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When buying a tablet, you'll typically consider its primary use case (entertainment, drawing, work, etc.), price point, display size, operating system, and more.
At ZDNET, we considered all these factors when choosing the best tablets you can buy, but we also tested one important factor that can truly make or break your tablet experience: battery life.
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We ran nine tablets through the gauntlet in our lab in Kentucky, evaluating each tablet's battery life under different settings. The one tablet that stood out above the rest for battery life was the M5 iPad Pro, earning it ZDNET's first official Lab Awards badge.
Other tablets that impressed us in our testing included the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, the base-model iPad, and the Google Pixel Tablet, with performance data shown below.
How we tested the tablets
In our Louisville-based lab, we tested each tablet using a dedicated PC with an NI USB-6001 DAQ, eight auxiliary inputs with adapters, and in-house LabVIEW software that analyzed audio outputs as voltage signals.
We tested each tablet's battery life a total of 12 times: three times with maximum brightness/audio, three times with minimum brightness/audio, three times with maximum brightness/audio on Airplane Mode, and three times on minimum brightness/audio on Airplane Mode.
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We chose to measure screen brightness during video playback as the main parameter to test since it is one of the most impactful settings on a device when it comes to how battery life is affected. We also tested with Networking/Bluetooth on/off to measure the additional battery drain that regular communication via these connections can cause.
However, since the test video was downloaded to the devices under test, this had only a small impact on the results. Testing battery drain during a stream with an active, in-use internet connection would be a logical next stage in future testing.
Tablets were tested at maximum volume for audio and video, as well as at maximum/minimum brightness. The following tablets were tested:
- OnePlus Pad 3 (see at Amazon)
- Google Pixel Tablet (see at Best Buy)
- Microsoft Surface Pro (see at Best Buy)
- Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra (see at Best Buy)
- Apple iPad Pro (see at Best Buy)
- Apple iPad (see at Best Buy)
- Apple iPad Air (see at Walmart)
- Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (see at Amazon)
- Amazon Fire Max 11 (see at Amazon)
Test 1: Average battery life at maximum brightness
Test 2: Average battery life at minimum brightness
During our tests, the only app running on each device was VLC media player. This was chosen due to its availability on all operating systems, relative name recognition with the general public, and compatibility with the level of settings control the lab team wanted to exert.
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Running in the background allowed the team to confirm that the app and device settings were set to standardized volume, brightness, and video repetition.
It's important to note that the video file used to test all devices was downloaded to each device, not streamed from the internet, to ensure the test isn't subject to failure due to an internet service interruption.
The results
As you can see from our data visualization (Figure 1), the M5 iPad Pro has the best battery life, with a little over 15 hours at maximum brightness before needing to be charged, solidifying its rank as the best tablet for power users or as a laptop replacement.
The latest iPad Pro model is not only the best at standby power management, but is evidently the best option for folks who travel and require high-brightness usage.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra had the second-best battery life at almost 11.5 hours, and the third-best was the Amazon Fire Max 11 at just over eight hours.
While the iPad Pro earned high marks, the other two iPads we tested scored relatively low for battery life at maximum brightness: five hours and 40 minutes for the base-model iPad and five hours and 21 minutes for the iPad Air.
The tablet that stood out the most in our minimum brightness test (Figure 2) was the OnePlus Pad 3, with a surprising 40 hours of battery life. The OnePlus Pad 3 also received a ZDNET Editor's Choice Award, in part due to its exceptional battery.
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Notably, your experience with these tablet models may differ from our lab-tested results, depending on how you use your tablet and what applications are running in the background. But as a general baseline, our testing provides expert analysis of how long these tablets can last and which use cases they may be best suited for.
Based on hands-on experiences, the 11th-generation iPad is our pick for the best tablet for most people. It has an accessible price, enough storage and RAM to handle everyday tasks, and a lightweight design that's perfect for working or streaming on the go.
However, we recognized other top tablets in our best tablets roundup, including the OnePlus Pad 3 as the best Android tablet for entertainment, the Microsoft Surface Pro as the best Windows tablet, and the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids tablet as the best tablet for kids.
That depends on what you want to use your tablet or laptop for. Digital artists tend to prefer tablets since they're easier to draw on with a stylus. Tablets are also great for photo editing and streaming movies, especially if you get one with a large enough screen.
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But if you want to do things like create spreadsheets, type in a word processing program, or do intensive 3D animation or modeling, you're better off with a laptop.
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