The Best Tablets for Students

I’ve been recommending tablets to students since 2012, and the advice has changed a lot. Back then, you bought a tablet for media consumption and maybe some light reading. In 2026, a good tablet replaces your notebook, runs full productivity apps, and handles everything from note-taking to video lectures to research papers.

After testing and recommending dozens of tablets to students (and using several myself for content work), I’ve narrowed this list to 7 tablets that actually make sense for studying. I’m not listing 15 options to pad the article. You’ll find the right one here, whether your budget is $200 or $1,300.

One thing I’ll say upfront: iPads dominate this list, and that’s intentional. Apple’s tablet ecosystem for students, with Apple Pencil support, app quality, and long-term software updates, is still unmatched. But I’ve included the best Android options too for students who prefer that route or need something cheaper.

What to Look for in a Student Tablet

Before jumping to the list, here’s what actually matters when you’re picking a tablet for studying. I’ve seen students waste money on specs they’ll never use, so let me save you from that.

• Stylus support: If you take handwritten notes, this is non-negotiable. Apple Pencil and Samsung S Pen are the two best options. Third-party styluses don’t come close.
• Screen size: 10 to 11 inches is the sweet spot for most students. Anything smaller and you’ll struggle with split-screen multitasking. Anything larger gets heavy in your backpack.
• Battery life: You need at least 8-10 hours. A tablet that dies during a 3-hour lecture is useless.
• Storage: 64GB is the bare minimum. If you download lecture recordings or textbook PDFs, go for 128GB or higher.
• Software updates: iPads get 6-7 years of updates. Most Android tablets get 2-3. This matters for long-term value.

Now let’s get to the tablets. I’ve ordered them from premium to budget, so you can skip straight to your price range.

Apple iPad Pro (M2 Chip)

The iPad Pro is overkill for most students. I’ll say that right away. But if you’re in a field like architecture, engineering, graphic design, or film production, this is the tablet that can genuinely replace your laptop. The M2 chip runs desktop-class apps without breaking a sweat, and the 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display is the best screen you’ll find on any tablet, period.

Apple Pencil 2 support with hover detection makes this the best digital note-taking device I’ve ever used. You can preview your strokes before the pencil touches the screen, which sounds like a small thing until you’ve actually experienced it during a fast-paced lecture. The 120Hz ProMotion display makes writing feel like actual pen on paper.

The catch? It starts at around $1,099 for the 12.9-inch model. That’s serious money for a student. If you’re doing standard coursework like notes, research, and reading, save your money and go with the iPad Air below. But for creative and technical programs where you need raw power, nothing else comes close. If you want to save, you can also find renewed iPad Pro models at significantly lower prices.

Apple iPad Air (M1 Chip)

This is the tablet I recommend to most students. The iPad Air with M1 chip gives you 90% of the iPad Pro’s performance at a much lower price. I use the iPad Air myself for content planning and note-taking, and it handles everything I throw at it without lag or stutter.

The 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display is gorgeous for reading textbooks and marking up PDFs. Apple Pencil 2nd generation support means you get magnetic attachment, wireless charging, and the double-tap gesture to switch tools. If you’re taking handwritten notes in lectures, this combination feels incredible. Apps like Notability and GoodNotes turn this into the best digital notebook you can buy.

At around $475 right now (down from $599), it’s genuinely good value for what you get. The M1 chip means this tablet will stay fast for years. My only suggestion: skip the 64GB model if you can afford it and go for 256GB. Lecture recordings, textbook PDFs, and apps add up faster than you’d think. If you’re choosing between the iPad Pro 11-inch and the iPad Air, go Air. It’s cheaper and does the same job for students. Check out my list of study tools for college students to pair with it.

Apple iPad Mini (A15 Bionic)

The iPad Mini is for a very specific type of student: the one who wants portability above everything else. At 8.3 inches, you can hold it in one hand, toss it in a small bag, and pull it out to read between classes. I’ve used it for reading research papers and Kindle books, and it’s the most comfortable iPad for long reading sessions because of the lighter weight.

It packs the same A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 13, so performance isn’t a concern. Apple Pencil 2 support means you can take quick notes and annotate documents. The USB-C port is a welcome upgrade from older Lightning iPads. Stereo speakers are surprisingly loud for the size.

The downside? The 8.3-inch screen is tight for split-screen multitasking. If you want to have a lecture video playing while you take notes side by side, you’ll feel cramped. For heavy note-taking students, the iPad Air’s 10.9-inch display is a better fit. But for reading-heavy courses (law, literature, history), the Mini at $346 is a fantastic deal. It’s currently 31% off, which makes it the best value iPad in the lineup right now.

Apple iPad (10th Generation)

At $203 right now (38% off the original price), the base iPad is the best budget tablet for students who want to stay in Apple’s ecosystem. This is the iPad I recommend to students who ask me “what’s the cheapest iPad worth buying?” It does everything a student needs: note-taking, web research, video calls, reading textbooks, and streaming lectures.

The 10.9-inch display is the same size as the iPad Air, which means you get a proper screen for split-view multitasking. The 12MP front camera with Center Stage automatically keeps you centered during Zoom classes, which is a surprisingly useful feature for online learning. Apple Pencil support means you can still take handwritten notes, though it uses the 1st generation Pencil (not the magnetic-attach 2nd gen).

Is it as fast as the iPad Air? No. Will you notice the difference during everyday student tasks? Honestly, no. The A14 Bionic chip handles everything from Google Docs to Notability without hesitation. If you’re on a tight budget, this is the smartest choice. You get Apple’s app ecosystem, 5+ years of software updates, and solid build quality for around $200. That’s hard to beat. Need a budget laptop too? I’ve got a list for that.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE

If you’re an Android person, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is the best student tablet outside of Apple’s lineup. Samsung replaced the older Tab S7 FE with this model, and it’s a solid upgrade. The biggest win? The S Pen comes included in the box. With iPads, you have to spend an extra $79-$129 on the Apple Pencil. Samsung gives you the stylus for free.

The 10.9-inch display is sharp and bright, and the IP68 water and dust resistance means you don’t need to panic when you spill coffee on it (I’ve seen this happen in libraries more times than I can count). Samsung DeX mode is genuinely useful for students. Connect a keyboard and mouse, and the Tab S9 FE gives you a desktop-style interface. It’s the closest Android gets to a laptop replacement.

The trade-offs compared to an iPad: Android tablet apps are still behind iPadOS in quality and optimization. Note-taking apps like Samsung Notes are good, but they aren’t as polished as GoodNotes or Notability on iPad. Software updates are limited to about 4 years, compared to 6-7 on iPad. But if you’re already in Samsung’s ecosystem with a Galaxy phone, the seamless integration makes this a natural choice. The Tab S9 FE+ (12.4-inch) is also available if you want a bigger screen.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

The Tab S7 FE is worth mentioning if you can find it at a good price. It’s the previous-generation Fan Edition, and it’s still being sold with 256GB storage. The 12.4-inch display is massive, which makes it fantastic for students who want to run two apps side by side without squinting. You get the S Pen included, Samsung DeX support, and a battery that lasts through a full day of classes.

The screen is an LCD (not AMOLED like Samsung’s flagship tabs), so colors won’t pop as much. The processor is slower than the newer Tab S9 FE. But at this price point, you’re getting a large-screen productivity tablet with a stylus for about the same price as an iPad Air. If screen real estate matters more to you than raw speed, this is a solid pick. It’s still available in multiple colors, and the 256GB storage means you won’t run out of space anytime soon.

Xiaomi Pad 6

The Xiaomi Pad 6 is the budget champion of this list. It replaced the Xiaomi Pad 5 that I recommended previously, and it’s a significant step up. You get a Snapdragon 870 processor (genuinely fast), an 11-inch 144Hz display (smoother than most tablets at this price), quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, and an 8,840mAh battery that’ll easily last you 14+ hours of mixed use.

For students in India and Southeast Asia, this is often the best value tablet available. The build quality is premium aluminum, and the display supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Media consumption, lecture streaming, and reading are all excellent on this device. The optional Xiaomi Smart Pen gives you stylus support for note-taking, though it’s sold separately.

The downsides are familiar for Android tablets: limited software updates (2-3 major versions), no expandable storage, and the app ecosystem isn’t as optimized for tablets as iPadOS. MIUI for Pad has improved a lot, but it still can’t match the iPad experience for multitasking. If you’re primarily using your tablet for reading, watching lectures, and light note-taking (and you don’t want to spend iPad money), the Xiaomi Pad 6 is excellent. If you need something even more affordable for basic tasks, check out my list of budget-friendly devices for students.

Which Tablet Should You Buy?

Let me make this simple. I’ve been recommending tech to students for over a decade, and here’s what I tell everyone:

• Best overall for students: iPad Air (M1). It hits the perfect balance of performance, screen size, and price. Apple Pencil 2 support seals the deal.
• Best budget: Base iPad at $203. You’re getting a 10.9-inch iPad with Apple Pencil support for the price of a dinner for two.
• Best for reading: iPad Mini. The 8.3-inch size is ideal for e-books, papers, and on-the-go reference.
• Best Android: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE. S Pen included, IP68 rating, Samsung DeX. The complete Android tablet package.
• Best budget Android: Xiaomi Pad 6. Flagship specs at a mid-range price. Hard to beat for the money.
• Best for creative students: iPad Pro (M2). If your coursework demands serious processing power, this is it.

Whatever you choose, invest in a good case and a stylus. A tablet without a stylus is just a big phone. With a stylus, it becomes the best study tool you can own. And if you’re wondering whether a tablet can replace your laptop entirely, check out my guide to the best iPads for students where I go deeper into that question.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Tablet

Buying the right tablet is only half the battle. Here’s what I’ve learned from years of using tablets for work and recommending them to students:

1. Get a note-taking app immediately. GoodNotes and Notability are the two best on iPad. Samsung Notes works great on Galaxy tablets. Don’t just use the default notes app.
2. Use split-screen multitasking. Have your lecture recording on one side and your notes on the other. Both iPadOS and Samsung’s One UI support this natively.
3. Download your textbooks as PDFs. Annotating PDFs on a tablet is faster than highlighting a physical book, and you can search through annotations later.
4. Set up cloud sync. Use iCloud (iPad) or Samsung Cloud + Google Drive (Android) so your notes are backed up automatically. Losing a semester of notes because your tablet breaks is a nightmare you don’t want.
5. Install a keyboard for longer typing sessions. Note-taking is great with a stylus, but essays and research papers are faster with a keyboard. Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Samsung’s Book Cover Keyboard are both excellent.

Amazon Kindle and Fire Tablets for Students

Not every student needs a $500 tablet. If reading and light browsing are your main uses, Amazon’s devices cost a fraction of Samsung or Apple and handle textbooks perfectly.

The Fire HD 10 runs Android apps and costs $140. The budget version at $75 has the same screen size. The Kindle Paperwhite at $130 pays for itself after two Kindle textbook purchases. For more device comparisons, see my iPad buying guide and PDF apps for students.

Frequently Asked Questions

A tablet changed how I work, and it can change how you study. The right tablet with a good stylus and a solid note-taking app is genuinely the best study setup I’ve seen in 2026. Pick the one that fits your budget, get a quality case, and start using it from day one of the semester. You’ll wonder how you ever managed with just a laptop and paper notebooks.

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