How To Buy The Best Tablets For Students In 2021

Tablets are amazing and compact devices that can help people with a lot of their daily tasks. Whether it be for work, for school, or for recreational activities. But for students, tablets can easily be a versatile device that can really help you take down notes, organize your schedule, and accomplish your school works. So for today’s guide, we’ll be giving some advice on how to buy the best tablets for students in 2021.

With the market so saturated with all different kinds of tablets from every brand you can think of, it can be hard to choose one and find which will suit you the best. In addition to that, tablets come in every price range. From being $100 to costing more than $1000. So with that being said, it can be tricky to pick which tablet will give you every bang for your buck.

The last thing you want is to splurge on such an expensive tablet and end up with a device that has way too advanced features you won’t even end up using. Or worse, you get yourself a “cheap” tablet that breaks easily or has multiple issues or compromises.

So to make sure you avoid these kinds of mistakes, this article will help you out as you shop for your next tablet purchase.

If You Want To Check Out Different Models Of Tablets, Here Are Our Top Recommendations For The Best Tablets For College Students In 2021.

Why Choose A Tablet?

As online lessons continue to be offered as a result of the ongoing pandemic, the demand for equipment and gadgets that can handle hefty academic workloads grows. Tablets are an excellent example of such devices that may provide great adaptability, productivity, and portability.

But some of you might be wondering: why should I get a tablet and not just stick to my smartphone or get a laptop instead?

Those are very valid questions and honestly, if you already have a reliable laptop that you can use for your online classes, there’s nothing wrong with sticking with that. However, if you’re looking for a device that offers a lot more portability than your laptop but something that has more power than your smartphone, a tablet is the answer.

Tablets Vs. Laptops & Smartphones

While laptops are still very effective devices, sometimes we just crave something more compact. And to be frank, some tablets like the iPad Pro from Apple can even go toe to toe with most flagship laptops nowadays. Not to mention, similar flagship tablets from Samsung and Microsoft can also easily serve as a pseudo-laptop. All you need to do is attach a keyboard and voila! You got yourself a laptop.

Aside from the physical aspects, Samsung also offers DeX mode to really give you that laptop feels with a click of a button while also helping out in your productivity. On the other hand, Microsoft’s Surface Pro series uses a Windows operating system.

Apart from school works, a tablet can also serve you for all sorts of things. Some examples would be streaming high-quality videos, practice some digital drawing, and plenty of other activities. Sure, you can also do these things with your current smartphone or laptop, but a tablet is a great balance of those gadgets.

A smartphone is great and they’re reliable but oftentimes, they don’t have enough power or support the same apps a tablet might. Also, the display screen is sometimes just too small depending on your preference. Laptops are cool too, they offer plenty of power but they’re not the most compact. You’ll find a lot of the time that having a tablet is a lot more comfortable to carry around anywhere.

Shopping Tips

Now if you’re fully convinced that you really want a tablet for your online classes, here are some friendly shopping tips you might want to consider and keep in mind.

Plan How Much You’re Willing To Spend

As I have previously mentioned, tablets come in all different price ranges. Some go for as low as $100, while some models like the iPad Pros from Apple can cost you up to more than a thousand dollars. Personally, I find that really expensive and unnecessary unless you really need that much power from a compact device like a tablet.

So before you enter a physical store or head on to Amazon, it’s best to have a budget already planned to avoid getting overwhelmed. Not only will this help narrow down your options when you have a price range to stick to, but you will also have an idea of what kind of tablets you need to look for and what kind of specs you should expect.

As with any product, more affordable options of tablets are going to come with a few compromises so it can maintain a more budget-friendly price point. So you really can’t expect a Samsung Galaxy Tab A6 to function the same way as an iPad Pro would. Not only are they two vastly different models from different brands, but their hardware is also built differently.

However, if you’re desperate for power and want your tablet to be as good as your computer, then be prepared to splurge a little. These kinds of advanced and high-tech specs will surely cost you an arm and a leg.

If You’re Looking For The Best Tablet Money Can Buy, Check Out Our Full Review Of The Apple iPad Pro M1 Here.

Try To Visit The Physical Store Of Your Chosen Tablet

With the pandemic still ongoing, it’s always best to stay indoors to keep yourself safe from the virus. But if you can and you think it’s safe enough in your community, I would highly suggest making a quick trip to check out the tablet you want physically in an actual store.

This gives you a better idea of how the tablet will feel on your hands, how it actually looks like, and how it functions. The store employees can also answer some of your questions that you won’t get from product descriptions online as well as a more hands-on experience of the device.

Aside from those things, checking your desired tablet in a physical store also lessens situations wherein you might receive a faulty product that you will end up returning or exchanging. Plus, if the tablet is good enough for you, you can just purchase it right away on the spot without having to wait for a few days for it to arrive on your doorstep.

Include The Accessories In Your Budget

To maximize a tablet’s versatility, you’ll often want to pair it up with accessories. Such accessories can be pens for taking notes or doing digital art, a Bluetooth keyboard for typing, or even an external USB port. They’re not a necessity, but they do make a huge difference when you’re using a tablet. So it’s up to you whether you would like to have them or not.

Some brands include these accessories in the box when you purchase them, but some manufacturers require you to buy them separately. So if you already have a tablet in mind, it’s best that you research whether they come in with the needed accessories. If not, you can either look for another model or make some allowances in your budget to be able to purchase these accessories as well.

Keep In Mind The Specs You Need For Your Classes & School Works

One of the most crucial things to consider when investing in such a high-end device as a tablet is the specs it has built into its system, depending on the classes you’re taking. The last thing you want is to discover that your newly purchased device lacks the necessary hardware to complete your everyday school activities.

So here are some features you need to consider and keep in mind when shopping for a tablet:

CPU

The CPU in a tablet will determine how fast and smooth your device will perform its tasks. The better the CPU your tablet has, the better it will also execute your tasks for you.

So before you invest, I highly recommend looking up what kind of processors or CPUs are the most updated in the industry right now. For example, tablets like the Apple iPad Pro with the M1 chip are as powerful as a lot of high-end laptops you’re seeing in the market right now. It will certainly give you a very smooth performance without a hitch.

But you don’t always need the most advanced CPU. More affordable options are definitely available that can perform adequately if you don’t require a lot of power for your daily tasks.

Check Out Our Review Of The Apple iPad Air 4 Here

Display

The display is something you shouldn’t overlook. Especially if you’re attending creative classes. If you’re a student who wants to practice your video editing skills or digital art, you should always look for a tablet that has an excellent display that offers perfect color accuracy to make sure that your work won’t look distorted or have its colors off in any way.

Operating System

When it comes to operating systems, you have a handful of options to choose from depending on the tablet you have chosen. From Apple’s iPadOS, to Android, and Windows. They’re all decent operating systems and it really just depends on which operating system you’re familiar with and you prefer working with for the years to come.

Though if you ask me when it comes to comparing the three, iPadOS is definitely more advanced and will give you access to some of the best apps for your tablet due to Apple’s robust app library.

Storage

The amount of storage in a tablet will solely depend on your needs and what you’re planning to do with your tablet. Tablet storage can be as little as 32GB and up to 2TB.

Personally, the 64GB of storage is pretty outdated and might not be sufficient if your tablet is going to be an all-around device to do all of your tasks. If you want to make sure that your device doesn’t run out of memory so quickly, opting for a model that has 128GB of storage would be a safer choice.

Conclusion

We’ve finally reached the end of this article. I hope this was able to give you an idea of what you need to keep in mind and what to look for when shopping for your next tablet purchase.

Do you already own a tablet? Or are you still contemplating it? Did our article for How To Buy The Best Tablets For Students In 2021 help you come to a decision? Let me know in the comments section below if you have any further questions, suggestions, or even insights to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!

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