The 10 Best Tablets

 Looking for something to bridge the gap between laptop and smartphone? These ten top-rated tablets fit the bill.

It's tough to believe the tablet market has exploded as quickly as it has since the first iPad debuted almost four years ago. After all, smartphones, tablets, and laptops all fulfill similar needs, and the feature sets of these devices don't vary wildly. Often it comes down to whether you want to check Facebook, email your pals, or watch House of Cards on a 5-, a 7-, or a 13-inch screen.

At the same time, here we are four years later, and there still aren't really many tablets that will truly replace both a laptop and a smartphone. A tablet is basically an extra thing to buy and carry. You probably don't need a tablet, but that doesn't mean you don't want one.

And if you know you want a tablet, you probably also have some idea whether you want an iPad, an Android, or a Windows model. (An important note: This list focuses mostly on lower-cost media-consumption tablets. Though there are some Windows 8 tablets listed here, if you're looking for a convertible tablet or one with with a laptop-grade processor, whose main task is productivity, The Best Windows 8 Tablets focuses on those models.)

There are some other important factors to consider as well. Do you need a tablet that offers hundreds of thousands of apps? Do you want a slate that you can easily hold with a single hand, or one with a larger 10-inch screen? Do you need memory card slots for additional storage? How about 4G cellular connectivity so you can use your tablet to get online anywhere? You get the idea.

If you're unsure which tablet to get, we present this list of the 10 best tablets we've tested as a good place to start your search. The list comprises Android, Apple, and Microsoft models. And since one tablet size doesn't fit all, we picked five large-screen (8.9- to 11-inch) and five small-screen (7- to 8-inch) winners to come up with our top 10. And since we're reviewing new tablets all the time, we'll update this list periodically.

For more in-depth tablet-shopping advice, read Android, Apple or Windows: How to Choose the Right Tablet. If you're all about Android, take a look at the Best Android Tablets. And for the latest lab-tested reviews, check out the Tablet Product Guide.

Large-Screen (8.9-to-11-Inch) Tablets

Apple iPad Air

$499
$499.00 at Apple Store The iPad Air is Apple's attempt to make the tablet disappear. The result is an unusually slim, well-built platform for the best array of apps in the business. Read the full review ››

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Asus Transformer Book T100TA

$399
$471.95 at Amazon For a sub-$400 price, the Asus Transformer Book T100TA is a fully functional Windows 8.1 hybrid tablet, and the natural successor to the netbook ideal. And it avoids all the compatibility issues that plague tablets running mobile operating systems like iOS, Android, or Windows RT. Read the full review ››

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Dell Venue 11 Pro

$499
$499.99 at Dell With all-day battery life, a 1080p IPS screen, Windows 8.1 Pro, and flexible mobile and desktop docking systems, the Dell Venue 11 Pro slate tablet means business. And it's under $500. Read the full review ››

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Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9"

$379
$379.00 at Amazon The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" is the simplest-to-use high-quality, large-screen tablet, with built-in, on-demand tech support. And it's the best choice for handling your Amazon content. Read the full review ››

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition)

$549
Best Price at Amazon This year's Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet picks up exactly where last year's model left off, making key upgrades to the display and internals while improving its core stylus and multitasking features, but it's still not perfect. Read the full review ››

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Small-Screen (7- to 8-Inch) Tablets

Google Nexus 7

$228
£139.99 at Argos.co.uk Google's Nexus 7 continues to set the bar for small-screen tablets with a perfect balance between price and performance. Read the full review ››

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Apple iPad mini with Retina Display

$399
A$349.00 at Apple Store The new iPad mini has a super-sharp Retina display and packs all of the power of the iPad Air into a more portable package. Read the full review ››

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Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7"

$229
$229.00 at Amazon Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX is the simplest high-quality small-screen tablet you can buy, and ease of use doesn't come at the cost of performance. Read the full review ››

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Asus MeMO Pad HD 7

$149
$149.00 at Amazon The Asus MeMO Pad HD 7 is one of the most affordable tablets available, and offers solid features and performance for the price. Read the full review ››

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Dell Venue 8 Pro

$299.99
$319.99 at Dell The Dell Venue 8 Pro is a Windows 8.1 entry-level tablet that certainly corrects the problems that can crop up when from using mobile tablets like the iPad or Google Nexus families. But is it a replacement for a Windows laptop PC? On that, we're not so sure. Read the full review ››