Notebookcheck's Top 10 Tablets

The Apple iPad Pro 9.7 is a well-made combination of the iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro 12.9, which even comes with a similarly good camera as the iPhone 6s. Moreover, the True Tone display of the tablet supports the Apple Pencil. Optional LTE, fast performance, and up to 256 GB of internal storage leave almost nothing to be desired. The battery runtimes also convinced in our test. Unfortunately, the device does not support Quick Charge and, so, charging the battery takes a long time. In addition, the power adapter's capacity is too low and the steep price might keep prospective customers from buying.

With the Pixel C, Google has produced an in-house design similar to the Pixel Chromebook. The tablet features an unusual display size, but it looks good and, together with its optional keyboard, is a powerful device for writing. The tablet appears to be very high-end and shines especially with its high performance and long battery runtimes. Moreover, it provides a modern USB Type-C Gen. 1 port. You should carefully consider the storage option when buying the device since the storage capacity cannot be expanded. In return, you'll get the latest version of the operating system with Google Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 delivers uncompromisingly high performance, which is far better than any other tablet's. Only the newer iPad Pro 9.7 can reach a similar level, but falls slightly short. Once again, build quality and materials set standards. Using the tablet is absolutely intuitive and smooth. Unfortunately, a steep surcharge is due for the well-made pen called Pencil.

Previous to its presentation, the Apple iPad Mini 4 was almost considered a dying species. At the Keynote, Phil Schneider only mentioned the small iPad in two sentences. Wrongly, as our review shows. Although the iPad Mini 4 cannot fully reach the promised performance level of the Air 2, it brings more than sufficient performance for all current tasks. Even demanding 3D games are not too much for the Mini 4. Compared to its predecessor, which Apple has already removed from its portfolio, it shines with the right improvements. These include a slimmer and lighter case, faster WLAN modules and especially the anti-glare display that sets new standards in outdoor visibility. In addition, the GPS sensor works excellently.

The hunt for superlatives continues. After Samsung increased the resolution of its high-end tablets to WQHD, the Galaxy Tab S2 8 comes with a "normal" one again. In addition, the manufacturer uses the 4:3 aspect ratio, which is comfortable for reading. In return, the new tablets are now ultra slim and extremely light. Nevertheless, Samsung neglected neither build quality nor stability. In addition, the new S2 series almost completely convinces when it comes to performance and features. Furthermore, the cameras have been improved. However, the highlight is and has been the ingenious S-AMOLED display with its vivid colors and unique deep black.

The bigger model of the new Tab S2 series from Samsung made it into our Top 10, too. Basically, the same can be said for the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 as for its smaller sibling, only the weight is higher and the pixel density is lower. Quote from above: "The manufacturer uses the 4:3 aspect ratio, which is comfortable for reading. In return, the new tablets are now ultra slim and extremely light. Nevertheless, Samsung neglected neither build quality nor stability. In addition, the new S2 series almost completely convinces when it comes to performance and features. Furthermore, the cameras have been improved. However, the highlight is and was the ingenious S-AMOLED display with its vivid colors and unique deep black."

Huawei's MediaPad M3 is an 8.4-inch multimedia tablet with a brilliant as well as high-resolution IPS display. The powerful processor ensures smooth system performance and browsing the web is also an enjoyable experience. Only the integrated GPU is brought to its limits in demanding games, which is also a result of the high screen resolution (2560 x 1600 pixels).

The tablet is perfectly equipped for media playback and strikes a good balance between weight and panel size. Huawei integrates good stereo speakers that provide decent sound on the go and the stamina of almost 10 hours is not bad, either.

We also liked the well-built aluminum chassis as well as the good memory equipment and the handy fingerprint scanner. It is a bit unfortunate that we only get a Micro-USB port.

The Huawei MediaPad M2 10.0 is the bigger version of the MediaPad M2 8.0, which was launched last year. It primarily targets multimedia enthusiasts and performs really well in this regard. The display is bright and contrast-rich and also great for traveling. However, those looking for high color precision will not be happy with the MediaPad M2, since its display is optimized for watching videos and, thus, shows the typical blue tint, and the color saturation is slightly too high. However, its a great device for its purpose and the good speakers contribute to an excellent video experience. As the Huawei also comes with LTE, friends of streaming services will also get their money's worth.

With the Xiaomi MiPad 2 a tablet from the Far East quietly entered our Top 10, which is not officially sold in Germany, but only available via imports. The look heavily resembles the iPad Mini, but the aluminum case does not house that much performance. Otherwise, the Chinese deliver a great tablet, which comes with a USB Type-C port. The colors of the display are not that good, but this is not annoying during everyday tasks. Moreover, the small storage capacity of 16 GB cannot be expanded. However, this is acceptable in view of the cheap price.

Those looking for a versatile and powerful multimedia tablet cannot go wrong with the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro 10. It comes with a high-resolution display and even features an integrated projector. While the flexible stand looks unusual, it holds the tablet well in portrait mode. In addition, the SoC from Intel makes for a very good system performance and the battery runtimes are nothing to sneeze at. Those who want to take notes quickly and easily will appreciate Lenovo's AnyPen technology, which allows using any metal object as a pen - regardless whether it is an ink pen or a fork.

Only the color precision of the contrast-rich display could be better. In addition, the cameras are disappointing.