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How to pick
For most people the answer is an iPad, and not for snobbery. There is simply far more patient help available for it, more apps built properly for the bigger screen, and it stays supported for years. Choose Android instead if you are already deep in Google or Samsung and want the flexibility. On which iPad: the base model does everything a normal person needs, the Air is the sweet spot if you will use it daily, and the Pro is for people doing creative work who know exactly why they want it. Storage matters more than you expect, because tablets fill up with downloaded video. And one thing worth saying plainly: a tablet with a keyboard case is not a laptop replacement for most people, however it is marketed.
What I recommend
iPad
The easy answer for most people, and the one with the most help available if something goes wrong.
Apple iPad
The base model does everything a normal person needs: browsing, video, email, photos, video calls. Do not pay for more tablet than you will use. Get more storage rather than more speed, because that is what runs out.
- Does everything most people want from a tablet
- Years of software support
- Enormous amount of help available for it
- Much cheaper than the Air or Pro
- Screen is a step below the Air
- No 120Hz, so scrolling is less smooth
- Base storage fills up quickly
- Model
- The base iPad does everything most need
- Storage
- 128GB, not the smallest
- Supported
- Years of updates
- Good for
- Anyone finding a phone too small
Apple iPad Air
The one most reviewers land on. Considerably faster than the base model and noticeably nicer to use, without the Pro price. Supports the better Apple Pencil if you write or draw.
- Best balance of price and capability
- Fast enough to stay useful for years
- Supports Apple Pencil Pro
- Available in two sizes
- No 120Hz display, unlike the Pro
- Accessories add up quickly
- More tablet than a casual user needs
Apple iPad Pro
I use an 11 inch iPad Pro daily, so this one I can speak to. The tandem OLED screen is genuinely the best display on any tablet, and the speed is far beyond what a tablet normally needs. That is also the honest problem with it: most people will never use what they are paying for. Buy it for creative work, not for browsing.
- The best screen on any tablet, by a distance
- Fast enough for real creative work
- Excellent for drawing and note taking with a Pencil
- Thin and genuinely lovely to hold
- Most people will never use what they pay for
- Keyboard and Pencil push the price up enormously
- Still not a laptop replacement for most work
- iPadOS limits it in ways the hardware does not
Android tablets
Worth it if you are already in the Samsung or Google world, or if you want the pen included rather than sold separately.
Amazon Fire tablet
Very cheap, and fine for video, reading and browsing. Be clear about what it is: it runs Amazon's own version of Android, so the Google Play store is not there by default and app choice is limited.
- Extremely cheap
- Fine for video and reading
- Good for children, with proper parental controls
- No Google Play store by default
- App selection is limited
- Adverts on the lock screen unless you pay to remove them
- Slow compared to anything above
Samsung Galaxy Tab S series
The one genuine iPad rival. Samsung include the S Pen in the box rather than charging extra for it, which is a real saving if you write or draw. Good screens and it works neatly with a Samsung phone.
- S Pen included, not an extra
- Excellent screens
- Works well alongside a Samsung phone
- Expandable storage on some models
- Fewer apps built properly for a big screen than iPad
- Software support is shorter than Apple's
- Samsung software can feel cluttered
Related reading
Setting one up for someone?
Getting a tablet configured so it is genuinely easy for an older relative, with the text big enough and the clutter removed, is exactly the sort of thing I can help with.