Tablet sales may be down compared to a few years ago, but that doesn’t mean they don’t make popular gifts. Many people have simply stuck with one they bought a few years ago, even though the best tablet choices today offer a vastly superior experience.
Better displays, far more power, thinner form factors and –in many cases– less expensive.
If there’s someone on your holiday shopping list who could benefit from receiving their first tablet, or someone who is seriously overdue for an upgrade, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve picked out five tablets that make the best gifts, whether you’re shopping for a power user or simply looking for an inexpensive, high-tech present.
Holiday Gift Guide 2016 (The Best Tablets): Apple iPad Pro 9.7-inch
The company doesn’t dominate the tablet market the way it once did, but there’s no disputing the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still the leader when it comes to tablets.
For an Apple fan who wants the latest and greatest, the iPad Pro is Apple’s best. And, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is probably the best option for most users.
Not too big, not too small, but plenty powerful.
Starting at $599, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro features an amazing display. Fully laminated, anti-reflective, True Tone color and Retina resolution, this is a serious upgrade from an iPad Air. The A9X CPU is wicked fast and offers awesome graphics performance as well.
The iPad Pro 9.7-inch is available in a choice of four colors (including two gold options), offers a variety of storage configurations and you can even get a model with LTE connectivity.
Holiday Gift Guide 2016 (The Best Tablets): Apple iPad Mini 4
Apple has a second entry for 2016. It’s not that there aren’t plenty of other choices, but with high-quality hardware, an immense selection of tablet-optimized apps and third party accessories, iPads simply make the best gifts, in many cases.
The iPad Mini 4 is the most recent edition of Apple’s compact tablet line-up.
With a 7.9-inch laminated Retina display, A8 processor and dual-band MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi, it offers performance in a small package.
At less than 1/4-inch in thickness and weighing 0.65 pounds, it’s small enough to go anywhere. 10-hour battery life means not having to lug around a power adapter, either.
And, with a starting price of $399, it’s a little more friendly to gift-givers than the iPad Pro.
Holiday Gift Guide 2016 (The Best Tablets): Amazon Fire
There is a huge contrast between Apple’s iPad and Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Fire Tablet.
The iPad blows away the Fire Tablet’s 1024 x 600 display, runs circles around its 1.3 GHz CPU and comes with at least four times the Fire Tablet’s base 8GB storage. The iPad runs iOS 10 and has access to far more apps.
So, why would we put the Fire Tablet on this gift guide?
Because the cheapest iPad that Apple sells these days starts at $269, while the 8GB Fire Tablet currently goes for just $39.99 with Special Offers.
Parents could buy a Fire Tablet for each of their kids for less than the cost of one entry-level iPad.
It may not boast cutting-edge specs, but the Fire Tablet is a usable device, has instant access to all of Amazon’s services and even incorporates the company’s Alexa voice assistant.
Holiday Gift Guide 2016 (The Best Tablets): Microsoft Surface Pro 4
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) makes the go-to tablet for Windows fans, the Surface Pro 4 (you can read our review here).
This is a big tablet, but it runs Windows 10 like a champ thanks to the use of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) Core processors, rather than mobile CPUs.
Slap on the optional Type Cover keyboard and the Surface Pro 4 transforms into an ultra-portable Windows laptop, perfect for road warriors.
Unfortunately, all this power comes at a cost. The least expensive Surface Pro 4 has an MSRP of $899, but you probably don’t want that one — it has a less powerful Core m3 CPU. To get at least a Core i5, the price notches up to $999, then adding the Type Cover adds at least another $130.
The good news is that Microsoft is currently running a holiday promotion that knocks $250 off that Core i5 model, if you act fast.
Holiday Gift Guide 2016 (The Best Tablets): Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0
2016 was a somewhat quiet year in terms of tablets running Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Android operating system.
One 2015 model that continues to stand out for Android fans is from Samsung Electronic (OTCMKTS:SSNLF), and as part of that company’s 2016 holiday promotion it’s a bargain.
The Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 is a year old, but it’s still a stunning tablet thanks to an ultra-thin design, octa-core processor and an incredible Super AMOLED display.
It usually sells for $400, but until Christmas, Samsung has it discounted to $249.99, making it one of the best gifts going for an Android fan who’d like to find a premium tablet under the tree.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
