We Compared The Best Tablets By Apple, Samsung, And Others In Our Lab - Here's The Battery Champ

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

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When looking to bargain a tablet, location are a fewer factors to support successful mind, specified arsenic what you'll beryllium utilizing nan tablet for (entertainment, drawing, work, etc.), your value point, show size, operating system, and more. 

At ZDNET, we considered each of these factors erstwhile choosing nan best tablets you tin buy, but we were capable to trial 1 important facet that tin genuinely make aliases break your tablet experience: artillery life.

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We ran 9 tablets done nan gauntlet in our lab in Kentucky, wherever we evaluated each tablet's artillery life nether different settings. The tablets that stood retired supra nan remainder for artillery life included nan iPad Pro, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, the base-model iPad, and the Google Pixel Tablet. 

Tablets were tested pinch maximum measurement for audio and video, successful summation to maximum/minimum brightness. The pursuing tablets were tested: 

• OnePlus Pad 3 (see astatine Amazon)
• Google Pixel Tablet (see astatine Best Buy)
• Microsoft Surface Pro (see astatine Best Buy)
• Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra (see astatine Walmart)
• Apple iPad Pro (see astatine Amazon)
• Apple iPad (see astatine Best Buy)
• Apple iPad Air (see astatine Walmart)
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (see astatine Amazon)
• Amazon Fire Max 11 (see astatine Amazon)

How we tested tablets

In our Louisville-based lab, we tested each tablet utilizing a dedicated PC pinch an NI USB-6001 DAQ, 8 auxiliary inputs pinch adapters, and LabVIEW package coded in-house to analyse audio outputs arsenic voltage signals. 

We tested each tablet's artillery life a full of 12 times: 3 times pinch maximum brightness/audio, 3 times pinch minimum brightness/audio, 3 times pinch maximum brightness/audio connected Airplane Mode, and 3 times connected minimum brightness/audio connected Airplane Mode. 

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We chose to measurement surface brightness during video playback arsenic nan main parameter to trial since it is 1 of nan astir impactful settings connected a instrumentality erstwhile it comes to really artillery life is affected. We besides tested pinch Networking/Bluetooth on/off to measurement nan further drain connected artillery life that regular connection via these connections tin have. 

However, since nan video utilized successful testing was downloaded to nan devices nether test, this had only a mini effect connected results. Testing artillery drain during a watercourse pinch an active, in-use net relationship would beryllium a logical adjacent shape successful early testing.

During our tests, nan only app moving connected each instrumentality was VLC media player. This was chosen owed to its readiness connected each operating systems, comparative sanction nickname pinch nan wide public, and compatibility pinch nan level of settings power nan laboratory squad wanted to exert. Running successful nan inheritance allowed nan squad to corroborate standardized volume, brightness, and video repetition successful nan app and nan instrumentality settings. 

It's important to statement that nan video record each devices were tested pinch was downloaded to nan instrumentality itself and not streamed from nan net to guarantee that nan trial isn't taxable to nonaccomplishment owed to interruption of net service. 

The results

As you tin spot from our information visualization (Figure 1), we recovered that nan iPad Pro has nan astir awesome artillery life astatine complete 16 hours earlier having to beryllium charged, solidifying its rank arsenic nan champion tablet for powerfulness users aliases arsenic a laptop replacement. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra had nan second-best artillery life astatine almost 11.5 hours, and nan third-best was nan Amazon Fire Max 11 astatine conscionable complete 8 hours.

Even though nan iPad Pro stood retired supra nan rest, nan different 2 iPads we tested scored debased for artillery life connected maximum brightness, astatine 5:40 for nan base-model iPad and 5:27 for nan iPad Air. 

The tablet that stood retired nan astir for our trial for minimum brightness (Figure 2), was nan OnePlus Pad 3 astatine a astonishing 40 hours of artillery life. The OnePlus Pad 3 besides happens to person a ZDNET Editor's Choice Award, successful portion owed to its "exceptional battery." 

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However, our tests mightiness disagree from your ain experience, depending connected really you usage your tablet and what applications are moving successful nan background. But arsenic a wide baseline, our testing provides an master study of really agelong these tablets tin past and what usage cases they whitethorn champion beryllium suited for.