If you're looking for a top-quality tablet with excellent performance, a gorgeous OLED display and plenty of room for creativity, the best Samsung tablets are here to deliver.
If you're sticking with Android, Samsung's tablets offer the iPad experience with their own unique features, such as DeX (Samsung's desktop interface), an included stylus for note-taking and drawing, and the freedom of Google's OS and plentiful apps. Yes, Apple's tablets reign supreme when it comes to pure performance, but for the real tablet experience, like browsing the web, watching shows, playing games and even getting work done, we've done the testing to know these slates are more than up for any task.
Our top pick for most people is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus. It's a great value, high-performance tablet with a stylus included for drawing and note-taking, and an impressive seven years of updates. But that's not your only choice, and this guide on the best Samsung tablets will help you find the right one.
While I'll always be a fan of iPads, I've become more impressed with what Samsung's Android tablets have to offer over my years of testing and reviewing tablets. It's hard to beat the variety on offer, along with the stunning AMOLED displays (with 120Hz) as standard, lightweight designs and easy navigation these tablets deliver. So, if you're looking to stick with Android, my team of experts and I have just the advice on which Samsung tablet to grab.
The best Samsung tablets you can buy right now
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Best Samsung tablet overall
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus really impressed us with what you get for your money. The large 13.1-inch display makes it ideal for streaming and watching videos, since it's bright at 782 nits peak brightness and super vivid, making the colors pop even more.
Most surprising is the stereo speakers on here too. Normally, the small space for audio means you get tinny speakers, but in our testing, there's a nice warm bassy punch alongside all the details being represented nicely across the sound space.
Then throw in that big battery for all-day use (lasting 15 hours and 43 minutes in our test), and you've got something with real staying power across all your films, web browsing and casual gaming.
Notice how I said casual gaming? The chip inside is certainly not the most powerful for intense tasks. Under significant pressure, you can see slowdown, but if your use cases are casual (ie, not editing videos or playing AAA games), you won't see it break a sweat.
Throw in that included stylus for whenever you're feeling creative, a decent camera system for video calls and snapping quick pics, and One UI 8 (launched in October 2025) for a great tablet experience, and a price less than $500, and you're onto a winner.
- Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review
Best iPad alternative Samsung tablet
This is the closest Android kin to the best iPads you can buy — providing a top shot at getting the Apple experience while avoiding iOS. And it does so by pairing zippy performance and a gorgeous display with a sleek, lightweight design and a top-notch OS.
On the face of it, this feels very iPad Air with super slim dimensions and a weight that just breaks one pound. It feels great in the hand, and that aluminum frame gives a nice durable confidence too.
Then you turn it on and are greeted by that mesmerizing 11-inch AMOLED display with 1,600 nits of peak brightness. Whether you're getting stuff done or binge-watching in bed, that sharpness, smoothness and vivid color make everything pop off the screen. The processor is more than capable of handling everyday tasks like web browsing, emails and streaming, but also means you can properly game and video edit without too much trouble. Plus, the built-in speakers are rather good too.
Then there's the redesigned S Pen — feeling much more comfortable to hold with a hexagonal barrel to get a solid grip on for all your doodling. And in that vein of getting stuff done, Samsung's made some impressive upgrades to DeX mode too, which can extend this into an almost desktop-like experience. So if you need to lock in with a keyboard and mouse to work hard, the S11 nails it.
Throw in the ocean of Android tablet apps, Google Gemini integration and impressive speed even under multitasking pressure (plus that massive 8,400 mAh battery) and you've got a banger.
- Read our Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review
Best Samsung tablet laptop replacement
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra takes the formula of what made the S10 Ultra so great and upgrades the experience where it matters to anyone looking to replace their laptop with a slab.
The visual upgrades may be minor, but trust me, in my time testing it, the new internals give it a fresh power boost to handle intensive multitasking for power users. At $1,199 (you'll find it for a little less these days), it’s a steep price if you’re looking to just get on the tablet train, but that’s not who the S11 Ultra is targeted towards.
With a massive, beautiful 14.6-inch AMOLED display and Dimensity 9400+ CPU, paired with 12GB of RAM and a sleek, ergonomic keyboard cover you can grab as an accessory, you can do far more than your average tablet user with this.
It’s built for productivity across the board — to bridge the gap to a laptop and really take advantage of some of those work-oriented apps in the Android marketplace. And the software answer to that is DeX mode, which gives you a UI more akin to Windows 11 than a tablet.
It’s not a flawless laptop replacement; DeX (Samsung's desktop interface) has been gutted a little of some of the original features like a taskbar and no touchpad on the Book Cover Keyboard. But from that screen and user experience to the 12-hour battery life and zippy performance, I believe this is another step forward for the Ultra lineage.
- Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review
Also tested
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I buy a Samsung tablet over an iPad?
Samsung tablets deliver better value and flexibility — especially if you're already in Samsung's ecosystem. The premium S Pen stylus is typically included, saving you money, and you get more versatile storage options thanks to the standard microSD card slot.
For productivity, Samsung’s DeX mode transforms the tablet into a PC-like desktop environment with true multitasking and resizable windows. Furthermore, many Galaxy Tabs feature a superior AMOLED display for richer, more immersive movie watching with perfect blacks.
Do Samsung tablets have wireless charging?
No, currently no Samsung tablets offer wireless charging. All of them charge via a wired USB-C connection, and can "reverse charge" other devices via the same method in case you have a phone, earbuds case or other device in need of some juice.
Are Samsung tablets on Android?
Yes, they are! While Samsung redesigns a lot of elements with its One UI skin, Galaxy Tabs all run Android. That means you get the run of the Google Play Store just like any other Android tablet, although Samsung offers a number of unique features, like Galaxy AI, that other Android slates can't match.
Are Samsung tablets good for drawing?
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S models all come with included S Pen styluses, saving you from having to buy your own. These perform great whether you're writing or doodling thanks to the precise tip, handy shortcut button and high pressure and tilt sensitivity. It'll even attach magnetically to the tablet for easy storage.
How we test the best Samsung tablets
We put every tablet through real-world and lab testing to see how it holds up — not just to the hype, but to the competition. That means using each device like an actual owner would, while also digging into the data that matters.
- Battery life: We run a web-surfing test over Wi-Fi with the screen set to a standard brightness to see how long it lasts on a full charge.
- Display quality: We measure screen brightness (in nits) and color accuracy (via sRGB) to gauge how good it’ll look for work and play.
- Performance: We run benchmarks like Geekbench to see how fast and powerful the tablet really is.
- Software experience: On Android tablets, we check app availability and whether you’re getting full access to the Google Play Store.
- Parental controls: If a tablet offers kid-safe features, we try to break them — so your kids don’t.
- Everyday use: We spend days weeks using each tablet like any buyer would; opening apps, watching videos, multitasking, and seeing how it all feels in the hand.
