Best tablets from €750 to €1,000 in 2026

The 11-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip is the tablet we would recommend to most people spending under €1,000. The M4 is the same chip family Apple uses in Macs, and with 12GB of memory it handles demanding apps, games, video editing and Apple Intelligence features comfortably, so it should feel quick for many years.

The 10.86-inch Liquid Retina screen is laminated, colour-accurate and reaches 500 nits. It works with the Apple Pencil Pro, with squeeze and hover features, and with the Magic Keyboard for iPad Air, which turns it into a capable small laptop. At 464 g and 6.1 mm it is lighter and slimmer than the basic iPad.

Apple quotes up to 10 hours of web or video. Cellular models use Apple's own C1X modem with 5G and start at €1,009.

The main compromise is the screen: it is a 60Hz LCD, not the 120Hz OLED found on the Galaxy Tab S11 or iPad Pro, so scrolling and pen strokes are not quite as fluid and blacks are not as deep. The starting 128GB is enough for streaming and documents, but choose 256GB if you download films or record video, because iPads cannot take a memory card.

The Galaxy Tab S11 is the best Android alternative to the iPad Air, and in some ways it is the better-equipped tablet. Its 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen refreshes at 120Hz and reaches peaks of 1,600 nits, so it is smoother, brighter and higher in contrast than the iPad Air's LCD. Films look superb.

Samsung puts the S Pen in the box, so there is no extra pen to budget for, unlike the iPad Air. Samsung Notes, Circle to Search and Galaxy AI tools for tidying handwriting and summarising notes make it a strong study and work tablet. A dedicated microSD slot lets you add storage cheaply, and there is an in-display fingerprint sensor.

MediaTek's Dimensity 9400+ with 12GB of RAM is fast for games and multitasking, and Samsung DeX gives you a windowed, desktop-style layout with a keyboard. The 8,400 mAh battery supports 45W charging, but you need to buy the charger. Samsung commits to seven years of updates.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab S12+ and S12 Ultra in late September 2026, but there is no new 11-inch model yet, so the Tab S11 remains the current compact Samsung flagship and is increasingly discounted.

The Surface Pro 12-inch is a different kind of tablet. Instead of iPadOS or Android it runs full Windows 11, so you can use desktop Microsoft Office, browser extensions, Windows-only work or college software and file management just as you would on a laptop. For students and office workers that can be decisive.

It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and comes with 16GB of RAM, which is generous for a Windows machine at this price. As a Copilot+ PC it supports Microsoft's on-device Windows AI features. Microsoft quotes up to 16 hours of video playback or 12 hours of web browsing, and Windows Hello face recognition signs you in quickly.

The 12-inch LCD has a 2196 x 1464 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. It is sharp enough, but not as vivid as the AMOLED on the Galaxy Tab S11. At about 680 g it is heavier than the iPads and Samsung here, and it relies on two USB-C ports rather than the older Surface Connect charger.

The catch is the total cost: the keyboard and Slim Pen are sold separately and add a lot to the €969 starting price. Also note that Windows is less polished than iPadOS or Android for purely touch-based use like reading and casual games.

The Matte Glass Edition is the top version of the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro, and it is aimed squarely at people who write and draw. Its etched, anti-glare glass cuts reflections from windows and overhead lights and gives the pen a slightly textured, paper-like feel, which many artists and note-takers prefer to slippery glossy glass. Apple charges extra for a similar nano-texture finish only on its most expensive iPad Pro models.

Underneath it is the same tablet as the standard Pad 8 Pro: an 11.2-inch 3200 x 2136 LCD at up to 144Hz, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite, a 9,200 mAh battery with 67W charging, a side fingerprint sensor and a 50MP rear camera. This edition comes with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, so you will not need to worry about space for files, games or offline video.

The matte coating does make the image very slightly less crisp and punchy than glossy glass, so if you mainly watch films, the standard version is better. There is no microSD slot, no 5G model, and Xiaomi has not published an update term. The Focus Pen Pro is sold separately; budget for it, because the matte screen is wasted without a pen.

This is the top configuration of the Honor MagicPad 4, and it is the best big-screen entertainment tablet in this price band. You get the same 12.3-inch OLED display as the cheaper version, with deep blacks, HDR peaks of 2,400 nits and a refresh rate of up to 165Hz, plus 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for large games and offline films.

What makes it special is how little it weighs for its size. At 450 g and 4.8 mm thick it is lighter than the 11-inch iPad Air and Galaxy Tab S11 despite a much larger screen. Eight speakers deliver wide, full sound, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip is flagship-class, so demanding games run very smoothly. The 10,100 mAh battery charges at 66W.

Honor sells its Magic-Pencil 3 and Smart Keyboard separately.

The compromises match the 256GB model: no memory card slot, no 5G, no fingerprint sensor listed, and no published update commitment, so it is less of a long-term bet than the Galaxy Tab S11. If 256GB is enough for you, the 12GB/256GB version on our €500 to €750 page is the better buy.