The best small tablets of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

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A tiny tablet is simply a fantastic summertime companion. They're large for speechmaking connected the beach, watching a video successful the shade, oregon entertaining the kids connected agelong car trips. These tiny devices are conscionable arsenic almighty arsenic their older siblings, and galore travel with vibrant displays.

The show sizes of tiny tablets tin scope from six to 10 inches. Despite the size, galore inactive connection agelong artillery life, accelerated performance, vibrant displays, and plentifulness of customizable features. Our apical picks see the iPad Mini (seventh-gen) and different champion small Android tablets like the Boox Tab Mini C oregon inexpensive tiny tablets.

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What is the champion tiny tablet close now?

Based connected our extended hands-on investigating with assorted tablets of each sizes, our prime for the champion tiny tablet is the iPad Mini (7th gen), acknowledgment to its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina show and value of conscionable nether 1 pound.

We person besides researched and tested compact-sized tablets from Samsung, Amazon, and different brands for those looking for thing much compact and easier to carry. Read connected to find retired our apical recommendations for the champion tiny tablets to buy.

Also: Best Windows tablet

The champion tiny tablets of 2025

Apple's iPad Mini is our apical prime for the champion tiny tablet acknowledgment to its A17 Pro Chip -- the aforesaid almighty processor recovered successful the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max -- that is besides compatible with Apple Intelligence.

The iPad Mini was updated past twelvemonth with caller features including enactment for the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Intelligence capabilities that see Writing Tools, the redesigned Siri, Priority Notifications and Messages, Summarization tools, Smart Reply, and the Clean Up instrumentality successful Photos.

There's a spot connected the close broadside of the tablet to complaint the Apple Pencil, making it a large tablet for those who worth the enactment to gully oregon constitute notes. Customers who bought the iPad Mini reported successful reviews that they were impressed by its artillery life, durability, and display. They besides noted its portability to acceptable successful purses and bags, peculiarly for amusement purposes.

Review: Apple iPad Mini (seventh-generation)

ZDNET writer Maria Diaz tested the Apple iPad Mini and said, "The iPad Mini 7 is compact and fast, and its Apple silicon processor is built to past for years." She besides added, "buy the iPad Mini 7 for the amusement tablet it is."

If you're funny successful picking up an iPad Mini, Amazon and Best Buy are offering $100 disconnected the 128GB model, bringing the outgo down to $399.

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If you're looking for thing adjacent smaller and cheaper than the iPad Mini, the Amazon Fire 7 tablet is simply a great fund tablet pick. The Fire tablet's 7-inch surface has a 1024 x 600 display, truthful you tin watercourse movies oregon play video games without hauling astir a bulky product.

Former ZDNET contributor Jason Cipriani reviewed the Amazon Fire 7 tablet and said it offers "a well-rounded acquisition arsenic agelong arsenic you instrumentality the outgo into relationship erstwhile mounting expectations." Even though show whitethorn beryllium a spot slow, Cipriani said that's expected astatine an affordable terms point, considering the tablet is simply a colorful Kindle, a dedicated Alexa astute display, and a astute location controller each successful 1 device.

Review: Amazon Fire 7 (2022)

Along with the quality to inquire Alexa questions, you tin presumption and negociate your Alexa-connected smart location devices. You tin power cameras, lights, and outlets utilizing your dependable oregon by tapping the dedicated Devices fastener successful the bottommost navigation bar.

While the 16GB exemplary is retired of banal astatine galore retailers, you tin opt for a refurbished point oregon the 32GB mentation astatine Amazon with an $45 price tag. If you're consenting to wage a small more, you tin region lockscreen advertisement support.

Amazon Fire 7 tech specs: Display: 7-inch, 1024x600 show | Processor: MediaTek MT8168V/B | Storage: 16GB oregon 326GB | Colors: Black, denim, oregon roseate | Cameras: 2 MP beforehand and rear-facing cameras with 720p HD video signaling | Weight: 9.9 ounces | Dimensions: 7.11 x 4.63 x 0.38 inches | Connections: 2 USB-C, 3.5mm jack | Battery life: 10 hours

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The upgraded 12th-generation Kindle offers astir of the specs from the erstwhile model, with a fewer caller additions. These see antithetic exterior colors -- Matcha and Black, a brighter beforehand light, a higher opposition ratio, and a faster page-turn rate.

ZDNET exertion Nina Raemont besides tried the caller Kindle hands-on and was peculiarly impressed with its lightning-fast performance, particularly erstwhile compared to older models.

Review: Amazon Kindle (12th generation)

"While I was reading, I noticed that the page-turning and book-loading speeds were importantly quicker than connected my Kindle Oasis oregon Kindle Paperwhite from 2022," she wrote.

The anti-glare 300ppi show makes it casual to work successful immoderate light, and acheronian mode is simply a lukewarm invited erstwhile you're trying to work astatine nighttime without letting bluish airy interrupt your slumber cycle. Plus, it weighs conscionable .35 pounds, meaning it'll acceptable astir bags and backpacks.

The 12th-generation Amazon Kindle is disposable for a budget-friendly terms of $110 astatine Amazon.

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Samsung's tablet lineup spans price, capability, and surface size. The Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is simply a tiny Android tablet that combines affordability and usefulness. Its 8.7-inch surface features a 1340x800 display, making it worthy of streaming, working, and more.

The Tab A7 Lite is portable capable to instrumentality anywhere, and is particularly pragmatic if you're utilizing it to entertain kids with acquisition apps. Plus, the metallic framework adds immoderate added ruggedness.

In addition, you tin grow your retention beyond the 32GB oregon 64GB allotted. The tablet allows up to 1TB of expandable storage, doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic the erstwhile model. Overall, 91% of Best Buy customers would urge buying this tablet, giving it an mean standing of 4.5 retired of 5.

ZDNET writer Charlie Osborne, who contributed to this article, selected this exemplary to assistance a household subordinate commencement a caller business. The reason? It's affordable, has a tiny capable signifier origin to gaffe easy into a handbag, and is capable to grip day-to-day tasks specified arsenic checking email and utilizing mobile apps with ease.

You tin prime up this tablet for $160 astatine Amazon.

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The champion tiny tablet is the iPad Mini due to the fact that of its crisp show and awesome cameras. Plus, the A17 Pro spot is packed with powerfulness successful a tiny package. But if you're unsure, the factors beneath whitethorn sway your decision.

Tablet	Price	Screen size	Display
Apple iPad Mini	$399	8.3 inches	Liquid Retina
Amazon Fire 7	$45	7 inches	1024x600 pixels
Amazon Kindle	$110	6 inches	300ppi glare-free
Samsung Galaxy A7 Lite	$160	8.7 inches	1340x800 pixels

Choose this small tablet...	If you want...
Apple iPad Mini	The champion wide tiny tablet with USB-C larboard for quicker charging and information transfers. It besides comes equipped with Apple Intelligence.
Amazon Fire 7	A budget-friendly and well-rounded tablet with fantabulous artillery beingness and astute adjunct functionality. Its 7-inch surface has a 1024x600 display.
Amazon Kindle	A tiny and portable tablet designed for speechmaking with acheronian mode and six weeks of artillery life. Its 300ppi is the aforesaid show arsenic the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Oasis.
Samsung Galaxy A7 Lite	A tiny Samsung tablet with expandable retention and an exceptional artillery life. The tablet allows for up to 1TB of expandable storage.

We cognize determination are a batch of tablets and tablet sizes to take from, but ultimately, these factors should beryllium considered earlier making a purchase:

Size: These tablets scope betwixt six and 8 inches, which defines a tablet arsenic small. Consider whether you privation 1 of the smallest options oregon you privation a exemplary astatine the higher extremity of the range.
Display: Small tablets shouldn't person to compromise connected an already smaller display, and galore tablets present battalion a punch successful narration to solution and show technologies.
Use cases: One of the astir important deciding factors successful selecting a caller tablet is what you program to usage it for. If you mean to usage resource-heavy applications, for example, opt for a exemplary with a almighty processor. You whitethorn prioritize retention abstraction if you privation a tablet for storing TV shows, books, and films.
Battery life: A device's artillery beingness is important nary substance its size, truthful we considered devices that tin past you each time -- but expected artillery beingness tin vary.
Operating system: What's your favourite mobile operating system? Your prime of tiny tablet whitethorn hinge connected whether you similar iOS, Android, oregon different OS.
Accessories: While a tiny origin successful your decision, you mightiness privation a circumstantial color, case, oregon stylus. Research what's disposable earlier you buy.
Price: Tablets alteration successful terms scope from affordable to costly depending connected marque and purpose, truthful we made definite to take tablets astatine assorted terms points to accommodate antithetic budgets.

The ZDNET squad chose each of the tablets included successful this database based connected their show when tested successful the existent world. When we trial tablets, we typically travel the aforesaid regular for each 1 to spot which performs best.

Display: We measurement the brightness level successful antithetic lighting conditions and measure colour accuracy.
We besides comparison the display's show with what the shaper promised, trial the screen's responsiveness to touch, and measure the show of immoderate other features, similar a manufacturer's stylus.
Performance: For real-world show metrics, our reviewers measurement however rapidly the tablet reacts to input, measure crippled show and framework rates, trial however the tablet handles having aggregate apps moving simultaneously, measurement the clip it takes to motorboat apps, and adjacent measure the tablet's somesthesia during intensive tasks.
Battery life: We trial antithetic scenarios for artillery life, including measuring however agelong the artillery lasts portion streaming, web browsing, utilizing productivity apps, and playing games.

Camera and audio: For cameras, we measure features similar resolution, aperture, low-light performance, autofocus accuracy, dynamic range, colour accuracy, representation quality, sharpness, and video quality. For audio, we look astatine the dependable prime and wide listening experience, including audio clarity astatine antithetic volumes, stereo separation of near and close audio channels, maximum measurement level successful assorted environments, and if determination is perceived distortion.

For a deeper look into our investigating process, cheque retired our comprehensive tablet investigating methodology.

The smallest tablet surface size connected the marketplace is six to 7 inches. Anything smaller would beryllium much akin to a smartphone.

It's wherefore you privation to see your superior uses erstwhile considering which tiny tablet is close for you. To demonstrate, if you question often, 1 with a smaller surface volition beryllium cleanable for carrying/using connected an airplane. If your purpose is to work much e-books oregon draw, you'll privation 1 with a larger screen.

Tablets made by Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft are the best-made tablets successful presumption of quality. Amazon has well-rounded tablets successful its Fire lineup but with less performance-focused features. Boox is besides proving to beryllium an manufacture underdog, with awesome tablets that relation arsenic e-readers and illustrators.

Keep successful caput successful definite cases, you tin brace your different devices with the tablet. In the lawsuit of Apple tablets, you tin log successful utilizing your Apple ID to entree the aforesaid apps, pictures, and much from your telephone connected your iPad.

Meanwhile, with Samsung devices, you tin instrumentality Samsung Flow. Download the app connected your telephone and tablet. You tin link your tablet to your telephone via Bluetooth oregon Wi-Fi.

Yes, they tin be. Small Android tablets let you to bash everything you would usually do, similar speechmaking e-books and video calling, without the higher terms tags.

Their lightweight assemblage and compact plan marque them cleanable traveling companions. So, if you're searching for the best Android tablet with large artillery beingness and lightweight design, the minis are an enticing choice.

The smallest iPad is the iPad Mini which has a surface size of 8.3 inches. It's besides lightweight astatine conscionable nether 1 pound.