Android tablets haven’t always been worthwhile, but they’ve come a long way since Samsung’s original Galaxy Tab. Apple’s ever-popular iPad is arguably still king of the tablet castle in many ways, especially when it comes to apps, but the competitive market for Android-powered slates means lots of options at a range of price points, with diverse features. Mobile gamers with their eyes on Android tablets have to wade through choices, including display characteristics, processing power and memory, and battery life and charging speed, not to mention ergonomics.

Paired with a high-end controller, the best gaming tablets on this list can make short work of even the most graphically demanding Android titles, like Alien Isolation, Genshin Impact, or GRID Autosport — if you’re willing to pay. On the other hand, more casual gamers can easily find cheap Android tablets that are good enough for simpler games like Candy Crush. Plus, all the tablets listed here are suitable for video streaming and web browsing, and some can double as powerful productivity tools on the side.

Top tablets for gaming

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

Best overall

All-around excellence, at a price

If your goal is serious gaming on an Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab S9 covers all the bases. Processing power, a killer display, and a long-lasting battery help this model live up to its price for gamers.

Pros

• Outstanding AMOLED display
• Excellent gaming performance
• Generous battery

Cons

• Pricey for a tablet
• Questionable haptics
• Bundled stylus unnecessary for gaming

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 is an impressive all-around premium tablet. It’s not terribly affordable, but it’s powerful enough to deliver the goods for any tablet-based Android gaming application. The 11-inch, 2560×1600 AMOLED display at 120Hz is well-suited to gaming, and there are excellent colors to boot. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU performs very well for gaming, and the base 8GB of RAM can be upgraded to 12GB if you’re truly hungry for memory.

Battery life also makes this tablet a contender; the Tab S9’s 8,400mAh battery is excellent, and it supports 45W fast charging. It also has 128GB of built-in storage that can be upgraded to 256GB or expanded via microSD. With a mouse and a keyboard, Samsung’s DeX Mode turns this tablet into something laptop-like — and, like the even pricier Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, the S9 is a strong multitasker (although the Ultra’s much bigger screen gives it a clear advantage when displaying two apps side-by-side). Water and dust resistance is a nice touch, too.

Other than the price, the Tab S9’s few shortcomings for gamers include poor haptics and no 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s also hard to imagine the bundled S Pen being really useful for gaming, but you can’t opt out.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra

Premium pick

Spend big, get big

Android games will look phenomenal on this premium tablet’s humongous display, and there’s more than enough processing power to go around. But all that excellence comes at a luxury price, and this tablet might be too big for some to use comfortably.

Pros

• Giant display
• Superb speakers
• Excellent gaming performance

Cons

• Extremely expensive
• Large size could get awkward
• Poor haptics

The pinnacle of Samsung’s tablet line lives up to its price tag in many ways. Its massive high-resolution display and four built-in speakers pair well with gaming. A huge battery and 12 gigs of RAM don’t hurt either, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset can chew through any games on its plate.

The Tab S9 Ultra’s monumental, 14.6-inch, 1848×2960 AMOLED screen is a clear selling point for gamers. Ironically, however, certain Android games optimized for phones might look out of place on such an enormous screen. Other games might be hard to play on this expansive display, at least if you’re using the screen and not a controller. Like the smaller Galaxy Tab S9, this tablet comes bundled with an S Pen.

For multitaskers, the Tab S9 Ultra’s split-screen feature offers plenty of gaming possibilities while watching a video, reading a walkthrough, or chatting, especially with so much display. With a mouse and a keyboard, Samsung’s DeX Mode transforms this giant tablet into something approaching a large laptop. The 11,200mAh battery is appropriately hefty for this tablet’s size, although its 45W charging doesn’t live up to the much less expensive OnePlus Pad’s 67W charging.

However, the haptic feedback leaves something to be desired, and there’s no 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, although the Tab S9 Ultra is water and dust-resistant like the Tab S9. For the price, the Ultra is a premium pick for gamers who demand maximum performance and crave as much visual real estate as possible — and who can afford it.

Source: OnePlus

OnePlus Pad

Best value

Compelling budget proposition for tablet gamers

For a reasonable price, the OnePlus Pad has many attractive features for any tablet gamer: a high-resolution 11.6-inch screen, a fast processor, and an ample battery with fast charging. The Pad has a few quirks, but it also offers value.

Pros

• Great display
• Solid performance
• Powerful battery with very fast charging

Cons

• No headphone jack
• Some software quirks

The OnePlus Pad has plenty to like from a gaming perspective, especially in light of the tablet’s competitive price. The 11.6-inch display LCD sports a 144Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2,800×2,000 pixels. That 7:5 aspect ratio sets it apart from similar tablets on the market and could work well with certain games — or, it could be annoying for games optimized for 16:9.

Performance from the Dimensity 9000 CPU with 8GB of RAM is good for tablet gaming applications. Gamers will also appreciate the Pad’s capacious 9510mAh battery and 67W fast charging, which quickly fills that big battery backup. The four built-in speakers are powerful, but unfortunately, there’s no headphone jack.

OnePlus’ Oxygen OS has some quirks, but it does include a split-screen mode that could come in handy for gaming while multitasking. The Pad lacks a fingerprint sensor, and some might object to the unusual camera bump on the back. And the green color might not work for everyone, either.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Tab A8

Mid-range option

Affordable choice for low-demand gaming

For the discount price, the Tab A8 is a good option for tablet gaming on a budget. Graphically intense games could be a problem, though.

Pros

• Affordable
• Good screen for price
• Headphone jack

Cons

• Slower gaming performance
• Slow charging

Considering its budget price, the Galaxy Tab A8 is a clear choice for undemanding tablet gaming. The Tab A8’s 10.5-inch, 1920×1200 pixel LCD screen is good value for the money, but it could be brighter and isn’t ideal for gaming in direct sunlight. The tablet sports four speakers and has a headphone jack — something its big brothers, the Galaxy Tab S9 and S9 Ultra, can’t boast.

But the Tab A8 can’t multitask like its more expensive siblings, and it will struggle to run more graphically intense games on its Unisoc Tiger T618 processor. Base storage of 32GB is limited, but upgrades are available to 64GB or 128GB. The possibility of microSD storage expansion is a bonus.

The 7040 mAh battery is understandably smaller than the batteries in many more expensive tablets but should still be able to handle hours of gaming. However, 15W charging could slow things down for gamers on the go. Despite its technical limitations, the Tab A8 delivers good value for money: it’s ideal for casual gamers, kids, or anyone on a budget. And multiple color options add some fun to the package.

Source: Lenovo

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2

Superb display for less

The display you want at an affordable price

The Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 has a first-class display at a fair price and reasonable gaming performance to boot. Expandable micro SD storage is another plus for gamers.

Pros

• Top-notch display
• Micro SD expandable
• Enormous battery

Cons

• Less RAM than competitors
• No headphone jack

If an excellent display is your biggest ask for tablet gaming, Lenovo’s Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 has you covered. For just a wallet-friendly price, you’ll get an impressive 11.2-inch OLED display at 2560×1536 pixels running at 120Hz with excellent contrast and color. That’s hard to beat for the cost, although display visibility drops off in direct sunlight.

The Tab P11 Pro’s four built-in speakers produce solid sound output, although (like so many other tablets these days) a 3.5mm headphone jack is nowhere to be found. Other gaming-friendly features on this modestly priced tablet include a generous 8,200 mAh battery that fully charges in less than two and a half hours with the included 20W charger, as well as a microSD slot that allows expanding the 128 GB of built-in storage to 1TB.

The Tab P11 Pro can handle demanding games, although you may have to turn down your graphics settings. However, the MediaTek Kompanio 1300T CPU may experience some slowdowns under heavy load. The base model’s 4GB of RAM is reasonable for the price point, but this tablet has some trouble with multitasking. An extra 2GB of RAM is available, but our review discovered a CPU bottleneck that prevented that upgrade from achieving its full potential.

Source: Google

Google Pixel Tablet

Home hub first, games second

Home hub with gaming potential

Google’s Pixel Tablet is optimized more for service as a smart home hub than a gaming device. Even so, several features are gamer-friendly, like a fast processor and a high-resolution display.

Pros

• Good performance
• Nice display resolution

Cons

• Only 60Hz refresh rate
• Included dock not optional
• No headphone jack

The Pixel is a smart home hub, designed to hang out in its included magnetic charging speaker dock and control your smart devices. Even though this tablet isn’t designed specifically for gaming, the Google Tensor G2 processor and 8GB of RAM can handle games smoothly. (However, it might warm up a bit during long sessions.) Storage space can also be upgraded from 128GB to 256GB at a cost.

The tablet’s resolution on the nearly 11-inch LCD is 2560×1600 pixels, which works for gaming. Unfortunately, the refresh rate on the screen is limited to 60Hz, while several less expensive tablets in this guide are 120Hz. Audio from the built-in speakers is underwhelming, and audio from the dock isn’t phenomenal either. Charging through the dock is also slow, although that might not be a big issue if the Pixel sits in its dock most of the time.

Still, it’s easy to imagine the Pixel working double duty as a home control pad and a gaming platform. If you don’t need that kind of versatility, the Pixel’s dock seems like an expensive extra from a gamer’s point of view — replacement docks cost $129 each — and you can’t buy the tablet on its own to save some money. The OnePlus Pad would be a better option for gaming only, and it’s a bit less expensive than the Pixel.

Source: Apple

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2022)

The Apple alternative

iOS-only games are calling

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro isn’t an Android tablet, true. But iOS has its charms for gamers, including exclusive games and outstanding hardware.

Pros

• iOS exclusive games
• Potent processor
• Great display

Cons

• Extremely expensive
• No headphone jack

Typical of high-end Apple products, the iPad Pro is a very expensive piece of powerful, well-designed hardware. For gamers, the biggest advantage here is something Android tablets just can’t offer: access to the world of iOS-exclusive games.

All 12.9-inch iPad Pro models come with Apple’s blazing-fast M2 chip. Base model storage is 128GB with 8GB of RAM, and Apple will sell you up to 2TB of built-in storage, but not for cheap. The wallet-busting 1TB and 2TB models include 16GB of RAM — but at those price points, you could buy a nice gaming laptop.

The 12.9-inch, 2732×2048 pixel mini-LED LCD refreshes at 120Hz, ideal for gaming. The iPad Pro has four built-in speakers but no headphone jack. This tablet is also available with 5G connectivity, which opens up options for online gaming away from a Wi-Fi connection. Unlike its larger, premium tablet competitor, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, the iPad isn’t rated for dust or water resistance. Still, there’s a reason iPads are so popular; they’re excellent tablets with killer apps.

Source: Razer

Razer Edge

Attachable controller

Designed for gaming, but unusual for a tablet

If the prospect of using a well-designed attachable controller on a high-performance device excites you — and the unorthodox aspect ratio and relatively small screen size don’t bother you — the Razer Edge is worth considering as a mobile gaming device. On the other hand, many high-end Android phones would perform similarly if paired with the Razer Kishi V2 controller.

Pros

• Outstanding controller included
• Expandable SD
• Pro controller has headphone jack

Cons

• Small screen for a tablet
• Non-standard aspect ratio
• Phone-compatible controller available separately

The Razer Edge is engineered for gaming, with good performance and an excellent attachable controller included, but potential buyers will have to decide whether those selling points outweigh the Edge’s small size compared to other Android tablets. The bundled, high-quality Kishi V2 Pro controller with pass-through charging is the biggest point in the Edge’s favor, and places it in a category of its own compared to competing tablets — although it’s expensive compared to some other Android gaming handhelds. Some Android games are more suited to controllers than others. However, if you already game on a large-ish Android phone, you could simply buy a Razer Kishi V2 controller and get a similar gaming experience for less money.

Performance for native Android games is very good, thanks to the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1. The more expensive 5G model also has 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB. In terms of storage, the Edge holds 128BGB out of the box, with microSD expansion capacity up to 2TB. Its 5,000 mAh battery is smaller than many of the other batteries on this list, but then again, so is the display. One standout feature worth mentioning is that the Kishi V2 Pro controller includes a headphone jack.

The Edge’s 6.8-inch OLED display runs at an attractive resolution for the size — 2400×1080 — with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and well-defined colors and blacks. However, the 6.8 inches may feel large on a phone display, but the Edge’s screen is small compared to other tablets. The 20:9 aspect ratio is also a bit unusual for gaming. Android games that support the non-standard ratio will benefit, but titles designed only for 16:9 won’t look as good on this relatively small screen. Plus, the Edge’s curved screen corners can cut some content off at the 20:9 aspect ratio.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite

Ultra cheap casual

Casual gaming on a budget

You won’t be playing graphically advanced games at maximum settings on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, but it’s very affordable. The low-cost Samsung is a great gaming tablet choice for kids, or for playing solitaire on the couch.

Pros

• Ultra cheap
• Expandable storage
• Headphone jack

Cons

• Screen limited to 720p
• Not very powerful

If your only tablet gaming desires go no further than playing Angry Birds or occupying kids on a long car ride, the discount Tab A7 Lite should do the trick. And unlike more high-end Samsung devices, you do get a headphone jack in this tablet. MicroSD storage expansion is also available.

However, compared to other tablets on this list, this model has gaming limitations. This includes a display that’s limited to 720p. Although that’s not bad for an 8.7-inch screen, it might not cut it for some gamers. And the battery is a modest 5,100 mAh, and 15W charging can take some time.

The Tab A7 Lite’s gaming performance isn’t phenomenal, but some more demanding games will still be playable on low settings, especially if you’re willing to put up with the occasional stutter. It’s also important to note that multitasking performance is poor. Upgrading this tablet with additional RAM up to 4GB might make sense, although paying extra here doesn’t quite justify this tablet’s low-budget ethos. At a certain point, it would make sense to upgrade to the Galaxy Tab A8.

A gaming tablet to fit your circumstances

Tablets have several potential benefits over smartphones for mobile gaming: bigger displays, better battery life, and more processing power can make it worth the upgrade. Plus, gaming tablets can moonlight as streaming devices, smart home hubs, or productivity tools. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 is our overall top choice for tablet gaming, although there are compelling arguments for more affordable tablets.

As with other contemporary wireless products, high-end Android tablets mostly lack a wired headphone jack. Sadly, it doesn’t look like those jacks are coming back into style — but several Android tablets still have them, and that’s welcome news for headphone enthusiasts.

Which one is best for you?

Among the Android tablets on this list, the Galaxy Tab S9 is our top overall choice for gaming, with excellent all-around performance and a gorgeous display. The S9 Ultra takes everything that makes the S9 great and supersizes it for big spenders; it’s a formidable gaming tablet. For gamers weighing power against value, OnePlus’ inaugural tablet, the Pad, strikes a welcome balance of features with a reasonable price tag.

Ultimately, choosing the right gaming tablet comes down to how you tend to game. Larger options like the Galaxy Tab S9 or even the S9 Ultra make sense if you mostly play at home. However, something smaller like the Razer Edge has appeal for gamers who frequent cramped spaces like trains, buses, or planes.

That raises another important question; how much do you really want to spend on a relatively fragile slate? For gamers who are always on the move, there’s a good case to be made for buying the least expensive tablet that can get the job done. Accidentally dropping and shattering a Galaxy Tab A8 or Lenovo’s Tab P11 Pro — or having it stolen — would be less painful than losing an iPad Pro or a Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

Best overall

Samsung’s cheap tablet has plenty to love as a low-cost casual gaming option, like a decent screen and a headphone jack, although it has obvious limitations. That said, the price is right — and this tablet frequently goes on sale.