The tablet decision in 2026 is mostly iPad versus Samsung Galaxy Tab, and both have gone up in price this year. Here's what you get at each level, and — since we fix both — what to expect when one gets dropped.
The iPad line
- iPad (A16) — from $349. 11-inch screen, the one most people should buy. Does everything a tablet is for.
- iPad mini — 8.3-inch, A17 Pro chip. The small one, and there's no Android equivalent this good at this size.
- iPad Air (M4) — from $599, 11 or 13-inch. A laptop-class chip in a tablet; the one to buy if you'll draw or edit on it.
- iPad Pro (M5) — from $1,299 for the 13-inch with the OLED screen. Overkill for most people and glorious for the rest.
Apple raised iPad prices by $100–200 across the line this year, so the gap to Samsung is smaller than it was.
The Samsung line
- Galaxy Tab S11 — 11-inch AMOLED at 120Hz, 12GB RAM, microSD slot up to 2TB, and the S Pen is in the box. That's the headline against the iPad: better screen and a stylus for roughly Air money.
- Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra — 14.6 inches. A drawing board and a laptop replacement with DeX, Samsung's desktop mode.
- Galaxy Tab A / S10 FE — the sensible cheaper ones, competing with the basic iPad.
How to choose
Apps and longevity — the iPad wins. Tablet apps are simply better on iPadOS, and iPads get updates for six or seven years. Samsung has improved a lot, and the S11 gets seven years of updates too, but the app gap is still there.
Screen and stylus for the money — Samsung. AMOLED and 120Hz at the S11's price is something only the $1,299 iPad Pro matches, and Apple charges extra for the Pencil.
Storage — Samsung, because of the microSD slot. On an iPad you pay Apple's price for the tier you'll need in three years.
Already own a phone — buy the tablet that matches it. iPhone and iPad hand things off to each other seamlessly; Galaxy phone and Galaxy Tab do the same.
For a child or for the TV in the kitchen — the basic iPad at $349, or a Galaxy Tab A. Don't spend more; put the difference into a case.
When they break
Tablets get dropped on corners and sat on, and the repairs are different from phones:
- Cracked glass — on the basic iPad and the Tab A, the glass and the display are separate layers, so a cracked-but-working screen is a cheaper glass-only job. On the Air, Pro and the S11 the two are bonded, so it's the whole panel.
- Batteries — tablets are glued together, so it's a slower job than a phone, but it's routine and it transforms an old iPad.
- Charging ports — USB-C on everything now. Often lint; sometimes the port.
- Bent frames — the big thin tablets bend in bags. We'll tell you before starting whether the screen will sit right afterwards.
Diagnosis on a tablet is $65 and comes off the repair. Bring the passcode — we need it to test the screen.
The short version
Most people: the $349 iPad, or the Galaxy Tab A if you're an Android household. Anyone who draws or writes on it: Galaxy Tab S11 with the pen in the box, or an iPad Air if you want the apps. And if you already own a tablet with a cracked screen, price the fix first — it's usually well under the cost of a new one.
Rather we took care of it?
Bring it into any PhoneHub store. Most repairs take one to two hours, and booking online saves you $10.3