Best Tablets for College Students

The latest Apple iPad Pro doesn't really require that much advertising, does it? We can pick it apart and examine what it is exactly that the product has to offer but, at the end of the day, this is iPad we're talking about. You know it won't be cheap. You also know that you'll be getting your money's worth.

According to Apple, the biggest selling point of this iPad iteration is the display. But we would like to start in a slightly different place. It isn't as glamorous but, as far as we're concerned, the model's 256-gigabyte SSD makes just as much of a difference.

First of all, it is an SSD, meaning that the tablet will be booting up itself as well as the applications in no time at all. Furthermore, that "256-gigabyte" part implies that you can use the tablet to store loads of information. More often than not, the issue with tablets is that there isn't a whole lot of built-in memory, so you're always relying on your Internet connection. With an SSD like this one, you'll be a lot less reliant on Wi-Fi or cellular data.

The rest of the model's hardware is no joke either. Equipped with an 8-core Apple A12X Bionic CPU (4 x 2.5 GHz + 4 x 1.6 GHz), this tablet for college students will be able to tackle the most demanding applications. Running on iOS 12, it is easily the fastest iPad and one of the fastest tablets today.

Microsoft Surface Pro, ever since its introduction, was doing a bang-up job combining technical excellence with sleek aesthetics and the fifth iteration does it even better than its predecessors. Though the people behind it do not advertise the model as a convertible, calling this device a tablet would be incredibly reductive, no offense to tablets. Armed with an Intel Core i5-7300U CPU that's able to Turbo up to 3.5 GHz, it is practically a desktop PC or a mid-range laptop masked as a tablet. Running on Windows 10 Pro, it will allow you to do anything you can do with a regular computer and seldom able to do with a traditional tablet.

The model allows you to open the built-in kickstand and add the Surface Pro signature cover that features luxurious Alcantara® material and a really responsive, full-blown keyboard. You'll be able to play some of the more demanding games, work, create, and study anywhere you want.

As far as we're concerned, the only thing that separates this tablet from a really good mid-range laptop is that the model in question comes equipped with but a single USB Type-A port. Sure, you can always add a USB hub or stick with Bluetooth but it would be nice to see an extra USB interface in the 6th Surface Pro generation.

Especially considering the fact that the device already comes equipped with a mini DisplayPort, so you might as well go all the way and turn this ever so sleek, compact, and stylish tablet into a full-blown portable entertainment, work, and study machine.

ASUS Transformer Mini T103HA, as the name suggests, is a proper transformer, meaning a convertible model that is as much a tablet as it is a laptop. Needless to say, a combination like that has a lot of advantages over traditional laptops and tablets. You can remove the keyboard and use the model as a drawing tablet.

Though the said keyboard is as slim as they come, with just 1.5mm key travel, it is always nice to have that option to separate the keyboard from the screen and be able to rely solely on touchscreen interactions when necessary.

The model's advantages don't end there and we will cover them in a moment. But first, let's consider its disadvantages because, naturally, the device has those too. We wouldn't necessarily describe the Intel Atom x5-Z8350 CPU weak, with its ability to Turbo up to 1.92 GHz.

But we definitely wouldn't call it powerful either. With this middle-of-the-road, mediocre processor, you simply won't be able to run multiple demanding apps at the same time. That being said, most medical students and other students that don't really need a powerful rig to study should find this tablet adequate and sufficient enough.

Plus, this device comes packed with 4 gigabytes of RAM, so it isn't like you won't be able to multitask at all here, just that you won't have the option to do so while juggling some of the more hardware intensive programs.

For the most part, Lenovo Yoga Book (ZA0V0224US) is a great budget model and the best tablet for students on this list. Naturally, the "budget" part carries with it certain disadvantages. In this case, it is mostly hardware. Though the Intel Atom x5-Z8550 CPU is able to turbo boost up to 2.4 GHz, needless to say, it doesn't stack up that well against its more expensive competition.

With your general, everyday studies, you should be able to put this 2-in-1 tablet to good use but you definitely won't be able to play anything other than basic Android games or some of the more forgiving apps. Four gigabytes of DDR3 RAM is nothing to scoff at but nothing to write home about either.

Setting the hardware aside, however, there's a lot to like about this model. For one, it comes equipped with a robust 8-megapixel rear camera, something that you will seldom find even in high-end tablets. With a camera like that, you'll be able to shoot quality full HD videos at 60 frames per second, which is pretty impressive for a budget tablet.

The model's 10.1-inch 1920 x 1080 screen is nothing to complain about either. Its color reproduction is realistic and overall impressive and, combined with the built-in Dolby Atmos speakers, the tablet delivers an immersive, almost cinematic experience.

Samsung Galaxy Book is one of the oldest, most recognizable tablets on the market today. The only reason we haven't put it closer to the top of our list is because it doesn't really bring anything we haven't seen before, it doesn't differ that much from the previous version, and its price-performance ratio isn't all that impressive.

Still, this is a great tablet for college students in general and the best option for Samsung fans in particular. Earlier Samsung Galaxy tablets were being distributed with Android, similar to their smartphones. Here, the device runs on Windows 10 and, for our taste, this is a better choice.

We don't have anything against Android and it definitely has its advantages too. But Windows is just a better operating system for studying and a more suitable option for 2-in-1 tablets. Among other things, it works better with the Microsoft Office suite and so many students all over the world rely on it in for their school projects.

What we have here isn't the cheapest option on the market today but it does have the hardware to match. The Intel Core m3-7Y30 (Turbo up to 2.6 GHz) won't allow you to run triple-A PC titles, naturally, especially considering the always subpar graphics card that the tablets come equipped with but it will let you use multiple apps simultaneously without much of a hiccup.

Multitasking is as much CPU as it is RAM but, packing 4 gigabytes of the latter, the model is able to manage the task with relative ease.