It was only a few years ago when people used notepads for note-taking in college. But with modernization, students are now more comfortable in carrying a tablet.
Tablets can be used to not only take notes, they are also able to organize a slew of information.
But how do you pick the best tablet for college students? There are a few things that you need to base your decision on. Durability, cost-effectiveness, design, battery, and performance matter greatly when selecting a tablet for college students.
Seems confusing? Don’t worry. We got it covered for you! In today’s article, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best tablets for college students. Let’s begin!
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus
Budget-wise, you won’t find a better tablet than the Lenovo M10 Plus in the sub $200 range!
The Lenovo M10 Plus has a full metal design and a nice looking matte finish. It’s quite durable too. Your fingers won’t slip up if you have a sweaty palm. The 10.3″ IPS LCD is full HD. The aspect ratio at 16:10 is really big for those who love immersive visuals. The screen has a decent 330 nits brightness too.
The Lenovo M10 performs quite well with the hardware it has been provided with. It runs on a MediaTek Helio P22T processor. Though the processor isn’t the strongest in the world, it’s sufficient for a college student. Meanwhile, the PowerVR Rogue GE8320 GPU is powerful enough to run games such as PUBG mobile.
The Lenovo M10 plus has a base storage variant of 64 or 128 GB. You can use micro SD cards with this tablet to expand the storage capacity further. It runs on 4GB RAM which doesn’t let any kind of stuttering happen. Finally, you’ll also be getting a decent battery backup of 8 hours.
However, we weren’t a big fan of the camera as it was a bit blurry while taking portrait shots. On top of that, the speakers don’t fire up that much.
All in all, is it a good tablet for students? If you’re looking for the best cheap tablet for college students then this is it. You don’t need to look any further.
Pros
- The 10.3″ Full HD IPS LCD is quite bright with 330 nits.
- The MediaTek Helio P22T processor is powerful enough to handle day-to-day work.
- The PowerVR Rogue GE8320 GPU is powerful enough to run games such as PUBG mobile.
- Supports MicroSD card.
- Decent battery life of up to 8 hours.
Cons
- Cameras are blurry in portrait mode.
- Speakers are a bit dull.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
If you could bump up your budget by just a bit more, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. It’s a decent well-rounded tablet for its price.
The S6 Lite comes with a slim metal design. It’s so light that you can carry it with you anywhere you go. You won’t even notice how much it weight on your hands. In terms of the display, you’d get a standard 10.4″ WUXGA+ (2000×1200) LCD with immersive corner-to-corner views.
The S6 Lite packs a good amount of power inside of it too. You’ll be getting an Exynos 9611 Octa-Core processor with this tablet. This processor is well suited for any kind of heavy workload you might throw at it. It’s accompanied by the Mali-G72 MP3 GPU which is powerful enough to handle most graphic-heavy games.
You’ll get to pick between 64/128 GB storage. This storage can be expanded up to 1TB With Micro SD cards. The tablet is quite fast too thanks to the 4GB RAM. A good thing that I like about this tablet was that the S Pen is included. The 7000+mAh battery will last a staggering 13 hours before running out so you won’t have to worry about plugging it in every few hours.
However, we found the book covers to be a bit expensive. On top of that, the palm rejection needs quite a bit of improvement.
Overall, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is the perfect tablet for college students.
Pros
- The slim metal design is light and comfortable.
- The 10.4″ WUXGA LCD has immersive corner-to-corner views.
- The Exynos 9611 Octa-Core processor is strong enough to handle all sorts of heavy workloads.
- Up to 1TB storage.
- S Pen is given for free.
- The battery lasts a staggering 13 hours on a full charge.
Cons
- Book covers are expensive.
- The palm rejection feature isn’t up to the mark.
Apple iPad Air
Don’t want to spend much but don’t like Android tablets either? In that case, the Apple iPad Air would be the perfect choice for you! This slim and compact tablet is liked by many college students across the world!
Let’s start with the design. The iPad Air comes in 3 different colors. It comes in a matte finish that feels comfortable to grip and doesn’t leave fingerprints on the body. In terms of display, you’ll get a 10.5-inch retina. The display comes with wide accuracy and true color technology.
Even though this is a lighter version of the original iPad, it’s quite powerful in terms of performance. The iPad Air comes with an A12 Bionic Chip which can run even the heaviest applications with ease. It’s also compatible with the Apple Pencil and keyboard.
The iPad Air offers storage variants. You can pick either 64GB or the 256GB version. Unlike other tablet cameras, the iPad Air has a good camera. The 8MP back camera can record up to 1080P videos. The battery life is decent too. At 10 hours of battery life on a full charge, you’ll rarely need to plug up the iPad more than once a day!
The downsides? Accessories aren’t sold separately. The design needs a bit of an upgrade too.
Overall, the iPad Air is a good midrange alternative to Android tablets of the same price. We recommend this tablet to anyone who wants a good overall performance.
Pros
- The 10.5-inch retina display provides immersive visuals thanks to the true tone and wide accuracy feature.
- An insanely strong A12 Bionic chip that can run almost anything.
- Compatible with Apple Pencil and keyboard.
- Up to 256 GB of storage.
- The 8MP back and 7MP Facetime camera takes clear photos and videos.
- The battery lasts up to 10 hours.
Cons
- Accessories need to be bought separately.
- Aged design.
Apple iPad Pro (2020)
Wait what? You want the best tablet and you don’t care how much it would cost? In that case, you need to take a look at the Apple iPad Pro (2020). It’s simply the best!
The iPad Air is what you expect from a high-end tablet. It features a nearly bezel-less design and a sleek metal finish. You’ll get the same quad camera design as the latest iPhone models. On top of that, it has a 12.9‑inch Liquid Retina display. The display has interesting features such as the ProMotion technology and Truetone.
The performance unit of this tablet is filled to the brim. It comes with an A12Z Bionic chip that’s based on a 64-bit M12 coprocessor. Apart from the A13bionic, this is the best processor in the market.
The iPad Air offers a huge amount of storage. You can choose from 128GB up to 1TB! No matter which storage variant you go for, you’ll always get 6GB of superfast storage. The battery life is quite good too. On a single charge, you’ll get up to 10 hours of battery life.
Overall, the iPad Pro is the best tablet money can buy. It has no visible flaws.
Pros
- The A12Z Bionic chip is one of the best processors currently.
- The 12.9‑inch Liquid Retina display provides lifelike visuals.
- 6GB Superfast RAM that doesn’t let the tablet stutter.
- Bezel-less design and sleek metal finish.
- A 10-hour battery life that runs throughout the day.
- SSD storage options ranging from 128GB up to 1TB.
Cons
- Very expensive.
- Might be overkill for a college student.
Lenovo Tab M8
I know that we’ve already discussed a budget option. But if you really can’t spend much, the Lenovo Tab M8 would be the ideal choice for you. At sub $100, you can’t get anything better than this.
The Lenovo Tab M8 is a tablet from late 2024 – it offers decent performance and looks. You’ll get a matte finish on this tablet as well as large bezels. The back cover is full metal. It has an 82% panel-to-body ratio. As for the display, you’d be getting an 8” (1200×800) display. Though it isn’t as immersive as some other displays on this list, it’s good enough.
The Lenovo M8 runs on a Quad-Core, 2.0 GHz processor. It also comes with an Android 9.0 OS. The chipset is a mid-range Mediatek MT6761 Helio A22. It also has the 3.5 mm headphone jack port which most of the current tablets are missing out on.
The Lenovo M8 comes in two variations. You can pick either a 2GB RAM and 16 GB storage or 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. We suggest the latter as it provides more storage and speed.
Meanwhile, the non-removable Li-Po 5000 mAh battery will last about 6-8 hours depending on usage.
However, if you’re a tech-savvy person, you won’t like this tablet much as it’s a very basic model.
Overall, the Lenovo Tab M8 is the perfect tablet for those who don’t want to spend much. But if you can spend even a bit more, then the M10 plus on this list would be a much better choice.
Pros
- The full-metal back provides good protection.
- Very cheap.
- The Quad-Core, 2.0 GHz processor is powerful enough to handle day-to-day activities.
- Up to 3GB RAM.
- Up to 32 GB storage options.
- Decent battery life of between 6-8 hours.
Cons
- A very basic tablet.
Conclusion
When choosing a tablet for a college student, you need to keep in mind that the tablet needs to have a good battery backup, a strong processing unit, a good amount of RAM, and is lightweight.
In today’s article, we’ve done just that. These are some of the best tablets for college students. Make sure to look for the features you want in your tablet and go for that one!