When we write this guide, our aim is to help you pick the best tablets for reading eBooks and PDFs. Devices that make reading easy on your eyes, let you carry tons of books or documents, allow annotations when needed, and work well in different light and environments.
You may read novels, textbooks, academic papers, or comics. You want comfort, clarity, longevity. We are your guide-by-your-side, helping you choose what feels right for you, technically and practically.
You probably have run into a few familiar challenges. One is eye strain from glare or harsh light when reading on glossy screens. Another is awkward page layout: PDFs often designed for A4 or letter size don’t reflow well, so small screens make frequent zooming or panning necessary. Handling large files slowdowns is a pain: turning pages in heavy PDF documents becomes laggy.
Battery life is also a common issue: tablets drain quickly under continuous reading, especially with bright backlight. Storage matters: you might have hundreds of PDFs or eBooks, including media-rich ones. Also, carrying a heavy device is uncomfortable for long reading sessions. Finally, annotation and note taking (highlighting, underlining, margin notes) tend to be poorly supported or laggy on many tablets.
We evaluate tablets using several key criteria that respond to those challenges. First, display type and quality: we look for screen sizes that allow comfortable viewing of full pages, ideally 8-10 inches or more; resolution high enough so text is sharp without visible pixelation; front light or backlight options that are dimmable and glare reducing; ideally E-Ink for minimal eye fatigue, or high quality LCD/OLED with eye-friendly features.
Second, file handling and performance: processor and RAM sufficient to open large PDF files without stutter, allowing fast page turns and smooth pinch/zoom. Third, battery endurance: you should get many hours or even days/weeks of regular reading time. Fourth, storage capacity: enough internal storage to hold your library plus room for growth; plus ability to manage external storage or cloud sync. Fifth, annotation features and stylus/pen support if you want to mark up PDFs, or take notes. Sixth, form factor and weight: light enough to hold with one hand, thin and portable. Also provision for durability (good build, possibly waterproof for outdoor or travel use).
We set minimum specifications that solve many common pain points. For full-page PDF reading (especially textbooks), a screen size of at least 10 inches (for reading full spreads or large diagrams) or at least 8 inches if more portable; resolution of ~300 PPI (pixels per inch) if using E-Ink, or similar sharpness on LCD/OLED; front light/adjustable light; RAM of at least 2-3 GB for basic devices, more if using multitasking or annotation; storage of at least 128 GB, preferably 256 GB or more for larger libraries; battery life of many hours or days; support for PDF, EPUB formats; stylus support is a plus if you annotate.
We think about use cases so you see which features matter most. If you travel and read a lot on planes or in transit, you value battery, light weight, eye-friendly display, and decent storage. If you study or do research, you need large screen, stylus annotation, fast rendering of heavy PDFs. If you read fiction casually, you may prioritize portability and a comfortable reading UI. If you read comics, magazines or anything with images, you want color, high resolution, and a display that handles image-rich content well.
Now we are ready to examine devices that meet these criteria, comparing them across display, performance, battery, and extras, so you can see which one matches your reading habits best.
You should also take a look at the Best Tablets for E-Learning in addition to the Best Tablets for Home School.
The Following are the Best Tablets for Reading eBooks:
Contents
- Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet, vivid 11” display, 64GB
- Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet, vivid 11” display
- Apple iPad (10th Generation) with A14 Bionic chip, 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display, 64GB, Wi-Fi 6 + 5G Cellular
- SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9” 64GB Android Tablet
- SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9” 128GB Android Tablet
- Apple iPad (10th Generation) with A14 Bionic chip, 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display, 64GB
- Fire HD 8 tablet, 8” HD Display, 64 GB
- Huawei MateBook Signature Edition 2 in 1 Tablet
- Dell Latitude 12 7000 7285 12.3 inch 2-IN-1 Tablet
- Microsoft Surface Pro Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB LTE
- VANKYO MatrixPad S21 10 inch Tablet
- Samsung Electronics Galaxy Tab S5e 10.5 Tablet
Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet, vivid 11” display, 64GB |
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| Operating System | Android |
| Screen Size | 11 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1024 x 600 (171 ppi) |
| Processor | Quad-core 2.0 GHz |
| GPU | Quad-core 2.0 GHz |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage Space | 64GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 2 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 2 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | Up to 14 hours |
| Connectivity | Wifi |
| Pros | Large storgae, Affordable |
| Cons | n/a |
Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet, vivid 11” display |
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| Operating System | Android |
| Screen Size | 11 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1024 x 600 (171 ppi) |
| Processor | Quad-core 2.0 GHz |
| GPU | Quad-core 2.0 GHz |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage Space | 128GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 2 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 2 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | Up to 14 hours |
| Connectivity | Wifi |
| Pros | Large storgae, Affordable |
| Cons | n/a |
Apple iPad (10th Generation) with A14 Bionic chip, 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display, 64GB, Wi-Fi 6 + 5G Cellular |
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| Operating System | iOS |
| Screen Size | 10.9 inches |
| Display Resolution | 2360 x 1640 Pixels |
| Processor | A14 Bionic |
| GPU | A14 Bionic 6 Core |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage Space | 64GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | No |
| Main Camera | 12 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 12 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | Li-Po 7606 mAh |
| Connectivity | Wifi, Bluetooth, Cellular |
| Battery | Li-Po 7606 mAh |
| Pros | Good performance, Quality Display |
| Cons | None |
SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9” 64GB Android Tablet |
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| Operating System | Android |
| Screen Size | 10.9 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 X 1200 (WUXGA) Pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm SM6375 Snapdragon 695 5G (6 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 619 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage Space | 64GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 8 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 5 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | Li-Po 7040 mAh, non-removable |
| Connectivity | Wifi, Bluetooth |
| Pros | Performance, Price |
| Cons | N/a |
SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9” 128GB Android Tablet |
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| Operating System | Android |
| Screen Size | 10.9 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 X 1200 (WUXGA) Pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm SM6375 Snapdragon 695 5G (6 nm) |
| GPU | Adreno 619 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage Space | 128GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 8 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 5 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | Li-Po 7040 mAh, non-removable |
| Connectivity | Wifi, Bluetooth |
| Pros | Performance, Price |
| Cons | N/a |
Apple iPad (10th Generation) with A14 Bionic chip, 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display, 64GB |
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| Operating System | iOS |
| Screen Size | 10.9 inches |
| Display Resolution | 2360 x 1640 Pixels |
| Processor | A14 Bionic |
| GPU | A14 Bionic 6 Core |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage Space | 64GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | No |
| Main Camera | 12 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 12 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | Li-Po 7606 mAh |
| Connectivity | Wifi, Bluetooth |
| Cons | Storage |
| Pros | Good performance, Quality Display |
Fire HD 8 tablet, 8” HD Display, 64 GB |
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| Operating System | Android |
| Screen Size | 8 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1024 x 600 (171 ppi) |
| Processor | Quad-core 2.0 GHz |
| GPU | Quad-core 2.0 GHz |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage Space | 64GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 2 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 2 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | Up to 10 hours |
| Connectivity | Wifi |
| Pros | Performance, Price |
| Cons | n/a |
Huawei MateBook Signature Edition 2 in 1 Tablet |
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| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Screen Size | 12 inches |
| Display Resolution | 2160X1440 Pixels |
| Processor | Intel Core M5 |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 515 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage Space | 128GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 5 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 5 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | 4430mAh |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
| Pros | Performance, Display Size |
| Cons | NA |
Dell Latitude 12 7000 7285 12.3 inch 2-IN-1 Tablet |
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| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Screen Size | 12.3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 2880x1920 pixels |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-7Y54 |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 615 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage Space | 256GB SSD |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Back Camera | Not Applicable |
| Webcam Camera | YES, Infrared |
| Battery Life | up to 8 hours |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
| Pros | Performance, Display Quality, Storage Capacity |
| Cons | NA |
Microsoft Surface Pro Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB LTE |
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| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Screen Size | 12.3 Inches |
| Display Resolution | 2736 x 1824 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 |
| GPU | Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage Space | 25GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 5 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 5 Megapixels |
| Battery Life | 12 hours average |
| Connectivity | LTE, Wifi, Bluetooth |
| Pros | Performance |
| Cons | None |
VANKYO MatrixPad S21 10 inch Tablet |
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|---|---|
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| Operating System | Android |
| Screen Size | 10.1 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1280*800 pixels |
| Processor | Quad Core |
| GPU | PowerVR GE8322 |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage Space | 32GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes, up to 128 GB |
| Main Camera | 8 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 5 Megapixels |
| Battery Capacity | 5000mAh battery |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
| Pros | Large Display, Portable and Lightweight, Long Battery Life |
| Cons | RAM |
Samsung Electronics Galaxy Tab S5e 10.5 Tablet |
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| Operating System | Android 9 Pie |
| Screen Size | 10.5 Inches |
| Display Resolution | 2560x1600 pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 |
| GPU | Adreno |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage Space | 64GB |
| SD Card Expansion Slot | Yes |
| Main Camera | 13 Megapixels |
| Front Selfie Camera | 8 Megapixels |
| Battery Life | up to 15 hours |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS |
| Pros | Display, Performance |
| Cons | NA |
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