Tablet buying guide: From display size to processor, here’s what to look out for

A comprehensive buying guide for choosing the perfect Android tablet for your needs. It covers key factors like screen size, display quality, processor performance, connectivity options

• Tablets offer a larger screen real estate compared to smartphones, enhancing productivity.
• Screen size varies widely among tablets, impacting usage for gaming or content creation.
• Display technology like IPS LCD or OLED affect s screen quality, with OLED typically providing a better experience.
• Consider parameters such as screen resolution, refresh rate, and brightness for optimal viewing.
• Connectivity features, including cellular options like 4G LTE and 5G, are crucial for users on the move.
• For long-term usage, consider tablets with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity.
• Here are some of the best Android tablets available across various price ranges:

Positioned as a versatile solution bridging the gap between laptops and smartphones, tablets emerge as ideal tools for productivity while on the move. Offering a larger screen real estate compared to smartphones, they facilitate enhanced work capabilities. Since tablets come in such a wide variety of sizes, often greater than the more restrictive category that smartphones are, the screen size is an important deciding factor. To give you a better idea of the sheer display size variety on offer, we’ll note down a couple of examples. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, for instance, has a massive display sized 14.6 inches – that’s laptop territory. And on the other end of the spectrum lies the iPad mini with its 8.3-inch screen. While 8 inches may not sound like a whole lot larger than the 6.7-inch smartphones in the mainstream today, tablets this size have significantly wider aspect ratios, allowing for a supersized viewing experience. If you are looking for a tablet for gaming, it is best to go with a slightly smaller device, whereas if you are looking for a tablet primarily for content creation, then we suggest a tablet with a bigger display. Most tablets come with an IPS LCD screen, while some of the high-end devices offer more impressive OLED screens with better contrast, higher color accuracy, and higher brightness levels. Tablets with IPS LCD screens are not necessarily bad but their OLED counterparts usually offer a much better experience, though they are also a lot dearer in price. Display technology aside, it is also important to consider other parameters like screen resolution, refresh rate, and brightness. As a tablet is a much bigger device, a lower resolution may be more noticeable here, especially when viewing up close. Similarly, the refresh rate is an important aspect for gamers, as it will make games look much smoother. Lastly, having a higher level of peak brightness ensures that the tablet offers a similar viewing experience in almost every lighting condition – an important factor if you travel a lot. Connectivity features also matter. If you are someone who is always on the move, then getting a tablet with cellular connectivity is a must. There are quite a few tablets with 4G LTE capability, and some tablets also support the latest 5G network. If you are looking for a tablet for long-term usage, we recommend a 5G tablet, possibly with at least Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Based on these inputs, here are some of the best Android tablets available across the price range: