The art of handwriting may be vanishing in an increasingly digital world in which we rely on laptops, smartphones, and tablets daily. This doesn't mean that you can't still enjoy the feel of pen and paper. Tablets designed for or including note-taking features can bring back some of the feel of handwriting. If you prefer to write rather than type, they are your best option for creative tasks as well as productivity.
Note-taking tablets provide more than just compatibility with a stylus. They can give you the option to annotate documents, create diagrams, autosave your work, sync it across platforms and devices, and collaborate with others, making them valuable tools for study and work.
What is the best note-taking tablet you can buy right now?
After hands-on testing, the iPad Air is our pick for the overall best note-taking tablet. It is lightweight and compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro, making it ideal for all of your writing needs.
We've tested tablets across all the major brands, ranging from Apple to Amazon, to find options that suit students, professionals, and everyday users. Some of these models can replace a laptop, while others are ideal for jotting notes on the go. We evaluated all of these tablets on performance, battery life, display, and writing experience.
In our January update, we added the iPad Air (seventhth generation), Boox Note Air5 C, and the TCL Nxtpaper 11 Plus as top picks.
Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers.
Sort by All
The best note-taking tablets of 2026
Show less View now at Apple View now at Amazon Why we like it: The seventh-generation iPad Air still follows the iPad Pro as the second-most capable tablet in the iPad lineup, although it's a lot cheaper. But the reason it's our top pick is thanks to its compatibility with the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Intelligence features. Apple Intelligence on the iPad Air includes Writing Tools to generate text, like summaries, emails, or messages, Genmoji to create custom emoji (which you can then use on other non-Apple Intelligence compatible devices linked to your Apple ID), Image Playground to generate images in different applications, and a smarter Siri that you can type queries to and leverages ChatGPT for more in-depth responses. In addition, the Apple Pencil Pro incorporates advanced features like squeeze, barrel roll, and haptic feedback to make marking up, taking notes, and creating an artistic masterpiece more intuitive. Who it's for: ZDNET's Maria Diaz tested the new Air and said it was "leaps and bounds ahead of my M1 MacBook Pro. I can attest to the tablet's strong performance and capability to support a creator's workflow." If you want the latest and greatest AI features from Apple, the built-in Apple Intelligence in the iPad Air is also a perk of the latest model. Its intrinsic features are woven into the user experience, with shortcuts and access points that blend into iPadOS. Review: Apple iPad Air (seventh-generation) In addition, for students or professionals who frequently need to use their tablets on the go, a cellular data plan option ensures you can always get online. Who should look elsewhere: It's an expensive tablet that offers note-taking as a feature--not centered around it--so if budget is a key factor for you, you might want to consider other options. Apple iPad Air tech specs: Display: 11-inch Liquid Retina IPS, 60Hz | Processor: Apple Silicon M3 | Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB | Weight: 11-inch: 16.3 ounces | Dimensions: 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.24 inches and 11.04 x 8.46 x .24 inches | Connections: USB-C port and magnetic connector for Apple Pencil Pro | Battery life: 10 hours Pros Apple Pencil Pro compatibility
... continue reading