How to Choose a Tablet

The short answer

Choose a tablet in this order:

1. The app ecosystem: iPadOS, Android, Amazon's Fire OS or Windows. It decides which apps you get.
2. The screen size: small for reading and carrying, large for video and work.
3. Storage: enough for your apps, photos and downloads.
4. Extras: cellular data, a pen or a keyboard, only if you will use them.

Of the 405 tablets listed on Wiki Shopping on October 26, 2026, 268 state an operating system that has a filter here: 218 Android and 50 Windows.

Pick the ecosystem first

Consumer Reports, in its tablet buying guide updated in September 2026, makes these points:

• iPadOS uses Apple's App Store, which it rates as having the widest and strongest app selection. Some apps never come to other platforms.
• Android tablets use the Google Play Store. Samsung models are among its top scorers, and Lenovo sells lower priced ones.
• Fire OS is Amazon's version of Android with its own Appstore. It misses some apps, such as Google Docs.

Windows tablets run full desktop programs, which suits people who want a laptop replacement; Consumer Reports does not cover them in that guide. If you already own a phone, the same ecosystem lets you reuse apps and purchases.

Screen size

Consumer Reports notes that tablets of 8 inches or less tend to weigh under a pound and that larger screens cost more. Screen shape matters too: a wide 16:9 screen fits movies, a squarer screen, like the iPad's, suits most other uses.

Storage

Consumer Reports says 32GB or 64GB is enough for most people, but the system and preloaded apps use part of it, so it suggests 128GB or more for many photos, videos or games. On Wiki Shopping, storage spreads widely:

Cellular, pen and keyboard

• Cellular: a Wi-Fi model costs less. Consumer Reports puts a cellular plan at about $10 a month on a phone bill; tethering to your phone is an alternative. 73 tablets list cellular.
• Pen: check that the pen works with your exact model. Apple's compatibility page shows that each Apple Pencil works only with certain iPads. 76 tablets come with a pen included.
• Keyboard: 67 tablets include a keyboard, useful if the tablet will stand in for a laptop.
• For children: 70 tablets are made for kids, and 30 are rugged.

How we count

Counts are Wiki Shopping filter pages for tablets, read from our database on October 26, 2026. A tablet counts when its store listing states the operating system, screen size, storage or feature; listings that do not state them are left out of those counts. There is no iPadOS filter, so Apple tablets (21 list an Apple processor) are not in the Android and Windows figures.

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Sources

1. consumerreports.org: buying guide
2. support.apple.com