Home » Tech Reviews » Digital Writing Tablet Reviews | 8 Best Tablets for Students 2023

Digital Writing Tablet Reviews | 8 Best Tablets for Students 2023

Matthew

If you are someone who prefers writing by hand instead of typing on a keyboard, a writing tablet can be a great way to combine the best of the digital and natural worlds. You can enjoy the feeling of pen on paper (or electronic pad) while knowing that your notes are safely stored online.

While there are many benefits to using a digital writing tablet, finding one can be challenging, given the many options available. That’s why we purchased and tested a variety of writing tablets from multiple leading brands, including Samsung, Apple, and many more. Our writing digital tablet reviews follow strict criteria, which helped us identify some of the very best picks.

So whether you are a serious writer, a student, someone looking for a tablet for note-taking at work, or to help your kids with their homework, this list of the best writing tablets has you covered. It will take you through the top products that we tested on the market, and the buyer’s guide will point you toward the most important features to keep in mind.

TLDR

Best All-Rounder Writing Tablet

We love the 2021 Apple iPad Pro as it is a super fast multitasking tablet, and writing with its stylus has almost no lag. The liquid retina display makes everything on-screen look crisp.

Other great all-rounders:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
• 2022 Apple iPad Air

Top Digital Writing Tablet for Students

One of our best writing tablets for students is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite which is a lightweight tablet that’s perfect for slipping into a backpack. Take quick notes in class, or listen to music while you study outside. We also like that the battery charges fast and lasts long.

Other top writing tabs for students:

• BOOX Note Air 10.3
• 2022 Apple iPad Air

Best Handwriting Tablet for Serious Writers

The BOOX Note Air 10.3 has good note-taking capabilities without all the extra apps that can distract you during the writing process. We found that it has a good battery—one that lasts for days—and a screen that’s easy on the eyes.

Other good tablets for writers:

• Boogie Board Blackboard

Best Writing Device for Kids

From our writing pad reviews, the Cimetech LCD Writing Tablet is our top pick for kids, as it is a colorful, lightweight, and budget-friendly tablet. The screen is eye-friendly and the stylus is easy to use. The tablet doesn’t sync your writing online, but it is a great product for kids to practice their writing or math sums.

Writing Tablet Comparison Review Table

This table gives a quick overview of all the products in this guide. Keep scrolling to read our in-depth reviews on each tablet.

Product Name	Best For	Product Image	Budget	Screen Size	Buy Now
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite	Students		$$	10.4''	Click to Buy
SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab S7	All-rounder		$$$	11''	Click to Buy
Microsoft Surface Pro X	All-rounder		$$$	13''	Click to Buy
BOOX Note Air 10.3	Students		$$	10.3''	Click to Buy
2021 Apple iPad Pro	All-rounder		$$$	11''	Click to Buy
2022 Apple iPad Air	All-rounder		$$$	10.9''	Click to Buy
Cimetech LCD Writing Tablet	Kids		$	8.5''	Click to Buy
Boogie Board Blackboard	Writers		$	13.75''	Click to Buy

Best Writing Tablet Review

Now you can dive into the details of the 8 best tablets for writing to help you find the one that best suits your needs.

2021 Apple iPad Pro Review — Overall Best Tablet for Writing

• Operating system: Apple M1 chip
• Battery Life: 10 hours
• Storage: Up to 2T
• Screen size:9 inches

The iPad Pro is the most expensive tablet on the list but also one of the best all-around performers. It boasts the Apple M1 chip that gives you a lightning-fast experience, whether you’re browsing the internet or using graphic-intensive programs.

From testing, we found that the tablet has excellent quality cameras, speakers, and screen. The active screen area comes in two sizes—namely the 11’’ and 12.9”—both of which offer excellent quality despite the smaller size. We liked how the tablet’s liquid retina display makes everything appear more crisp, and really gives text a smooth look.

Among handwriting tablets, the iPad Pro also performs well. You need to buy the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) separately but it does interface well with the tablet. We liked that the stylus attaches magnetically to the tablet and charges wirelessly. With the iPad Pro’s 120Hz refresh rate, there is almost no lag while writing—something which we valued highly.

We found the tablet’s 10-hour battery to life to be sufficient for a day’s work or play. However, some people experience slow charging problems with this battery. Additionally, we liked that the iPad Pro is slim and lightweight, making it easy to carry around. With up to 2TB of storage space and a 8-core GPU, this powerful tablet can almost rival the performance of a laptop.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Review — Best Writing Pad for Students

• Operating system: Android
• Battery Life: 13 hours
• Storage: 64GB
• Screen size:4 inches

This S6 Lite tablet is our top pick. It is a remarkable alternative to the S7, and a whole lot kinder on your pockets. It is very similar to the S7, and even has an audio jack that the S7 missed out on.

This is one of those digital writing tablets that are perfect for students. You can use the included S Pen to write directly on a PDF. You can also make quick notes and later go back to change colors and add tags. We really liked the lightweight, slim design as it lets this tablet slip easily into a bag. Additionally, the battery can last up to 13 hours on average.

Since this tablet is a lite version, it does have fewer features than the S7. At 10.4’’ the screen is slightly smaller, and we found that the screen is also not as bright. The S6 Lite has 4GB of RAM, compared to the 6GB or 8GB of the S7. But given the ease-of-use, we did not mind this.

If your main goal is to buy a tablet that you can write on, then going with the S6 Lite is a good choice. For almost half the price of the S7, you get a quality stylus and Samsung Notes functionality. You’ll only be missing out on additional features you might not even care for as a writer.

Cimetech LCD Writing Tablet Review — Best Tablets for Writing for Kids

• Weight: 7 ounces
• Screen type: LCD
• Screen size:5 inches

This electronic writing tablet from Cimetech is a good choice for a shared family product. The colorful design and thicker stylus is mostly aimed at children. But we adults can also use the tablet for taking quick notes.

We appreciated the LCD screen as it ensures there is no glare from the tablet and lets you use it for longer without straining your eyes. At 8.5’’, we found that the screen is smaller than most other writing tablets. However, we found this convenient since the product is only 7 ounces and easy to carry around. The only downside is that the plastic material can make it feel flimsy to use.

Unfortunately, this tablet cannot connect to any other devices or sync your writing to the cloud. It is meant for taking temporary notes, doodling, or for children to practise their writing at home. However, we liked that there is a screen lock function to prevent you from accidentally erasing your writing. When you are finished writing, you can use the erase function to delete everything on the board.

The small board comes with a stylus and extra battery included. It runs on a CR2 battery and has no OS or RAM. With a very affordable price, we think this product is a good choice as a basic electronic notepad.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Review

• Operating system: Android
• Battery Life: 13 hours
• Storage: Up to 516GB
• Screen size: 11 inches

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 is one of the best all-rounder products and makes a great digital writing tablet. With its slim design and edge-to-edge screen, this tablet shines during work and play.

Although all these features may seem excessive when compared to the other tablets for writers that we tested, remember that writing often requires more than a pen and pad. A good multitasking tablet allows you to listen to music while writing or gives you access to fast internet and good quality videos for research.

They were pleased to find that the tablet comes with Samsung’s redesigned S Pen which only has 9ms latency. Combined with the fast 120Hz refresh rate, we found that this gives you a smooth writing experience. The product is also compatible with previous designs of the S Pen, which is convenient in our opinion.

The Galaxy Tab has a fast-charging USB-C port that will quickly recharge your battery and last for hours. Additionally, we liked that any content we write can be easily synced and shared with other compatible Samsung devices.

Microsoft Surface Pro X Review

• Operating system: Microsoft
• Battery Life: 13 hours
• Storage: Up to 256GB
• Screen size: 13 inches

This Surface Pro X from Microsoft can function as a tablet, laptop, or studio tablet with a kickstand. You definitely pay for this versatile design, however, we find that the convenience and fast performance makes up for the cost.

The Surface Pro X runs on a Windows 10 operating system and provides both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity. The 13’’ edge-to-edge screen can be used as a touchscreen or with the Surface Slim Pen stylus that is available separately.

Microsoft’s new Slim Pen works well for writing on a tablet, but we found that it is still bulkier than other pens from competitors. However, we liked that the pen charges in a hidden slot in the keyboard as it allowed for added convenience and portability.

In testing, we noticed that the tablet’s performance can suffer when running graphics-intensive programs. But if you plan on using it mostly for writing, this shouldn’t be a problem. The 8GB RAM and 128GB storage space is more than sufficient for browsing and writing tasks. The 13-hour battery life and lightweight design of the tablet make it great for use at work or while traveling.

BOOX Note Air 10.3 Review

• Operating system: Android
• Battery Life: 24 hours
• RAM: 3GB
• Screen size:3 inches

The Note Air might not be the most cutting-edge tablet out there, but it does a great job as a digital note-taking device and e-reader. We found this to be a slim but sturdy tablet that’s comfortable to work on.

This tablet is excellent for students who need to do a lot of reading, or for writers who want to work long hours without distraction. The Note Air lets you read and annotate documents in a variety of formats, including DOC, PDF, EPUB, and TXT. We also liked that you can write your own notes and safely and easily store them on the tablet.

The tablet comes with the BOOX Pen, which works well enough but is not great compared to other styluses in our opinion. Luckily the Note Air is compatible with other pens, like the Staedtler Noris Digital. The screen has adjustable warm or cold light settings, which was nice as it made it easy on our eyes.

This tablet comes equipped with a microphone, speakers, and an earphone jack. It has a decent Android 10.0 OS but don’t expect to do any fast internet browsing with 3GB of RAM and 2 GHz memory speed. The Note Air has a 10.3’’ screen, is slightly heavier than the other tablets on this list, and has a battery that can last for days. But overall, we think it’s a good entry-level writing tablet.

2022 Apple iPad Air Review

• Operating system: Apple M1 chip
• Battery Life: 10 hours
• Storage: 64GB
• Screen size:9 inches

The iPad Air is very similar to the iPad Pro and is also one of the best digital notepads on the market. It doesn’t have all Apple’s latest technology like the iPad Pro but it is still a lightning-fast tablet with multiple functionalities.

The iPad Air’s bionic chip and iPadOS are specifically designed for tablets and we found that this provides a fast and smooth user experience. At 10.9’’ the screen is only slightly smaller than the Pro. We also liked that it has Apple’s special retina display which makes everything on-screen display crisp and bright. The tablet has excellent quality front and back cameras

We found the writing experience to be similar to the iPad Pro. You need to buy the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) to make notes and mark up documents on the tablet. The iPad Air also has a 120Hz refresh rate, which we liked as this means there is almost no lag when you write.

This tablet has 256GB storage, compared to the 2TB of the Pro. But that is still more than enough for a writing tablet. We were impressed with the battery, which lasts 10 hours on average and has USB-C fast charging capabilities.

Boogie Board Blackboard Review

• Accessories: Stylus included
• Battery Life: No charge needed
• Screen size:5 inches

This tablet from Boogie Board is really a reusable notebook. It has a simple design and uses limited technology, which means you don’t have to worry about charging. The lithium battery should last for the lifetime of the tablet, up to seven years.

The Blackboard’s large screen is actually a semi-transparent writing surface. While not the most advanced product on the list, we liked that you can slide one of the four templates, or any document of your own, into the back of the tablet to write on it electronically. This works when you sit at a desk but we found that if you move around, the template doesn’t stay in place very well.

The tablet comes with its own stylus, which has a natural writing feel that we quite liked. There is an eraser on the stylus and a magnetic pen holder for storage. The tablet itself also has Quick Clear, Erase Lock, and Exact Erase features. Some users experience problems with screen brightness after using the Exact Erase function; however, we are yet to experience the same.

We were pleased to find that Blackboard has a free mobile app that works on Apple and Android phones. You can use the app to take a photo of the screen and save, organize, and share your work. For the price of the product, this process works reasonably well, although it is less convenient than tablets that sync automatically.

Best Writing Tablet Accessories Reviews

Now you have seen a variety of options for writing tablets. You can also buy a screen protector or tablet case to ensure your electronic writing tablet stays safe.

JETech Screen Protector for iPad

This tempered glass film has a glossy surface with rounded edges. It is extremely hard and scratch resistant. At the same time it maintains high transparency and response rate with your screen.

The screen protector is compatible with the 2019, 2020, and 2021 iPads. We like that it comes with detailed instructions and is easy to install.

Kensington Rugged Case for Microsoft Surface Pro X

This high-quality tablet case was designed especially for the Microsoft Pro X. We found that the case fits securely around your tablet, while still giving access to all the ports and kickstand.

The case is made from military-grade material and can protect your tablet from drops on hard surfaces and from fluid spills.

Benazcap Screen Protector for Samsung Galaxy Tab

This screen protector is specially designed for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 or S7. The high-definition tempered glass lets you experience the excellent screen quality of the tablet.

At the same time, the smooth surface of the screen protector provides a more natural writing experience. It also protects against scratches and stains.

Why Trust Our Reviews

At Pixelsmith, we use and test a variety of digital products to provide you with all the necessary information you need to make an informed purchase decision.

In addition to being experts in the field, each member of Pixelsmith is a passionate designer, gamer, or creative. As such, you can count on us to have tried nearly every digital asset on the market today, including the best digital writing pads and tablets.

Furthermore, Pixelsmith does not receive payments in exchange for our in-depth product reviews. Most of the products discussed in our reviews have been purchased and used, so you can expect an unbiased review.

When looking for the best digital writing tablets, we tested out many different options from leading brands, including Apple and Samsung. We tested and reviewed each tablet based on our own criteria to help identify the very best options available.

Have any questions about the products discussed or our review processes? Be sure to contact us—we look forward to interacting with our fellow creatives and tech junkies!

Writing Tablet Buyers Guide

When looking to buy a tablet for writing, you may have similar priorities to someone buying a tablet for drawing. You want the writing process to feel natural, so factors like the refresh rate, storage capacity, and type of stylus are important.

Here are a few ideas of what to look out for when buying your writing tablet.

Refresh Rate

A tablet’s refresh rate refers to how often the screen display refreshes itself. A higher refresh rate will cause less lag.

This is important for writing tablets, since you want to see the words as you write them – waiting for the display to catch up to what you already wrote can be a frustrating experience. So look for tablets that have a 120Hz display.

Stylus Type or Compatibility

Some writing tablets come with a stylus and for others you need to buy your own. Important features to look for in a stylus are response rate and whether or not it needs charging.

You also want to check the pen sensitivity (measured in DPI) as this can affect performance. If the tablet does not come with a stylus, you need to make sure that it will be compatible with the pen you want to buy.

Screen Active Area

The active area of a tablet is not always the same as the overall screen size. A tablet can have broad borders and a smaller area inside that your stylus can interact with. Be sure to look at the screen size specifications and not only at the product photo.

Also, while most modern tablets can switch between portrait and landscape orientation, not all older models can do so. Be sure to check this before buying.

Battery Life

Tablets are great because they are more portable than computers. You can carry your writing tablet to class for note taking without it taking up too much space in your bag, or sit outside and write your latest novel idea.

However, battery life can have a big impact on where and when you are able to use your tablet. Before deciding on the writing tablet you want to buy, take note of how long the battery can last before it needs charging. Also note that certain tasks will drain the battery faster than others.

Best LCD Writing Tablet Reviews Summary

A writing tablet provides a convenient way to write with your own hand while digitizing your notes. It can be a useful tool for adults, students, and children alike.

There are a variety of sleek, lightweight and versatile products out there. For writers, a tablet is a convenient way to record your thoughts while on the move. Which tablet are you going to choose?

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