There is no better way of reading on a go than using an eBook reader, also known as a tablet that is suitable for reading. The best tablet for reading allows you to take as many books as you wish without ever having a heavy carrying bag.
When in doubt, read this Buying Guide: How to choose the right eReader?
Kindle was one of the first tablets that started the tradition of eBook readers, however, now, we have a wide choice of tablets that are made exactly for reading.
For you, we’ve done in-depth research, have tested out a number of reading tablets to find the ones that work the best and are offering the most satisfying experience – which is what everyone who’s into reading is looking for.
And in this post, you get to see our best reader tablet, which will make sure once you go with an eBook reader that you never go back to a hardcover book. If you’re on a budget, no worries since we included cheap eReaders that are as quality as the rest of our picks.
The Lineup At A Glance
- Apple iPad Pro – All Around Use
- Samsung Galaxy Tab Active PRO – Water Resistant
- Lenovo Tab M10 – Good for movies
- Samsung Galaxy Tab A – Maximized View
- Kindle Oasis – Paper-like display
- Sony Xperia Z4 – 2K Display
- Amazon Fire HD 10 – Alexa Powered
- BOOX Nova 2 – Usable Stylus
Best Tablets For Reading In 2023
Samsung Galaxy Tab A – Maximized View
Samsung Galaxy Tab A features a specific design that is specifically created in order for users to be able to hold the tablet easily and comfortably for many long reading hours.
It’s a design that is created to naturally fit the hand, any size, and type. And for a 10 inch tablet it really is lightweight for its build weighing only about 0.24 lbs. This makes it easier to carry around and doesn’t make your arms sore after a few hours of reading.
Another amazing feature of this tablet is that it has a very large memory space of 32 GB. And even though the system takes a bit of the storage itself, 32 GB is still large to accommodate all of your books. So you don’t have to worry about anything.You can store a library full worth of books here as well as your favorite comic books and manga.
And speaking of comic books, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A was designed for comic book reading. Its 10 inch screen is able to give you a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. Lastly, the tablet was designed to maximize the screen size by limiting the bezel allowing for a much larger screen.
Hardware Specifications for Samsung Galaxy Tab A
CPU: Exynos 7904 (14 nm), Octa-core (2×1.8 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53)| Graphics: Mali-G71 MP2| RAM: 2 GB | Screen: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors 10.1 inches, 295.8 cm2 (~80.7% screen-to-body ratio) 1200 x 1920 pixels, 16:10 ratio (~224 ppi density)| Storage: | Operating System: Android 9.0 (Pie), One UI | Battery Life: 13 hours | Weight: 0.24 lbs
Lenovo Tab M10 – Good for movies
What’s brilliant about the Lenovo Tab M10 is that it features a kids mode design so your children can actually use it as well. The kids mode option allows you to limit the content available to your kids and it allows you to customize what the tablet can show to your kids as well.
The tablet also features eye protection technology which minimizes eye strain and prevent eye problems in the long run. This makes the tablet extremely convenient for reading as well as for watching movies and TV shows.
Being as large as 10 inches, this tablet also makes reading way easier than normal and it helps prevent the user from squinting or placing the tablet too close to their eyes. Which is another reason why it’s so good with kids.
Even though Lenovo Tab M10 is a very slim and lightweight tablet, it comes with a battery that can last up to 9 hours on a single charge.
It’s been measured for multimedia and entertainment use, but if you plan to use it for solely eBook reading – the battery life might last longer than usual.
Charging takes only about 1 to 2 hours, which is very quick considering the battery life it offers on a single charged cycle.
The screen of Lenovo Tab M10 is created to offer a great viewing experience, which is perfect for reading your perfect magazine that is full of photos.
We’ve noticed that this tablet offers incredible brightness that only improves the viewing experience, and even the viewing angles are great. It’s an ereader with backlight which is hard to find.
You can use this tablet to read under any type of ambient lights, and you’ll never have an annoying glare to deal with.
Lastly, it has a powerful Qualcomm Adreno 506 graphics, an Octa core processor, and 3 GB of RAM. This makes this reading tabler also suited for some gaming as well.
Hardware Specifications for Lenovo Tab M10
CPU: Octa-Core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex A53 | Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno 506 | RAM: 3 GB RAM | Screen: 10.1 inches 1920 x 1200 Pixels, 24 bit color depth IPS LCD Capacitive TouchScreen | Storage: 32 GB | Operating System: Android 9 Pie | Battery Life: 9 hours | Weight: 1.06 lbs
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active PRO – Water Resistant
If you’re looking to read your favorite eBook even when the weather is against you, this tablet is the right choice. Some people don’t get a lot of free time for indoors reading time, yet the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active PRO makes reading outside a simple thing to do.
It features an IP68 rating that means it’s resistant to water, rain, dust, debris, shock, humidity, and many other things.
Reading a favorite eBook in the rain is never going to be an obstacle again.
It has a long lasting & replaceable battery. The Active Pro’s battery is one of the most reliable batteries out there, and it will never let you down. It can last up to 11 hours on a single charge, yet it only takes up to 2 hours to fully charge it back.
What we liked the most is the ability to replace the battery within a few minutes only. This means you can buy a second battery and easily swap the batteries when you need a longer life.
It is easily customizable, Samsung offers its official app called Knox Configure where you can take a turn and configure the tablet’s interface the way you want it.
This means you can create and display your books in a way you like it, update the apps whenever you want, and even manage your tablet remotely.
Adding books to your tablet has never been easier, thanks to the Knox Configure app.
Hardware specifications for Samsung Galaxy Tab Active PRO
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Kryo 360 Gold & 6×1.7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver)| Graphics: Adreno 616| RAM: 4 GB RAM | Screen: 10.1 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution LCD | Storage: 64 GB | Operating System: Android 9 Pie with One UI | Battery Life: 15 hours| Weight: 2.86 lbs
Kindle Oasis – Paper-like display
It has a week-long battery life. On a single charge, Oasis E-reader can last up to an amazing week of life. It’ll make sure you keep on reading even when other tablet readers are forced to stop for a plug.
It’s a perfect E-reader for people who are most of the time on a go and enjoy traveling along with a good choice of books. It’s definitely the best tablet for reading on the market in 2020.
Its famous paper-like display is one of its biggest selling points.Kindle Oasis E-reader features one of a kind display that makes people wonder whether it’s really a display or it’s just a paper in a frame.
It’s a display that features the highest resolution so far among Kindle readers. It’s a 7″ display with 330 pixels per inch.
Therefore, it’s really a paper-like display with zero glare, which makes it the best tablet for reading in sunlight.
Also, it’s the smallest ereader out there that will make it easy to take care of, and even being the most suitable epub eBook reader.
The Kindle Oasis is now waterproof. It is the first waterproof reader from Kindle, and if you love reading on the beach or next to the pool – you can now, without ever having a thing to worry about.
Kindle Oasis E-reader features an IPX8 rating which gives you even more freedom and fewer reasons to worry about.
Hardware specifications for Kindle Oasis
CPU: Freescale/NXP IMX7 dual core 1 GHZ processor | Graphics: N/A | RAM: 512 MB RAM | Screen: Amazon’s 7” Paperwhite display technology with next generation e-paper and built-in light, 300 ppi, optimized font technology, 16-level gray scale. | Storage: 8 GB | Operating System: | Battery Life: 6 weeks (30 minutes daily)| Weight: 0.4125 lbs
Sony Xperia Z4 – 2K Display
Thanks to the high-resolution HD display, the bright and vivid colors, and the ultimate viewing angle, you get one of the best reading experiences, along with the other types of entertainment.
Xperia Z4 features a 10″ display which is a 2K display that can reach a resolution of up to amazing 2560 x 1600 pixels. And with such resolution it’s fair to say that this tablet is the best tablet for reading PDF format files.
The standard storage on this reading tablet is 32 GB, and what’s even better is that the storage is upgradeable.
Since 32 GB might not be a lot for some people who will use the tablet for other things than just books, expandable storage allows users to have up to 200 GB of space to store all your files which is pretty significant.
Sony Xperia Z4 is one of the lightest and yet the thinnest reading tablets on the marketing. It’s the lightest tablet in its class.
Users will enjoy the effortless one-hand holding at all times, and will never get uncomfortable during reading, no matter for how many hours they’ve already been reading.
Yet, it’s a large ereader and it’s extremely light.
Hardware specifications for Sony Xperia Z
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 2GHz octa-core| Graphics: Adreno 430 GPU| RAM: 3 GB RAM| Screen: 10.10 inch 2560×1600 pixels | Storage: 32 GB | Operating System: Android 5.0 | Battery Life: 105 hours| Weight: 2.95 lbs
Apple iPad Pro – All Around Use
The Apple iPad Pro is one of the best tablets around and it can do most of the things that the other tablets can. Its very powerful features state of the art specs like its octa-core processors, 8-core Apple graphics and 6 GB of RAM for all of your gaming, viewing, and reading needs.
Hardware Specifications for Apple iPad Pro
CPU: Apple A12Z Bionic Octa-core (4×2.5 GHz Vortex + 4×1.6 GHz Tempest )| Graphics: Apple GPU (8-core graphics)| RAM: 6 GB RAM | Screen: 12.9-inch edge-to-edge Liquid Retina display with ProMotion, True Tone, and P3 wide color | Storage: 512 GB | Operating System: iPadOS | Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 1.41 lbs
Amazon Fire HD 10 – Alexa Powered
Amazon Fire HD 10 is an affordable and reliable tablet that’s also good for reading. It features a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels and it comes with 64 GB of initial storage. You can use an SD card to further increase it to 512 if that’s too small for you.
Lastly, it’s powered by Alexa so you can give voice commands all day without having to lift a finger. This also helps in searching for those pesky books that are hard to find inside your virtual library.
Hardware Specifications for Amazon Fire HD 10
CPU: Mediatek MT8183 2GHz octa-core | Graphics: ARM Mali-G72 MP3| RAM: 2 GB RAM | Screen: 10.1” high definition touchscreen, 1920 x 1200 resolution at 224 ppi, 1080p full HD video playback | Storage: 64 GB initial upgradable to 512 GB| Operating System: Fire OS 5.5 | Battery Life: 12 hours| Weight: 1.1125 lbs
BOOX Nova 2 – Usable Stylus
Reading and writing is a good pastime for creative minds and although most tablets are designed for viewing and reading, not many of them were made for writing in mind.
The BOOX Nova 2 is an exception though since it comes with its very own stylus pen which can be used to write, draw, and make footnotes on the tablet itself. Its a really handy feature for writers living in the modern age.
Hardware specifications for BOOX Nova 2
CPU: Qualcomm 2.0GHz octa-core processor | Graphics: N/A| RAM: 3 GB RAM| Screen: 7.8 inch 1872×1404 (300dpi) E Ink Carta display | Storage: 32 GB | Operating System: Android 9.0 | Battery Life: Up to 4 weeks – 7 weeks (standby mode) | Weight: 0.575 lbs
Picking The Best Tablets For Reading In 2023
Size & Resolution
Size and resolution are important since reading will require a good amount of hours spent in front of the screen
Tablets with a larger screen are most of the time a better option, but not always.
The resolution plays an important factor too. The larger the resolution is, the more pixels are visible and therefore, you’ll find it easier to read eBooks.
A combination of a size that is suitable for reading yet isn’t going to cause troubles as a handheld device is the most ideal option.
Reading on a larger tablet might be easier, but handling them definitely isn’t.
O.S
There are many ways to get your eBooks, however, you should pay attention to the operating system your tablet runs.
Not all apps are available on every OS, and therefore, it’s important to get it right, because you don’t want to end up not being able to get your favorite eBook.
It would be ideal if you knew what type of books you’re looking for and what apps are you going to use since it would make it super easy to get it right. If not, we’d recommend you to go with any of the most known and most common operating systems.
They always support the apps that popular among the users, meaning, you won’t be left out if you stick with the crowd.
Battery Life
Usually, reading tablets have very long battery life, but it’s not always the case.
We’ve seen some really great reading tablets, only to be disappointed with poor battery life. Therefore, making sure you get the best battery life out of the tablet is crucial.
You don’t want to end up with a drained battery right when you’ve wanted to spend a few hours reading.
It’s definitely not fun when you have to travel, yet your tablet’s battery is not good enough to withstand the travel time.
Sticking with popular brands and tablets that have been reviewed in the past and are known for good battery life will make it always a good choice.
Storage
You’ll want to store as many books as possible, without having to delete them after you’ve read them.
You can think of tablet’s storage as a library where you’ll store all your books. Therefore, great storage capacity is a must in order to have no worries about the number of books you can hold later.
Even if the reading tablet doesn’t come with sufficient storage capacity, it’s still a good tablet if it comes with a microSD slot for expandable storage capacity.
In fact, we’d recommend going for a reading tablet with an expandable storage capacity since you’ll be able to switch the microSD cards and yet still hold up to as many books as you’ll ever want, without any limitations.
Keyboard
Sometimes, you’ll want to make notes and who knows, maybe even write your own eBook. Therefore, getting a reading tablet with a decent on-screen keyboard is a great decision you could ever make.
You might not need a quality keyboard right now, but it can become handy later, and you better have it than regret it.
A great on-screen keyboard will come with a decent layout that is easy to type on with more than two fingers at the same time. Also, a great keyboard will be able to withstand a multi-touch so you can type as fast as your skill allows you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of screen is the best for reading eBooks?
Some of the best screen types are always HD or even IPS displays that come with an anti-glare feature. If you like the idea of the paper-like display, then going for a display that is featured on Kindles is the right choice. The better the quality of a display is, the better the user experience you will have.
Should you get a tablet with 3G or stick to WiFi connection only?
If you plan on using your tablet for other than just reading and entertainment it would be useful to get a tablet that features LTE, meaning you could make phone calls and use 3G internet connection. However, if you’ll solely use it indoors and in public where you will always have access to WiFi, and will always care your smartphone with you – there is no need to worry about getting a tablet with LTE.
How to find a book on your new reading tablet?
Most of the reading tablets come with apps that are full of books and offer access to millions of books. One of the best places to get eBooks is Amazon, among others. However, Samsung tablets also come with their official library app that has access to millions of books on the internet. They’re not free, but eBooks are always cheaper than hardcover books.
How much money do you expect to spend on a quality tablet reader?
While reading tablets aren’t very expensive, there are always a few options that are more on the pricier side. However, if you are even on a tight budget, you’ll be able to find a tablet that will fit your needs and will allow you effortless reading. If you don’t have a budget, for up to $500, you will be able to find one of the best reading tablets that will tick all the boxes.