More people are enjoying gaming ever than before, with a huge range of titles available across mobile phones, consoles, laptops and PCs. The big jump recently has been the prevalence of tablets, with lots of classic console games like FIFA and Final Fantasy bringing out mobile and tablet optimised apps. This trend for consumers choosing gaming on tablets over less versatile consoles and personal computers is increasing and tablets are getting better as demand and technology both improve. We’ve put together a list of some of the best tablets for gaming on the market, as well as what they’re capable of from a gaming perspective.
IPad Pro, 10.5 inch from £619, 12.9 inch from £769
Apple set the benchmark with their first iPad and have come a long way in terms of raw technological power. These absolute beasts make it feel like you’ve got a TV screen in your hands, with exceptional image and video quality and plenty of room to display the best games available for iOS. The A10X Fusion chipset will eat anything up that you put in front of it and Apple’s graphics and memory architectures provide smooth, flawless gameplay for anything available in the app store.
The ProMotion tech that powers the Retina display is the stand-out feature of this 10-inch tablet. The screen runs at 120Hz which means it refreshes twice as often as previous iPads. The setup screen is so fluid it feels as though you aren’t even touching the screen.
Verdict: Mega-expensive, mega-amazing, games limited to what you can find on the Apple app store.
Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 plus, from £249
Although it’s the cheapest option on the list, the Yoga doesn’t sacrifice quality for price and is brimming with features that still make it a decent gaming tablet. You won’t get the same mind blowing visuals as the Apple of Samsung tablets, but it can still handle the majority of 3D titles on the Play Store, even if they do drain the battery faster.
What it does handle exceptionally well is online casino gaming, with a decent graphics set up and enough processing power to manage thing like high quality virtual slots. Tested out on some of the games at the brilliant Planet 7 Casino website, the tablet didn’t stumble, with good battery life and heat management, even after extended gameplay. And by following some of the best slot machine tips, you could even cover the cost of the tablet with a big win!
Verdict: Great price, but may struggle on things like battery life and frame rate with complex 3D titles
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, from £599
Samsung’s flagship tablet is their supposed iPad killer, rocking a more than capable Snapdragon processor and tons of RAM with 4GB on board. It is capable of displaying HDR images too, so you can get pretty close to the quality of an Apple screen with this 10-inch tablet.
The Google store has tons of great games, but with a bit of fiddling the tablet will easily manage console ports from PS2 or Xbox. Saying that, it isn’t quite a console replacement just yet, but the Vulkan API and various game enhancing modes make this probably the best gaming tablet on the list when it comes to user experience and value for money.
Verdict: Not as flashy as an iPad and still pricey, but a great option nonetheless.