’s additionally helped in no small quantity by the slate’s uncooked energy and wonderful S Pen stylus.
This additionally makes for an excellent media slate, because of its gorgeous display and wonderful audio system.
Learn our full
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ assessment
3. Xiaomi Pad 5 – Nice worth
Professionals
Beautiful show
Good efficiency
Slim design
Cons
Lacklustre selfie digital camera
MIUI not for everybody
MSRP:
Unavailable within the US
It’s been some time since Xiaomi supplied up a slate on the worldwide stage however its return to the pill house – within the type of the Xiaomi Pad 5 – is pleasingly compelling.
The pill boasts a skinny design that’s fronted by a beautiful 2.5K 120Hz show and comes backed up by nice stereo audio system and strong efficiency in addition.
Simply as with its telephones, Xiaomi’s tablet-optimised tackle its MIUI person expertise gained’t swimsuit everybody but it surely’s wholly usable, and whereas the added connectivity discovered on the Chinese language fashions doesn’t make it to most markets internationally, there’s nonetheless little else on the Android aspect of the fence we’d advocate across the Pad 5’s asking worth.
Learn our full
Xiaomi Pad 5 assessment
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021) – Most inexpensive
Professionals
Good design
Good battery life
Spectacular audio
Cons
Underwhelming show
Restricted inside storage
Sluggish charger in-box
The Galaxy Tab A8 makes a welcome return to Samsung’s pill vary, sporting a pretty design and different standout qualities, together with spectacular audio chops.
The show and the restricted inside storage are its greatest shortcomings, holding it again from being an prompt inexpensive media participant advice, but it surely nonetheless affords respectable battery life and affords an in any other case balanced all-round expertise, particularly for the value.
Learn our full
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 assessment
5. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE – Nice for productiveness
Professionals
Good design
Nice battery life
Stylus in-box
Cons
Underwhelming show
Middling efficiency
Expensive
MSRP:
From $529.99 (Wi-Fi), $669.99 (5G)
The Galaxy Tab S7 FE is certainly extra of a fundamental productiveness and leisure slate, fairly than a laptop computer substitute, just like the full-fat entries within the Tab S7 household that it adopted, however meaning its abilities lie in its featherweight design and as a superb instrument for note-taking, with Samsung together with its S Pen stylus in-box, for good measure.
A 60Hz LCD panel is the largest upset, as shows are an space the place Samsung’s tablets – significantly inside its Tab S household – normally excel.
Competitors within the mid-range pill house can also be lastly hotting up, with Xiaomi’s Pad 5 trumping it at virtually each flip, for much less.
Learn our full
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE assessment
6. Lenovo Yoga Tab 11 – Nice all-rounder
Professionals
Versatile design
Sharp show
Good battery life
Respectable worth
Cons
Common efficiency
Android quirks
Lenovo Yoga Tabs have typically experimented with uncommon designs, embodied most clearly by their versatile built-in kickstands.
The Tab 11 won’t be probably the most highly effective slate on the block but it surely delivers an awesome audiovisual expertise, sturdy battery life and handy usability, because of that signature kickstand; all at a compelling worth.
Android on tablets nonetheless isn’t sensible however that’s not a problem distinctive to the Yoga Tab 11.
Learn our full
Lenovo Yoga Tab 11 assessment
7. Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 – Nice for leisure
Professionals
Massive show
Handy kickstand design
Respectable efficiency
Cons
Solely 60Hz LCD panel
Android quirks
Overpriced
If the Yoga Tab 11 is just too small in your wants, Lenovo additionally launched a 13in mannequin, which boasts superior efficiency and even higher audio output from its quad-speaker setup.
It shares within the Tab 11’s standout design, full with an built-in kickstand, though construct high quality isn’t fairly as polished as we’d like and we might have beloved an OLED panel rather than the LCD that options.
An even bigger kind issue additionally means a bigger battery, serving to with its strengths as a media participant, whereas its skill to perform as a second display is a neat social gathering trick too.
Just like the 11in mannequin, it falls foul of Android’s inflexibility on tablets and it’s dearer than its {hardware} would recommend, which may be sufficient to place some off.
Learn our full
Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 assessment
8. Amazon Hearth HD 10 Children Professional (2021) – Greatest for teenagers
Professionals
Trendy & light-weight
Good guarantee
Properly-designed case
Cons
No Alexa in children profiles
Lacks Prime Video content material
Overpriced
Each a giant pill for teenagers and a pill ideally suited for larger children, that is the primary time Amazon has taken considered one of its child-centric slates ‘Professional’.
The HD 10 Children Professional runs on the identical underlying {hardware} as its general-purpose alter ego however comes with a protecting case, one 12 months’s entry to Children+ (which incorporates leisure, apps, books and many others.) and a two-year guarantee that features a no-questions-asked substitute in case your little ones handle to decommission the slate the primary time round.
The included case is a bit more grown-up wanting than the standard Children bumper, as is the UI that exhibits up on-screen. The person expertise is nearer to that of inventory FireOS however makes for simple exercise monitoring and leaves out entry to sure age-gated content material or apps (like Netflix), which need to be authorized by a dad or mum earlier than being put in.
It’s a disgrace the kid-friendly model of Alexa isn’t supported – although the pill itself does facilitate such performance – and sure kid-suitable Prime films simply don’t make an look with out cause.
Learn our full
Amazon Hearth HD 10 Children Professional assessment
9. Lenovo Tab P12 Professional – Excessive-end with bundled stylus
Professionals
Very good 12.6in AMOLED show
Crisp sounding quad audio system
Responsive stylus included
Properly-considered software program
Cons
Costly
Efficiency strong however not prime tier
Sub par battery life
These in search of an alternative choice to the iPad Professional and Galaxy Tab S8 vary ought to think about the Lenovo Tab P12 Professional.
There’s loads to love about this trendy Android pill, so long as you just like the Storm Gray choice because it’s the one one. For starters, it has a big 12.6in AMOLED display with wonderful color efficiency and, mixed with the Dolby-Atmos supporting quad audio system, make the P12 Professional appropriate for a variety of duties.
You additionally get a stylus included making it much more versatile; purchase the optionally available keyboard and also you’ve probably bought your self a laptop computer substitute. Software program is helpful for various use-cases and the pill must be one of many first to get Android 12L, too.
Lenovo’s asking worth is a tad excessive and it’s value noting that the older Snapdragon 870 processor means this isn’t as properly future-proofed as some rivals. Battery life can also be inferior to we’d count on for a premium gadget.
Learn our full
Lenovo Tab P12 Professional assessment
10. Nokia T20 – Extremely versatile
Professionals
Good show
Strong battery life
Extremely inexpensive
Cons
Underwhelming efficiency
Primary cameras
No productiveness equipment
For the cash, there’s little else within the stock-Android house we’d advocate, tablet-wise.
Nokia’s return to the pill market seems to fill an area that’s plagued by poor high quality unknown manufacturers by providing the T20 up with most of the sensibilities that make its finances smartphones so interesting.
A tasteful design, good 2K show and nice battery life are the principle highlights, whereas cameras and basic efficiency are much less succesful than we’d hoped (though not completely shocking, contemplating the T20’s inexpensive nature).
Learn our full
Nokia T20 assessment
What to search for in an Android pill
Android tablets are very similar to iPads. The primary distinction is the working system (or OS) on which they run: Google’s Android platform. Android, as you’re prone to discover it on most gadgets, comes with an app retailer all its personal, known as the Play Retailer.
Chances are high all the favored apps you’d discover on an iPad operating iOS may even be accessible to Android customers too, nonetheless, there are the odd exceptions or these instances the place an Android model of an app takes a bit longer to seem than it does on iPadOS.
As for Amazon’s Hearth tablets, issues are a bit completely different, as they run on a forked model of Android that’s closely customised, locked down and employs Amazon’s personal app retailer rather than the Google Play Retailer. Hearth tablets make for good children’ tablets, so when you’re after a pill for a kid, try our record of the
greatest tablets for teenagers.
What dimension pill ought to I purchase?
The very first thing to contemplate (aside from finances) is display dimension. This ranges from round 7in to 13in, though for most individuals, an 8in or 9in pill represents the very best compromise between usability and portability.
With larger screens comes extra weight. Purpose for a most of round 450g, as something heavier will be uncomfortable to carry for lengthy intervals, corresponding to when watching a movie. That stated, when you intend in your new slate to spend most of its life propped up in your lap or on a desk, weight isn’t prone to be a lot of a problem.
How a lot storage do I would like?
Ideally, it is best to goal for 32GB of inside storage at the least, however extra is healthier for downloading media.
Many, however not all, Android tablets characteristic a microSD card slot, so you possibly can add extra storage once you want it. When you’re going for a pill with no slot, be sure to purchase the largest capability you possibly can afford, as movies and a few apps can deplete an terrible lot of storage in a single hit.
And don’t overlook that the massive quantity on the field – 32GB, say – is the entire quantity. The usable quantity, i.e. the quantity which is empty and accessible so that you can use after the Android OS itself is put in, will be quite a bit lower than that headline determine.
What in regards to the display?
Few tablets as of late have poor-quality screens, however some do. Search for an IPS LCD or (higher but) OLED/AMOLED display and keep away from something with a ‘TN’ display as these have poor viewing angles.
By way of decision, greater is healthier, however the extra vital quantity pertains to pixel density. Purpose for 300 pixels per inch (typically abbreviated to ‘ppi’) or greater, as this can guarantee a sharp-looking picture that’s not jagged or blocky.
What options do I would like?
Most Android tablets characteristic WiFi and Bluetooth as their major technique of connectivity, and a few have NFC as properly. NFC might turn out to be useful for pairing to different appropriate gadgets shortly, but it surely’s not at all important.
What’s extra helpful is a video output so you possibly can join your pill to your TV (normally by way of HDMI). Nevertheless, you need to use most Android tablets with
Google’s Chromecast for watching catch-up TV, YouTube and different web video providers which are supported.
Some tablets have GPS – which makes them helpful for navigation – however not all do. One other factor to observe for is a SIM slot. That is helpful if you wish to get on-line once you’re travelling or out of WiFi vary.
Nevertheless, you’ll normally pay extra for a mobile (3G/4G/5G) pill, and you have to a
devoted SIM card with a data-only plan to allow in. In fact, it’s higher to
tether your pill to your smartphone, in case your cell plan/service permits this.
Efficiency, battery life and cameras
If you wish to know if a specific mannequin is nice for gaming or too sluggish for net searching, then learn our opinions, which embody benchmark outcomes for a extra empirical comparability; you possibly can’t depend on specs corresponding to processor velocity or variety of cores it possesses to ensure good efficiency.
We additionally take a look at battery life, to present you an correct concept of how lengthy every pill ought to doubtless final between prices. The very best tablets final round ten hours or extra, whereas the worst solely handle 4 to 5 hours on a cost.
The identical applies to cameras, and as with efficiency, you shouldn’t choose by the variety of megapixels. As an alternative, try our take a look at pictures in every assessment to see whether or not you’re pleased with the standard on provide. Few Android tablets have nice cameras, and fairly a couple of have terrible ones, so if pictures, movies and video calls are vital, don’t purchase earlier than you’ve learn our opinions.
When you’ve bought your Android pill, you may do your self a favour by investing in considered one of our
greatest pill stands, to make utilization extra comfy, cut back neck pressure, and enhance your posture.
