1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best value
4. Best laptop replacement
5. How to choose
6. How we test
The best Samsung tablets are top-tier Android tablets that are well-designed, perform well, and last a long time on a single charge. They also tend to come with Samsung apps and technologies that improve on the stock Android tablet experience, which is a rarity in the world of Android devices.
For all of these reasons and more, Samsung's slates rank among some of the best Android tablets on the market. But there are so many to choose from that it can be hard to know which is right for you — which is why we've put together this buying guide based on what we've learned testing and reviewing all of Samsung's top tablets.
In our quest to help you find the right Samsung tablet for you we test them all in the lab, measuring things like battery life, performance and screen quality. We then use that data, as well as our own experience using these tablets for work and play, to determine which are the cream of the crop.
Read on for our list of the best Samsung tablets you can buy, based on our own hands-on testing and reviews!
Alex Wawro is a lifelong journalist who's spent over a decade covering tech, games and entertainment. He oversees the computing department at Tom's Guide, which includes managing tablet coverage and reviewing many himself every year.
The quick list
Here's a quick overview of the best Samsung tablets you can buy right now based on our testing and reviews.
The best overall
The Galaxy Tab S8 is the best overall Samsung tablet thanks to its versatility. It's great for both work and for play. If you need a solid premium Android tablet, you can't go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8.
Read more below.
The best value
Samsung's Galaxy Tab A7 is a few years old now and won't feel like the snappiest or best-looking tablet, but it's plenty good enough for basic tasks and won't burn a hole in your wallet.
Read more below.
The best laptop replacement
Samsung took “go big or go home” to heart when creating the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. This 14.6-inch beast is easily one of the largest tablets we’ve ever reviewed. But beyond its monstrous size, the Tab S9 Ultra has enough power packed into its thin chassis to potentially turn it into a laptop replacement.
The best Samsung tablets you can buy today
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The best overall
The Galaxy Tab S8 is good at a lot of things, but it's best at being a general-purpose Android tablet. You can use it to get work done in a pinch, but in my experience it's best enjoyed as a speedy all-purpose device for making work and play a bit more enjoyable. On the couch, it's great for gaming or reading comics, and at work it's nice to have as a note-keeping device or secondary display, especially if you go to the trouble of investing in the Galaxy ecosystem and making your workspace DeX-friendly.
If you absolutely must have the biggest, baddest Android slate possible you probably want the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, but if you just need a great premium Android tablet the Galaxy Tab S8 delivers — and in the process, sets a new standard for what we should expect from the category.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 review.
The best value
This is the budget Android tablet that fans have long deserved. In the history of iPad alternatives, Samsung's Galaxy Tab A7 stands out with its low sub-$300 price tag. On top of that, it's got thinner bezels than the 10.2-inch iPad and crazy 13+ hour battery life — so you can enjoy more of what you're watching and reading for a lot longer time. And even at this price, you get facial recognition to unlock the device.
It's also got USB-C charging, so you can use the same cable you charge modern phones and laptops with. And while we wish it was a tad brighter and faster, it's got the real, unadulterated Android experience — with the Google Play app store and Google apps — so you're not confined to web-only Gmail and YouTube like you are on cheaper Amazon Fire Android tablets.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 review.
The best laptop replacement
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra ($1,099) is the first tablet that casts a literal shadow over the iPad Pro. With its ginormous 14.6-inch OLED display, this Android slate makes the 12.9-inch iPad Pro seem cute by comparison. And with the optional keyboard attachment and improved multi-window mode, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra could potentially replace a laptop.
Samsung is clearly targeting hybrid and at-home workers with the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, as it packs dual front cameras with support to up to 4K resolution for video calls as well as auto framing for keeping you in the frame as you move around. Plus, there's advanced noise reduction to make sure you come through loud and clear.
Other highlights of the Tab S8 Ultra include a fast Snapdragon 8 Gen-1 chip, a low-latency S Pen experience, 45W fast charging and improved integration with Galaxy S series phones.
At $1,099, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra commands a heck of a premium. But it delivers an intoxicating blend of size, speed and versatility that makes it one of the best tablets on the market.
Read our Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra review.
How to choose the best Samsung tablet for you
When it comes to picking the best Samsung tablet for you, start by thinking about what you plan to use it for.
Are you mainly going to be consuming content? All of these tablets are great at that, with the possible exception of the Tab S8 Ultra (since it's so massive it can be a pain to hold in your hands for long periods), so pick the model with the mix of price and specs you like most.
Looking for a slate that could possibly replace your laptop? The Galaxy Tab S8 is a great choice, though typing on its (optional) Book Cover detachable keyboard can be a little cramped. If you want something larger and don't mind paying over $1,000, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is explicitly designed to replace your laptop -- and thanks to Samsung's DeX mode, it's more capable as a laptop replacement than any iPad.
Looking for a cheap tablet that's good enough for most tasks? The Galaxy Tab S7 Lite is a great choice. While it's sub-1080p resolution makes watching videos on it feel a bit underwhelming, and it tends to feel a bit sluggish when you're doing a lot at once, it's a great device if you need an affordable, lightweight tablet.
Before you make your purchase, take a look at our Samsung promo codes page to find the latest discounts.
How we test Samsung tablets
The first thing we do to separate the great tablets from the jokers is to test all their different facets. Our web-surfing based battery test times how long a tablet can browse the internet for, with its display set to 150 nits of brightness. But in order to figure out what percentage of brightness equals 150 nits, we perform a series of display tests to measure how colorful the panel can get (measured with its sRGB output number) as well as how bright it can get. Then, we run benchmark tests on said tablet, including the latest version of the Geekbench general performance benchmark.
Another thing we do to evaluate Android tablets is check out the included apps and app store to see if you're getting a true Android experience or some company's vision thereof. Luckily, Samsung has been pretty good about allowing users to access the full Google Play storefront (though it also has its own separate Android app storefront), and its own apps tend to be pretty good -- especially if you own other Samsung devices. On tablets with parental controls settings, we try and find the loopholes in said limitations, to find red flags before your kids can.
Then, we just use the tablets like we would if we owned them. Opening tab after tab and app after app to see if we can multitask without hiccups. We also watch YouTube videos because the color output (sRGB) and brightness (nits) measurements don't tell the whole story. Only through all of these tests, can we be sure that we're giving you a complete assessment of a tablet's value.
For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.
