Best tablets for reading in 2024: Our top picks

Sorry Android tablet fans. The latest iPad mini is simply unbeatable, and the best tablet for reading you can buy. The 6th Gen iPad mini has an 8.3-inch LCD screen with much tinier bezels than its predecessor. It is also only 6.4mm thick and weighs 293g, making it very comfortable, and the tablet that most resembles a book on this list (except for the Kindle e-reader). 

Its screen is bright, offering vivid colors and excellent pixel density. The 6th Gen iPad mini also has True Tone, which adjusts the color temperature of the display according to the lighting that surrounds you - basically, you get adjustable warm light. This way your eyes don't get as tired during long reading sessions, especially during the night. 

Otherwise, the new iPad mini is what anyone would expect from Apple. It has a premium design with an aluminum back and frame. It is powered by the Apple A15 Bionic chip, coupled with 4GB of RAM. It has a very good 12MP camera, which can record a 4K 60fps video. The front selfie shooter is also 12MP, and it is a very impressive sensor capable of taking excellent selfies.

The iPad mini 6 also supports the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil, which makes it a perfect tablet for both amateur and professional artists. In terms of battery life, just like any other iPad, it offers 10 hours of use on a single charge. This tablet features stereo speakers and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, with both of these proven to be very convenient. 

Apple iPad Mini (2019)

The iPad Mini has been on the market for a while now, and Apple has kept the design almost unchanged compared to the one of the first iPad Mini. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Why change something that just works? The 2019 iPad Mini is light as a feather, weighing just 300g. It is also very compact, with its 7.9-inch 4:3 display not taking this much space. The display also gets very bright, with its maximum brightness peaking at 533 nits.

All of this makes the iPad Mini one of the closest tablets to a book, and one of the best tablets for reading or even web browsing. It is also very thin, 6.1mm to be exact. The 2019 iPad Mini is powered by an Apple A12 processor, which still offers plenty of speed in 2024. This tablet’s battery life is also good: it should last at least 10 hours of use. 

An advantage for some over more modern iPads would be the headphone jack found on this one. The iPad Mini is also pretty affordable, and ever since Apple finally introduced a successor, which we mentioned above, the 2019 Mini has been seeing major discounts across retail stores. 

It is also important to note that this tablet supports the Apple Pencil. Because this tablet runs iPadOS, it can take advantage of apps like Apple Books, which has a large library. 

Samsung Galaxy Tab A8

Android tablets, especially the small ones, have been on the decline for the last few years. This means that the choice among these gets smaller and smaller. But the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is a really good tablet, especially considering it is also pretty affordable to buy, and therefore is also one of the best tablets for reading right now. It boasts a 10-inch display, which I know is much larger than a typical book, but it can still offer a comfortable reading experience.

Just like the iPad Mini, this Samsung Galaxy Tab is very light, making it perfect for reading while you’re on the go. This lightness also means that it will be easier to hold for long periods of time, making it a very good tablet for reading. 

As for the rest of its specs, they are nothing spectacular. The Galaxy Tab A8 has a 3GB of RAM, which does the job. Its cameras are also mediocre, but the same can be said about the iPad Mini (2019), too. The battery life is good enough, and this Samsung Galaxy Tab should last you through the day.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Of course, when speaking of tablets suitable for reading we cannot exclude one of the best e-readers, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. This 6-inch device is made specifically for reading, and it does its job perfectly. 

The Kindle Paperwhite has a glare-free black and white display (almost a real paper like display, by the way), which is lit by 5 LEDs and has 300ppi. This e-reader's high resolution makes text look sharp and clear. You can download plenty of e-books from the Amazon Kindle app, which has one of the biggest electronic libraries.

The Kindle Paperwhite is sold in both Wi-Fi only and Cellular versions. It also has two storage versions: 8 or 32GB. A useful feature this Kindle has is an IPX8 waterproof rating, which means the device can be submerged in up to two meters of water for an hour. 

And it's a champion in battery life - all in all, if you read 1 hour per day with Wi-Fi off, it should last up to 6 to 8 weeks! That's extremely long battery life!

There are several things that some people just prefer:

If you are, however, an individual with big hands, then you should absolutely consider the Oasis. It not only has physical buttons, but they are also positioned in a way, which allows you to hold the device without covering your screen. Because, there's this thing about reading where you need to see the text in order for it to happen, right?

Not only that, but the Oasis is extra-ergonomic too, due to the existence of a grip on the backside, which is essentially a bulkier protrusion on one of the sides of the device, so that you can have an easier time holding it. And it works for both hands, by the way, because the Kindle can recognize when you've flipped it, so it doesn't matter if you're a leftie or not.

Now, fair warning: having a protective case with a cover, which is typically exactly what you'd want for a Kindle, does kind of diminish the impact of the grip, because when you fold the cover of the case, it covers the grip in a way that makes it unusable. But, honestly, you can probably learn to play around that and if you do: it's worth it!

Apple iPad Pro 11 (2022)

The 11-inch iPad Pro is a wonderful, high-end tablet and ticks all the boxes for a great reading tablet. It is a performance beast, with its Apple M2 desktop-class processor, has a great 120Hz high-resolution display, and a premium build quality. Its cameras are also the best in the business, as far as most tablets are concerned.

We included this one on this list because of its amazing display and weight of just 466g. We think this tablet has the best balance between a nice reading companion and a good entertainment device on this list. 

The 2022 iPad Pro also has a great audio system with 4 stereo speakers, so you can enjoy watching movies on it as well. In terms of battery life, it doesn't disappoint either, with it offering around 10 hours of use on a single charge. 

Yeah, it's a bit pricey, but you really do get what you pay for, making it worth the investment in the long haul. And now that the new iPad Pro M4 (2024) is hitting the shelves, you might just snag a sweet deal on the previous version.

The Apple Books library is a large one, which makes the tablet a nice reading buddy to have. Keep in mind, this one is one of the best tablets out there in general, so you'll have more than just a tablet for reading here.

Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020)

Last but not least is Amazon's 8-inch tablet offering. The Amazon Fire HD 8 as its name suggests has a display with an HD resolution (1280 x 800). It also has 2GB of RAM and 32 or 64GB of storage. Don't be alarmed by the small amount of RAM, as this tablet runs on Amazon's perfectly optimized version of the Android operating system. 

Keep in mind that this tablet doesn't have Google Play store. In order to download apps the Amazon Fire HD 8 uses the Amazon store. If you're a Prime member, you can also benefit from free cloud storage for photos.

The Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet has 2MP front and back cameras. These are only suitable for video calling, but that's okay considering how cheap this tablet is. The Fire HD 8 is a good reading machine due to its native support of the Amazon Kindle store and other Amazon apps. 

According to Amazon, this tablet's battery should last you up to 12 hours of use on a single charge - pretty decent battery life, we might add. Also, this tablet has a headphone jack, unlike some of the tablets for reading in this list.

When you're picking your reading tablet, you need to take into account two main things of great importance for your reading experience: battery life (you don't want your tablet for reading to go dead just before that very revealing final chapter), and display (how big would you want the display to be, also, its brightness). 

Of course, other things like performance and design are important, but reading isn't a performance-heavy task so you wouldn't need the fastest processor out there to successfully read a novel.

Are there any good tablets for reading?

There isn’t a lot to choose from in terms of tablets suitable for reading. Somehow fewer and fewer companies think about readers, releasing 13-inch tablets that focus on entertainment and productivity. 

But the choices you have are still good, even if some of them are in need for a refresh. That’s why we would recommend you wait for the upcoming iPad Mini redesign, which should finally put a stop to that, at least in the iPadOS world. You can also just go for one of Amazon's devices on this list, especially if you're looking for a tablet only for reading.