The Best Tablets for Streaming, Gaming, and Art

Sometimes you don’t need the most powerful tech to get the most out of them. We found that Apple's iPad Air (2022) is a top tablet for most of your needs, whether it’s doodling with the stylus, reading some Esquire articles, or booking an Uber. It has an A13 processor, which is a lightning quick chip that keeps things running smoothly, and if you’ve got an iPhone you’ll be used to how it's set up and navigated.

While you can go thinner and smaller (like the Mini), this one is lightweight and (once you whack on a screen protector and magnetic keyboard) it’s great for taking with you to the cafe, office or airport. It has all the power you’ll need to get the job done, with enough battery to squeeze in a game or two on Apple Arcade afterwards.

The appeal of the Google Pixel Tablet isn’t power or getting the best specs possible, it’s the design: this is an Android slate that also turns into a smart display. It comes with a magnetic dock that charges the tablet when it’s not being used, so you’ll almost never have to worry about unexpectedly running out of charge. At the same time, it enhances the audio so you can blast music or podcasts in better quality than any other device on this list.

The performance is smooth, the screen is bright and most of the apps we’ve tested are well optimised for the big 10.95-inch display. While the cameras are lacklustre and there’s no support yet for extra keyboards or styluses, this is ideal for at-home entertainment and streaming, letting you flit between your socials on the sofa before popping it on the dock to catch up on The Bear while concocting a late-night single-malt Scotch whisky.

Working on the go? The Surface Go 3 gives you a full Windows experience in a compact form factor – and like the iPad has an optional keyboard that transforms it into a mini laptop. Powered by a user-friendly version of Windows 11, we’re big fans of the metallic body, smooth performance and crisp display. We tested the Go 3 for a couple of weeks, finding the 10.5-inch touchscreen being a fantastic size for productivity (writing emails and documents) and entertainment (too many hours scrolling the socials and catching up on Prime shows). There’s a sleek built-in kickstand that pops out with a satisfying click and keeps the tablet steady on flat surfaces, too.

This is perfect if you aren’t a fan of Apple or Samsung, with Windows giving you a similar experience to a full-blown computer. Battery is comparable to the iPad but don’t expect it to last more than a couple of days of use without needing a top-up, and it can get expensive if you want to pick up extra accessories, such as the keyboard case and stylus – but the big draw is the Windows user experience in a size that’s pleasingly portable.

The iPad Pro might be the higher-end tablet on the market but we reckon the absurdly powerful device is a bit much for most people just looking for a bigger screen to re-watch House of the Dragon. Instead, the iPad mini is a more portable option, with a smaller display and a more affordable price tag (but all the top features you’re after).

Tablets are all about convenience, and the diminutive iPad mini is perfect for checking on your socials or reading news without being awkward to hold. We can comfortably use it one-handed and are happy to stream for the hour-long commute we have in and out of London each day, with the battery keeping up with almost a full week of work. Oh, and it’s more than half the price of the premium option, so it’s really a no-brainer.

If Apple isn’t your thing but you want a top-of-the-range device, then Samsung’s sleek Android alternative is worth a look in, especially if you like streaming on the go. The high-resolution display is gorgeous, with fantastic colour reproduction and a smooth motion when flicking your fingers across the screen. Watching Netflix is almost as good as on our big TV, and it’s perfect for catching up on The Bear on the sofa. Thanks to the powerful chip, it’ll easily handle gaming and photo edits, too.

Sure, you may not be using this to take hundreds of photos during your next holiday, but we like that the S9+ has a solid camera setup on the front and back if you do need to take a snap or a selfie. There’s also expandable storage – something iPad users can only dream of – which lets you add up to 1TB of space for your music, files, videos and pictures.

Need to get some work done? This slate has an S-Pen stylus in the box, and there’s a keyboard case too if you want to type up a few emails during the commute to the office. This Galaxy Tab S9+ expertly balances specs and price, but for an even bigger 14.5-inch display get the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra – it’s stunning, but you’ve been warned: the specs on that are overkill and it isn’t travel-friendly.

This 2022 model of the high-end iOS tablet includes a speedy new M2 chip (the same processor as MacBooks) that, according to Apple, gives you around 15% faster performance compared to last year’s M1 model. Also new in this model is ProRes video recording for better picture quality, wifi 6E support, Bluetooth 5.3, and Apple Pencil hover, a cool feature that auto-detects the stylus before it reaches the display (from up to 12 mm away). This creates a smoother experience when drawing or making notes and lets you tap without having the Pencil touching the screen.

Everything else is pretty much the same from the prior model – including cameras, resolution, size, build quality and the refresh rate (of up to 120Hz). This is for anyone who wants the latest and greatest specs and a tablet for heavier use – such as photo or video editing projects – but you will probably find that the older models start to come down in price slightly until stock runs dry. If you can compromise on having the new processor, the M1-equipped 11-inch and 12.9 inch models from last year remain fantastic.

If you want to ditch the paper notepad in favour of a digital alternative, the reMarkable 2 E Ink tablet is for you. This isn’t your typical slate. It’s similar in size to the entry- level iPad (10.3-inches) but there are no games, internet browsing, social media apps, streaming services or cameras to be found. This is for handwritten scribbles, reading/annotating documents with a ‘Marker’ stylus and reading ebooks. It’s incredibly thin at 4.7 mm, and boasts a battery life of up to two weeks from a single charge, so you're unlikely to need to have one of the best power banks in your backpack.

If you’re someone who is always taking notes or planning personal projects this will be useful for keeping your work in one place with less chance of you losing physical documents. It's lightweight too (403.5 g) so not annoying to carry in your laptop bag, briefcase or backpack, and because it looks and feels like paper to use we think it’s great for business trips and work tasks. It’s not perfect: there’s no backlight, there are no dedicated buttons for page turning and, yes, it’s fairly expensive for what it is.

As above, this gives you the super-powered iPad Pro experience with an even bigger display. It’s not a subtle choice (and isn’t what we could consider to be truly portable) but the 12.9 inch model is perhaps the best full-on laptop replacement you can buy. It’s got blazing speeds thanks to that new M2 chip that's perfect for editing, plus a gorgeous high-resolution display. There’s not much in the specs department that separates it from the 11-inch model, but if you’re after a big-screen tablet experience, this is the iPad Pro for you.

Microsoft’s most advanced tablet is also one of the best 2-in-1 Windows devices on the market, striking a perfect balance of business and fun if you’re at the office frequently. You can buy a colourised cover which magnetically hooks to the edge of the tablet and protects the display when not in use. Flip it up to turn it into a laptop with a trackpad built-in, so you can bang out a few emails or check the news.

With the full Windows operating system built-in, it's just like a regular laptop, with a fast processor and plenty of storage to get some work done – you can also add an SD card to expand the storage even further. This is a powerful device that can manage anything from a swift Google query to large-scale spreadsheets, but isn’t quite enough to deal with heavy photo/video editing software. For that, we say you're still better with the iPad Pro.