As we’ve previously said, smartphones these days have so many uses that it's getting hard to keep track of everything they're good for, whether it's gaming, setting schedules and reminders, or monitoring your health; the list is endless. So really and truly, what more could you want from something that offers so much?
A bigger screen, of course.
The tablets of today offer a huge number of features you find in your average smartphone and, in many cases - even more, all whilst avoiding the pain you get when you’re on a late-night EastEnders binge, and your eyes are straining because you've been staring at a 6-inch screen for two hours. We've all been there. Today we're going to break down 2022’s best tablets, and even if you’re reading this article in 2023, these tablets will still be excellent picks for the coming years, so let’s dive in!
Best Android Tablet
Whilst just shy of missing out on the best overall tablet spot on this blog’s podium, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is Samsung's solution to Apple's iPad Pro 2021, which is, in fact, the best overall tablet on our list. Everything you could possibly want in an android can all be found in this masterpiece of a device. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is not to be confused with the Galaxy S8 smartphone from 2017, and although the 'Tab' is about as big a giveaway as the national lottery, some have mistaken this for an older tablet counterpart to the S8 smartphone, so we thought it'd be worth clarifying. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a huge 14.6-inch super AMOLED touchscreen that makes it clear to see that Samsung had late-night Netflix binges and graphic design in mind while creating the panel. In addition to this, Samsung has added Gorilla Glass 5 for added protection against drops and scratches. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor inside the device more or less puts the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra on a level playing field with Apple’s iPad Pro’s M1 chip. The 12MP ultrawide camera, in particular on this tab, makes for some impressive shots, and couple that with a 11200mAh battery, and you’ve got the ultimate Android powerhouse.
Best Value Tablet
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is the perfect tablet for anyone who doesn't mind trading out a fancy screen and a larger camera for reliable performance in a compact body at a budget price tag. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is a lightweight, downsized version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 and offers a simple 8.7-inch design with medium black bezels. The display features a high-definition LCD panel which is fine for media consumption, alongside a full HD camera to capture both photos and video at 30fps. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite does come with 4GB of RAM alongside either 32 or 64GB of storage, which is minimal in today's world of tech; however, thanks to the MicroSD expansion slot on the side of the device, its onboard storage can be expanded to a whole 1TB. All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite offers everything you could ask for from a budget tablet, as well as the option to expand to flagship tablet storage levels.
Best Overall
The iPad Pro is a truly spectacular tablet, bringing forward everything you could ever possibly need from a tablet and then some. The most talked-about feature of the iPad Pro is its M1 chip, which, by the way, Apple, the MacBook Pro called – it wants its CPU back!
Pulled straight from Apple's flagship Mac and desktops of 2021, the M1 chip brings true desktop power to a tablet form factor. The iPad Pro can handle anything thrown at it, whether that be intensive graphic design work, 4K video editing or some casual competitive gaming in COD mobile, all without as much as breaking a sweat. Although, if you do notice liquid dripping from your iPad, you should probably take it to the Apple store. The display on the iPad Pro (2021) has been refreshed since the previous model with a crisp 2048x2732 resolution, which, to simplify, is somewhere in between quad-HD and 4K. Couple this with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1,600 nits of peak brightness and Liquid Retina technology, and you easily have the best tablet screen on the market. The accessory options for the iPad Pro are extensive, with Apple offering Apple Pen compatibility as well as leather cases with keyboard options if you want to turn your iPad into a laptop. However, these are at an extra cost, whereas the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with an S-Pen in the box.
Best Tablet (Windows Edition)
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is as good as it gets for Windows tablets, and although Microsoft's launch event for the Surface Pro 9 was last week, we wanted to give an honest testimonial rather than hearsay based on a couple of days of usage. The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 was the first tablet in the Surface line-up to receive a welcome facelift, which completely modernised the device, bringing it up to 2022's standards. The refresh included thinner bezels, rounded edges, and the inclusion of Thunderbolt 4, which, if you don't know, can deliver high-speed data transfer, output a video signal, and deliver power to compatible devices (including charging a lightweight laptop) simultaneously. Furthermore, if gaming is your thing, with Thunderbolt, you're able to connect an external GPU enclosure to essentially plug in a graphics card and turn the Surface Pro 8 into a fully-fledged gaming PC. The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 features a 13-inch PixelSense display, and similarly to the iPad Pro, it has a screen resolution somewhere in the middle of quad-HD and 4K. This, coupled with the 120Hz display, makes for both a speedy and vivid viewing experience. When we take all of this and the fact that the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 offers three tiers of Intel power and 23W fast charging, this becomes the easiest option for anyone in search of true Windows power.
We're pretty confident in our choices in this article. However, no one is perfect, so if you reckon there are any hidden gems that we've missed out on, then let us know in the discussion box below, and if we deem it worthy, we'll add it to this blog with a special mention. As always, thanks for taking the time to read our article and let us know which one from our list is your favourite.
