Most Reliable Tablet Brands for 2021

Michael Passingham

In this article

Tablets are inherently more reliable than laptops thanks to simpler designs and fewer moving parts. However, there are some common tablet faults to look out for. For example, many Which? members we surveyed reported that their tablet had started to spontaneously reboot, while other devices just stopped working completely with no warning.

Knowing which brands develop the most faults, and how quickly, can be an important buying decision. That’s why each year in our unique reliability survey we ask over 10,000 Which? members to tell us whether they are happy, or have experienced problems, with their purchases.

Our survey data takes into account the reported fault rates, severity of these faults and the speed with which they occurred. In our latest analysis we've looked at the performance of the biggest tablet manufacturers – including Amazon, Apple and Samsung – and have calculated a reliability rating for each so you know which brands to choose – and which to avoid.

Difference between the best and worst tablet brands

As you can see, there's a big difference between the most and least reliable laptop brands, and the satisfaction score reported by customers.

The most reliable laptop brands

The table below summarises this year’s reliability results. Brands are ranked by their customer score, which relates to whether their customers would recommend it. The more stars for reliability, the fewer the problems reported.

Only logged-in Which? members can view which brands achieved the ratings and verdicts in the table below. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.

Reliability rating	Reliability score	Customer satisfaction score
★★★★★	93%	85%
★★★★★	90%	77%
★★★★★	84%	69%
★★★★★	90%	77%
★★★★★	87%	69%
★★★★★	78%	68%
★★★★★	87%	73%
★★★★★	76%	59%

The above data is based on a survey conducted on 4,644 tablet-owning Which? members in July 2019.

Common tablet problems

Tablets don’t suffer too many technical faults, with around 15% of people who have bought tablets in the past seven years having a problem.

Most problems are minor, but there are a few more major issues that have been uncovered data, including 6% of problems resulting in the tablet not working with no obvious reason given. Another 8% reported their tablet turning off without warning, and 16% said their tablet's battery life became significantly worse over a short period of time.

Which tablet brand stays fault free for longest?

The graph above shows how the brand that stays fault-free for longest compares with the worst brand, as well as the overall average. Which? members can see how brands compare for faults over a five-year period in the table below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view which brands achieved the ratings and verdicts in the table below. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.

Brand name	% fault-free after one year	% fault-free after five years
	95%	90%
	96%	90%
	73%	67%
	95%	80%
	92%	91%
	88%	83%
	90%	83%
	93%	87%

Results based on feedback from 4,644 tablet owners, surveyed in July 2019.

How we measure faults and reliability in tablets

Our reliability score takes into account minor, major and catastrophic faults:

Minor: a fault that doesn't affect the product's performance significantly or a fault that only occurs occasionally with minimal impact. This issue may be irritating or annoying but it isn't frequently problematic and you can easily work around it. For example, a dip in sound quality or performance.
Major: a fault that has a noticeable effect on the product’s performance. This fault affects how you use the product and can be problematic. For example, a faulty screen or a serious drop in battery life.
Catastrophic: a fault that renders the product unusable, with the fault needing to be repaired or parts replaced before it can be used again. For example, a failed storage device or a completely dead battery.

Tablet brands rated

Choose a brand from the list below to find out more detail about its performance in our survey.

Amazon tablets overview table
Number tested in the past three years	7
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2019 of 370 Amazon tablet owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Find out whether Amazon tablets score well in our reviews.
Discover with Amazon tablets are as reliable as their rivals from Lenovo and Acer.
See whether Amazon tablet customers are likely to recommend them to friends and family.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.

Apple iPads overview table
Number tested in the past three years	7
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2018 of 2,562 iPad owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Find out how well Apple iPads score for reliability, and how Apple fares against rival tablet brands such as Amazong, Huawei and Samsung.
See whether iPads are worth the price premium or if they’re a false economy.
See how Apple fared based on its customer score – we asked those in our survey how satisfied they were with iPads, and how likely they were to recommend them to others.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.

Asus tablets overview table
Number tested in the past three years	6
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2019 of 61 Asus tablet owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Find out how Asus tablets fare against rivals from Huawei, Lenovo and Samsung to see whether it’s the Android tablet brand to choose.
See whether Asus tablets can be trusted to not break down after a few months.
Get the opinion of Which? members and whether they’d recommend Asus tablets to friends or family.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.macb

Google tablets overview table
Number tested in the past three years	1
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2019 of 58 Google tablet owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Find out how reliable Google tablets are and whether paying more is worth it or a false economy.
See whether people who bought Google tablets were likely to buy another one, and whether they would recommend a Google product to a friend or family member
Find out the most common problems with Google tablets.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.

Huawei tablets overview table
Number tested in the past three years	10
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2019 of 66 Huawei tablet owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Find out how well Huawei tablets score on average, and how they fare against the likes of Apple and Samsung.
See whether Huawei tablets are reliable enough for you to rely on them for your daily computing needs.
Get the verdict from Which? members to see whether they’d recommend Huawei to friends and family.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.

Lenovo tablets overview table
Number tested in the past three years	17
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2019 of 230 Lenovo tablet owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Find out how Lenovo compares with its tablet rivals Apple, Huawei and Samsung for reliability.
See whether Lenovo tablet owners would recommend the brand to a friend or family member.
See how well Lenovo tablets score on average and whether the brand does well in our tests.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.

Microsoft Surface tablets overview table
Number tested in the past three years	5
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2019 of 68 Microsoft Surface owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Find out how Surface devices do against the likes of iPads and devices from Asus, Google and Lenovo.
See whether Surface devices are more likely to develop a fault.
Discover which are the most common faults reported by Surface owners.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.

Samsung tablets overview table
Number tested in the past three years	9
Number of Best Buys
Average test score
Brand reliability rating
Customer score (%)
Loyalty score
Typical spend
Table notes	Average test score based on results of models tested in the past three years (as of 1 October 2019). The customer score and brand reliability rating are based on a Which? member survey conducted in July 2019 of 1,038 Samsung tablet owners. The customer score is based on whether members would recommend the brand to a friend, and reliability is based on members’ experience of that brand. Table last updated 10 October 2019.

Discover how Samsung tablets fare against the likes of the Apple iPad and Microsoft Surface.
See whether Samsung tablets are reliable, and what the most common faults are.
Find out if Samsung buyers are likely to recommend their purchase to family members or friends.
Only logged-in Which? members can view our exclusive reliability ratings and verdicts. If you're not yet a member, Join Which? to get instant access.

Head to our tablet reviews

Know which tablet brand you want? Use the links to go straight to our reviews and find your ideal model:

How we calculate the best and worst brands

Which? has a wealth of information on Britain's favourite computing brands. Every year we ask Which? members to tell us about the technology products they own – from how likely they would be to recommend a brand, to how reliable the products are once they get them home. This year nearly 10,000 Which? members told us about more than 20,000 devices. We calculate a brand's reliability and its customer score based on the results of our annual survey.

Our reliability surveys, combined with our extensive lab tests, mean we can recommend the best tablets you should buy.

This data is crucial for our testing, too. If a brand falls far below the category average, we take away the manufacturer’s Best Buy status and won’t recommend any of its products unless a marked improvement in reliability is shown.