We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. Tablets straddle the line between mobile and home computing. For many people, they've become laptop replacements; for others, they're entertainment gadgets to keep the kids quiet in the car. Since we test dozens of tablets on every operating system available in the US each year, we have different approaches to testing them. Testing Android and iPadOS Tablets We test tablets very similarly to how we test smartphones. First, we analyze physical design including display size and quality, controls, ports, and storage. For Android tablets, we run Basemark 3.0 on Chrome to check web browsing speed. We also run Antutu and Geekbench to take a look at processor performance. GFXBench tests 2D and 3D graphics performance, and we launch and play high-end games (currently, Asphalt 8 and PUBG Mobile) to check frame rate, control fluidity, and jitter. For Amazon's Fire tablets, which are based on Android, our testing protocol is a bit different since Fire OS doesn't have access to the Google Play store to download the same benchmarking apps. We test system performance here with 3DMark and Antutu, and use Basemark 3.0 in the Silk browser to test speed. Gaming tests remain the same. Apple's iPads are compared extensively with previous models, more so than to other tablets. We start with roughly the same tests we use for Android tablets. For benchmarks on iPadOS, we run Basemark 3.0 to test Safari browser performance, Geekbench to check processor speed, and GFXBenchmark to look at 2D and 3D graphics performance. To assess tablet video quality, we use Amazon Prime Video and Netflix in SD and HD. For audio we use Spotify at 320Kbps to measure peak volume and sound quality. For Wi-Fi, we attempt to connect to open and WPA2-protected networks. If a tablet specifically promotes its Wi-Fi performance, we check speed using Ookla Speedtest at distances of zero to 100 feet, every 25 feet, using a Netgear RAX 120 router. (Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company.) If a tablet has cellular connectivity, we test performance using Speedtest at multiple locations throughout New York City. For GPS, we see if the tablet can capture a GPS signal and show an accurate location both on a busy, crowded street and in an open park. To test camera capabilities, we use an abbreviated set of our tests for digital cameras. For battery life, we use a rundown test where we play a 12-hour video on a loop with the tablet's screen set to maximum brightness and Wi-Fi switched on until the battery dies. Tablets with pressure-sensitive pens need specific tests for stylus performance. We draw grids of crosshatched lines and grids of stippled dots with the pens, looking for gaps in the lines, uneven pressure sensitivity, or missing dots. Testing Chrome OS and Windows Tablets We treat Chrome OS and Windows tablets like laptops, so for more on those tests, head over to our story on How We Test Laptops.
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We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. Tablets straddle the line between mobile and home computing. For many people, they've become laptop replacements; for others, they're entertainment gadgets to keep the kids quiet in the car. Since we test dozens of tablets on every operating system available in the US each year, we have different approaches to testing them. Testing Android and iPadOS Tablets We test tablets very similarly to how we test smartphones. First, we analyze physical design including display size and quality, controls, ports, and storage. For Android tablets, we run Basemark 3.0 on Chrome to check web browsing speed. We also run Antutu and Geekbench to take a look at processor performance. GFXBench tests 2D and 3D graphics performance, and we launch and play high-end games (currently, Asphalt 8 and PUBG Mobile) to check frame rate, control fluidity, and jitter. For Amazon's Fire tablets, which are based on Android, our testing protocol is a bit different since Fire OS doesn't have access to the Google Play store to download the same benchmarking apps. We test system performance here with 3DMark and Antutu, and use Basemark 3.0 in the Silk browser to test speed. Gaming tests remain the same. Apple's iPads are compared extensively with previous models, more so than to other tablets. We start with roughly the same tests we use for Android tablets. For benchmarks on iPadOS, we run Basemark 3.0 to test Safari browser performance, Geekbench to check processor speed, and GFXBenchmark to look at 2D and 3D graphics performance. To assess tablet video quality, we use Amazon Prime Video and Netflix in SD and HD. For audio we use Spotify at 320Kbps to measure peak volume and sound quality. For Wi-Fi, we attempt to connect to open and WPA2-protected networks. If a tablet specifically promotes its Wi-Fi performance, we check speed using Ookla Speedtest at distances of zero to 100 feet, every 25 feet, using a Netgear RAX 120 router. (Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company.) If a tablet has cellular connectivity, we test performance using Speedtest at multiple locations throughout New York City. For GPS, we see if the tablet can capture a GPS signal and show an accurate location both on a busy, crowded street and in an open park. To test camera capabilities, we use an abbreviated set of our tests for digital cameras. For battery life, we use a rundown test where we play a 12-hour video on a loop with the tablet's screen set to maximum brightness and Wi-Fi switched on until the battery dies. Tablets with pressure-sensitive pens need specific tests for stylus performance. We draw grids of crosshatched lines and grids of stippled dots with the pens, looking for gaps in the lines, uneven pressure sensitivity, or missing dots. Testing Chrome OS and Windows Tablets We treat Chrome OS and Windows tablets like laptops, so for more on those tests, head over to our story on How We Test Laptops.