Best tablet for students 2024

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, and arugably one of the best Andrid tablets, is the Galaxy Tab S9, which has the S Pen included, a powerful SoC with up to 12GB of RAM, and a beautiful AMOLED 120Hz display. 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

Samsung makes some of the best Android phones for students, so it's no surprise that it also makes some of the best tablets. The Tab S9 series is the top of the range for Samsung meaning these tablets have excellent AMOLED displays with 120Hz support, a powerful SoC, and an up-to-date build of Android 14 available for download. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC powering this tablet is one of the best mobile chips you can get with an octa-core CPU and enough power for gaming. That all means that it should breeze through schoolwork for the next few years so you can stay focused.

When it comes to storage, the base model comes with 128GB with an upgrade to 256GB available. The 128GB model comes with 8GB of RAM while the 256GB model gets 12GB to work with. If you plan to use the Galaxy Tab S9 as your primary device, the extra RAM with the 256GB model is a sensible upgrade. If you've also got a laptop for your heavier workloads, though, the 8GB version should be fine. Regardless of the version you choose, you can upgrade the storage down the line thanks to a microSD card slot.

Samsung bundles its excellent S Pen with this tablet so you're ready to take notes right out of the box. Besides that, the S Pen can be useful for navigating spreadsheets, large documents, or even just old text-heavy websites that weren't designed with touch in mind.

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, 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 S9), 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 which is also found in the excellent iPad Pro and MacBook Air, delivers incredible performance 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 cheap tablet

Many of the perks that make the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus our best cheap Android tablet pick also applies to why students will love it. It has a hefty 7,040mAh 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 under a pound (480g) with a 11-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 A9 Plus 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 Snapdragon 695 SoC and up to 8GB of RAM should ensure better performance compared to the Tab A8 before it. You even get a 5G cellular variant through all the major US carriers. Its 1920x1200 display, while not as vivid as Samsung's other AMOLED panels, does give you a slight upgrade over regular 1080p displays. The A9 Plus also has a 90Hz refresh rate, so scrolling and general use should feel smoother.

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 Tab S9+, 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. 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 7,000mAh 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 Amazon tablet

If you just need a basic tablet to help with note-taking, research, or just to relax with a movie after studying, the Fire HD 10 is a solid choice. This 2023 revision has a reasonably powerful SoC with an octa-core CPU from Mediatek paired with 3GB of RAM that should be plenty for most tasks outside of gaming. It all looks nice and sharp on the 10.1-inch IPS display running at 1920x1200, a comfortable 16:10 resolution.

This tablet comes with 32GB or 64GB of storage for files and apps, which isn't much, so it's a good idea to grab one of the best microSD cards for Android right away. Even with the price of a 128GB or 256GB microSD card factored in, the Fire HD 10 is still a phenomenal value. If you opt to download a few videos to watch on the bus or just want a large display for your favorite pictures, the extra space will be well worth it.

Amazon has loaded this tablet with Fire OS 8 running atop Android 11, so it's not the most up-to-date Android tablet in the world, but still new enough to run the vast majority of apps. Speaking of apps, out of the box, you're stuck using the Amazon App Store, but if you want Google services, those apps can be sideloaded.

If you want to make this tablet your go-to device to bring to class, you can grab a pressure-sensitive stylus to take notes in handwriting, or a keyboard if you prefer typing.

Best E Ink tablet

If you're looking for a robust device specially for note taking, it's hard to beat the battery life and notebook-like feel of an E Ink device. The new Onyx Boox Note Air 3 is the latest E Ink Android tablet, complete with the Play Store so you can use all your favorite apps too.

The metal build makes the device feel premium and sturdy, while the massive E Ink Carta 1200 display worked beautifully in the two months we used it for, both, for reading and sketching. There are a couple of shortcomings regarding the drawing part, like a slight delay when creating strokes, and you can't duplicate a layer or copy large drawings. The Note Air 3 ships with a protective case and the Pen Plus, which can attach to the tablet after you're done with it.

While Onyx has its own built-in note-taking application, the fact that this is powered by Android 12 and has the Play Store pre-installed means that you can download any drawing app of your liking. For those that need a color display, there's a Note Air 3 C model for $100 more, which comes with a Kaleido 3 color ePaper screen. This color-version of the Note Air 3 displays only mellow hues, since it is still E Ink after all. However, it's going to be much easier on the eyes, letting you spend hours on your assignments withouth the risk of eye fatigue. 

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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.

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 Galaxy Tab S9 thanks to the superior camera quality for video calls and high-quality displays. Apple and Samsung have also included features that ensure 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 S9 is arguably above the rest, as you'll be able to get up to 15 hours on a single charge unless you start messing around and are watching YouTube or Netflix instead of studying. If you need the tablet strictly for studies and homework alone, getting something like the Onyx Boox Note Air 3 with its week-long battery life would be a game-changer. 

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. 

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 S9 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 list of the best Android tablets for kids to shop for the younger students in your life, or our choices for the best Android tablets overall.

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