Do you want to save trees? 

Do you also want to retain the information you learn?

Then you need a tablet for taking notes! 

If you’re anything like me, you want to learn AND keep important information.

Studies have even shown writing your notes by hand leads to improved information retention compared to typing them out. 

Plus, keeping stacks of notebooks sucks. Have you ever tried moving with them?

That’s why I’ve decided to review the best tablets around to find which ones are actually worth the time, energy, and money to invest in. 

Keep reading to learn which ones fit the bill for your needs. 

How To Choose The Best Tablet For Note Taking & Drawing

I’ll keep this part short and sweet. It’s necessary to know this before you pull out your credit card. 

Is this new tablet compatible with your current devices? Does it have the ability to upload into Evernote or other note taking apps? What’s the battery life? 

These are all questions you need to think through before you purchase. 

Screen Size & Resolution

How big of a screen do you need? 

If you’re a college student, you don’t need a large screen. If you’re a graphic designer, I would recommend something with more size and resolution. 

Will you be traveling with your note taking tablet? 

Touching on the point made earlier. If you’re a graphic designer, you probably already know this, but you’ll need a higher resolution tablet and multi-touch capability. Plus, responsiveness will play a factor in your decision too. 

If you’re like me, who uses a tablet for meetings and writing, you’ll be best with a smaller or more sleek device for travel. 

Processor

If you don’t draw, processor power is not important. The apps for these tablets pull very little memory. 

Rule of Thumb: Quad core is the typical processor. It’s the gold standard. If you’re getting a tablet with backlight, like an Apple or Android, pay attention to this detail.

RAM

YOU ALWAYS NEED MORE RAM

That’s my life anyways. 

RAM is what runs the tablet and you can consider it the backbone of your device. The more RAM you get with your tablet, the better it runs. Just know, it’s expensive. 

Don’t get anything under 2 GB because you’ll throw your tablet at the wall in disgust by how slow it operates. I pray you’ve never experienced a lagged computer during a zoom call because of multiple open apps. 

Compatibility With Current Devices

If you use Apple devices, get an Apple tablet. 

If you use an Android, get an Android tablet. 

Otherwise the devices won’t speak to each other. 

Battery

Typically new tablets have decent batteries. No need to stress on this front. 

Make sure you know what kind of battery your device has though, because if and when you need to replace it you’ll have to get the same kind. You can’t replace your current battery with one of higher charge. 

Best Overall Note Taking Tablet

ReMarkable 2

Technical specifications

	Size	188.0 x 246.0 x 4.7 mm
	Weight	403.5 g (0.89 lb)
	Thickness	4.7 mm (0.19 in)
	Screen size	10.3″
	Storage	8 GB internal storage
	Menu language	English
	Operating system	Codex, a custom Linux-based OS
	RAM	1 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM
	Processor	1.2 GHz dual core ARM
	Battery	Rechargeable
	Supported file formats	PDF and ePUB
	Palm rejection?	✓
	Backlight?	No backlight
	Memory card?	External memory cards are not supported
	Charging	USB-C

ReMarkable. Is. Awesome.

I don’t think you understand how cool this product is. When the first ReMarkable came out there was a lot of hype, and it received good reviews, but it lacked a couple things.

This next generation tablet though is fire. Hands down. 

My favorite part of this product is the functionality. Or more importantly, the lack of functionality. Most tablets are full on computers. ReMarkable was built for reading, writing, and visualizing only. There’s no notifications, and you can only sync notes and documents. 

You just got more productive while looking cool. Pretty neat right?

Another nice feature is the CANVAS display which pulls e-ink up. You can take handwritten notes with a feeling of real paper. It even scratches when you write which is awesome. 

You can read books through ePUB or PDF. 

One of the coolest tricks they added was converting handwritten notes to text. I use this function when I’m on sales calls and take notes on ReMarkable. I’ll push them to text and upload to my CRM. 

Boom. Suck it laziness. 

Anyways. ReMarkable is light, really thin, and looks cool if you’re traveling. 

Have you ever wanted to feel important? Pull out a remarkable while in an airport. People notice… 

Best Apple Note Taking Tablet 

Apple iPad Air 2020

Processor	A14 Bionic chip with Neural Engine
Storage	64GB
Stylus	Compatible, Not Included
Display	10.9-inch Liquid Retina display
Camera	Rear: 12MP | Front: 7MP
Operating System	IPad OS
Battery life	Up to 10 hours
Connectivity	Cellular, Wi-Fi
Smart Keyboard Compatibility	Yes
Weight	1.01 lbs

Light, great storage, and relatively inexpensive (for Apple products). You can expect good products from Apple, especially since they invested heavily in the tablet space early on. 

Normally, I try to only include Apple products if they’re within a reasonable price range. Ain’t nobody got time for a $1,500 tablet. 

But. 

Apple has done a good job with the iPad Air. The screen technology features Liquid Retina display which basically means you’ll see every pore on your face. 

For note taking though, it has solid performance. The only thing to pay attention to with these types of tablets are the palm rejection. You’ll need to learn how to write without touching your palms on screen. 

Beyond frustrating if you’re the type of person who gets ink on their hands from writing. 

Battery is incredibly robust, and lasts up to 10 hours without a charge. Just know that after 2 years planned obsolescence will happen and your battery will be shot. 

If you use Apple devices, and want to stay with them, choose the Apple iPad Air.

Best Android Note Taking Tablet

Lenovo Tab M10

Standing screen display size	10.1 Inches
Screen Resolution	1280 x 800 pixels
Max Screen Resolution	1280 x 800
Card Description	Integrated
Wireless Type	802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 802.11a/b/g/n, 802.11abg, 802.11a
Average Battery Life (in hours)	9 Hours

For those who have Android-based devices, you’ll want to get the Lenovo Tab M10. You’ll enjoy the functionality, and it runs on a quad-core processor which is fast. 

The screen is relatively large, at 10 inches, giving you a lot of room to work. Plus, it’s cheap at only $200 for the tablet. 

It comes with everything you can expect for a computer. Things like Bluetooth, WiFi, wireless keyboard, etc. 

It’s thin, light, and travels well. Plus it has an audio jack for your headphones so you don’t have to worry about your wireless headphones dying on you. 

The battery life lasts for 9 hours before you need to charge it. 

If you’re on a budget, and work with Androids, this tablet will work wonders. 

Best Windows Tablet For Note Taking

Microsoft Surface Go 2

Microsoft has put a lot of R&D effort into developing a competitive tablet. They even have a lucrative contract with the NFL for their Surface tablets. That tells you something. Wink. Wink.

The Surface Go 2 boasts a relatively large touchscreen of 10.5 inches. You can even use all 10 fingers on the multi-touch responsive screen, but if you’re taking notes it might be overkill. 

You can choose between 4GB or 8GB RAM for your drive, I would recommend the 8GB to maintain speed. 

Best part about being on Windows is the access to OneDrive or Google Drive for your docs. It’s much easier to integrate into a Windows tablet compared to other devices. Speaking of which, I would highly recommend a cloud service for your files. 

Battery life is pretty good also. It supports 10 hours of use.