These days, shopping for a tablet is harder than ever. That's why this buying guide exists. We've reviewed tablets from every major manufacturer over the years, and here's everything we've learned so you can make a more informed purchase.

In the past, if you wanted a new tablet, you bought an Apple iPad. But today, thanks to years of competition from Amazon, Google, and others, there is a mountain of great tablets out there. Apple no longer has a monopoly on the best tablets, and many of the best Android tablets can fill the same or greater needs as the iPad.

Don't pay cell phone bills unless you really need them; you can use your tablet a lot with just Wi-Fi, and the monthly cell phone bill for a tablet can quickly add up. Sure, a tablet with 4G/5G connectivity is handy for quick directions, games, and video calls on the go, but if you already carry a smartphone that can do the same things, you hardly need it. tablets with Wi-Fi only connections come with movies, games, and books preinstalled, and you can enjoy all that content on the go, as long as the apps you use to access them do not require an active Internet connection.

Don't settle for less than 10 hours of battery life, and be sure to find third-party test results to back up tablet manufacturers' battery life claims. This testing is important because the battery life figures that many tablet manufacturers use to advertise their products are often recorded under ideal conditions and are rarely achieved during actual use. When purchasing a tablet, be sure to check reviews first to see how long the battery lasts under real-world conditions of use.

Don't compromise if the internal storage is less than 64 GB. Anything less than that and you will be constantly deleting and reinstalling things to free up space, which can be a major headache. Every tablet has a specific amount of built-in storage, but most of it is often taken up by the operating system; in the case of the iPad, that alone can fill up a lot of storage, so if you buy an Apple tablet, it is especially It is important to pay for it. However, many non-Apple tablets come with an expansion card port (usually a microSD slot) that allows flash memory cards to be inserted as additional storage, giving you the option to add more storage in the future.

A stylus or removable keyboard can extend the tablet's functionality and is readily available on the iPad, Amazon Fire HD 10, Windows Surface devices, and many other tablets. While tablets were initially marketed as devices dedicated to media consumption, they have also evolved into a respectable creation tool in their own right. So if you want to spend more time doodling and writing on your tablet, don't forget to invest in a stylus and a detachable keyboard.

Android tablets are generally cheaper than iPads; if you want one with iOS, you'll have to buy an iPad, but iPads are very expensive, with even an entry-level iPad costing over $300. However, if you prefer Android, you can definitely get a comparable tablet for less.

Consider who will be using the tablet. This is an important consideration if you plan to share the tablet with more than one person in the household; Apple's iPad allows only one user account to be logged in at a time. If you want a tablet that allows you to set up and manage multiple user accounts, then you should choose Android. Android has powerful account management tools that allow you to set up primary, secondary, and guest accounts, as well as restrict which apps a particular profile can install on the device. It is designed to give parents control over what content their children can access, and comes with special kid-friendly features such as a soft cover and a free trial of Amazon's Kids+ content service.

Don't expect to have full access to all Android apps on the Amazon Fire tablet; the Amazon tablet is restricted to the Amazon App Store by default. Google apps like YouTube are available from Amazon's App Store, so this is a major limitation, and while you can take a few steps to get the Google Play Store up and running on the Fire OS, it's a pain. However, if you need a tablet primarily for reading books and streaming video, and are deeply invested in Amazon's content ecosystem, the Fire OS tablet should serve you well.