The 5 best tablets for seniors in 2024

Technology has become an important part of our daily lives, and while somebody who’s in the later years of their life might not feel the need for it, modern technology, like tablets, can still come in handy. For example, there are a lot of great assistance apps on tablets that a senior could download, and while the bigger screen makes it easier to make the UI and font bigger without making it feel cramped. Tablets can also interface with devices like hearing aids and smartwatches, which themselves can have assistance features like emergency alerts.

All of that is to say that buying a tablet for a senior makes a lot of sense, especially given how much quality of life they can add. If you’re planning to grab one for a senior, then check out our favorite picks below based on different categories. Also, you may want to check out these excellent tablet deals as well if nothing below tickles your fancy.

The Best Tablets for Seniors in 2024

• Buy the if you want the best overall tablet for seniors.
• Buy the if you want the best Apple tablet for seniors.
• Buy the if you want the best large-screen tablet for seniors.
• Buy the if you want the best Google tablet for seniors.
• Buy the if you want the best budget tablet for seniors.

Galaxy Tab S9+

Best overall tablet for seniors

Along with Apple, Samsung makes some of the best tablets on the market, so if you want to save yourself a bit extra on a high-end tablet or are buying for a senior that isn’t in the Apple ecosystem, go for a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus makes a lot of sense. One of the big benefits of it is that it has a pretty big screen at 12.4 inches, which is great for those who generally have trouble with eyesight and small letters since you can increase the font and UI size without losing a lot of screen space and make it difficult to use.

Another positive is the high quality of the screen which runs a 2800 x 1752 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, which helps a lot with a smoother overall experience that can help avoid frustrating lag. There is also the pen experience which is pretty handy, especially for older folks who are more comfortable using a stylus than touch-control, and Samsung’s pen experience is one of the best. It also runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, one of the best on the market right now, and that will let you run most apps without issue.

It’s also worth noting the good speakers that the S9 Plus has, making it a good option for those who are hard of hearing as well, so it’s a relatively versatile tablet. The only big downside is that the battery life isn’t great, and it will very much need to be charged regularly, at least once a day if not more. That can be a problem for seniors who are forgetful or have memory problems, but there are some workarounds and solutions like battery optimization, but that won’t give you a lot of extra time.

Apple iPad (10th Generation)

Best Apple tablet for seniors

Of course, when somebody thinks about tablets, they usually envision an iPad, and you’ll be happy to know that there are some great Apple options too. While the has a larger 12.9-inch screen, it’s very expensive, and for a senior who won’t necessarily need the performance, it doesn’t make much sense to grab it. Instead, we suggest going for the 10th-generation iPad, which has a pretty great screen but is also significantly cheaper and lets you get a tablet in the Apple ecosystem for significantly less.

What’s great about the 10th generation iPad is the relatively large 10.9-inch screen with a Liquid Retina Display, which is one of the best displays Apple makes and gives you some excellent and vibrant colors. Another big benefit is the Touch ID, which makes it a lot easier for seniors with bad memory to log in to their devices and apps rather than having to struggle with text-based passwords. That said, it does have a small downside in the form of the Apple Pencil, which is a bit of a nightmare to manage since you can’t store it internally, and charging it can be a bit of a process that a senior user might not want to deal with.

The pen issue aside, though, the overall performance is excellent, and while most of Apple devices have started moving to the M-series chips, the A14 bionic chip inside the 10th-gen iPad is still relatively powerful. Combine that with thee 4GB of RAM, and you get a pretty smooth day-to-day experience, especially since Apple apps and integrations are made to be very user-friendly and easy. Also, it’s great to pair with some form of Apple Watch since many of the newer models have fall detection and more ease-of-use benefits.

Lenovo Tab P12

Best large-screen tablet for seniors

You may be more familiar with Lenovo as the company that makes a dozen or more different types of laptops, but you may not be aware that it also makes some pretty good tablets. While we gave a good, but not excellent, score to the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2, the bigger Lenovo Tab P12 does an excellent job as a tablet and is perfect if you’re buying it for a senior. Not only is it surprisingly lightweight for its design, sitting at around 1.39 pounds, it’s also packed with features and has a pretty solid pen experience.

It also has a massive 12.7-inch screen running a 2944 x 1840 resolution, and while there are some tablets that are a bit bigger, such as the iPad Pro, they are much more expensive, so the Tab p12 is the way to go if you want a big screen without spending a ton of money. Also, it does have 8GB of RAM, which means older folks won’t constantly run into issues from having too many apps open and forgetting to close them, and therefore, provides for a much more streamlined experience. There’s also a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 Octa-Core processor under the hood, which is a sold mid-range CPU, and more than enough for most use-cases.

Interestingly enough, probably one of the best aspects of the P12 is that it comes with quad JBL speakers, a brand that has some excellent audio gear, such as headphones, earbuds, and speakers. So, if you’re buying for a senior who likes to watch or listen to content or relies on audio for assistance, then the P12 is one of the best options out there and can compete on audio with some higher-priced tablets on the market. The only bad thing is, much like other large-screen tablets, it has an issue with battery life, which means it will require daily charge, especially if it’s used regularly.

Google Pixel Tablet

Best Google tablet for seniors

Google truly has a massive ecosystem, and there’s a very good chance that the senior you’re buying for is more familiar and ingrained in the Google system than any other one. As such, by grabbing the Google Pixel Tablet, you can maintain that Google environment and make it easier for them to transition to a new device. That said, it’s important to note that while we don’t favorably review the Pixel Tablet, most of the issues it has aren’t going to affect a senior, especially somebody who is mostly going to be using the tablet in one specific area.

You see, one unique thing about the Google Pixel Tablet is that it comes with its own dock that has a speaker, and in a way, is a great option to have something that can act like a stationary screen while still also having the versatility of mobility. That means that you could have the dock in the kitchen or the living room for the most part while still being able to take the tablet around or out of the house when needed, and so it’s a good option for those who have mobility issues and need something more permanent. Luckily, the sound on the speakers is pretty excellent, so it’s also great for those who need audio assistance or who make video and voice calls regularly.

That said, it does have some downsides. For example, the battery life isn’t great, although that’s mitigated a lot by having it on the dock constantly, which is really the intended use you should be buying it for if it’s aimed at a senior. Also, the 11-inch screen is very basic, although if you or the senior don’t really care as much about screen quality, that’s also not much of an issue, especially if it’s going to be there for assistance tasks. On the other hand, it does have a fingerprint sensor, which makes logging in and accessing apps easier than having to remember a password or pattern, so that’s a big positive.

Amazon Fire HD 10

Best budget tablet for seniors

Buying a tablet doesn’t have to put you in the poorhouse, especially if you’re looking for something basic for watching stuff online or accessing assistance apps. As such, one great budget option is the Amazon Fire HD 10. It is also great for entertainment, given that you can run things like Amazon Prime or Amazon’s audiobook subscription. Of course, it does have some downsides, especially since it’s a budget tablet, but those are likely things you can compromise on if you’re buying it for a senior.

For starters, you get a 10.1-inch  FHD screen, which should be more than enough for most seniors, even those who struggle with eyesight issues. While it would have been nice to have a higher resolution, FHD is still more than enough for watching content online. Even with the lower resolution, the screen has good image reproduction and is pretty sharp, so it’s a better screen than what the budget price might imply. It’s also rather durable, so it can handle a couple of scratches or bangs here and there, although if that’s something it’s likely to deal with often, then grabbing one of the many covers for it makes sense.

Overall performance is good, and even though you only get 3GB of RAM, it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, especially if it’s mostly going to see light usage, such as content watching. That said, you don’t get access to any Google apps, so you’re stuck with whatever Amazon has on offer, which, on the one hand, makes things more streamlined and easier but, on the other, might not give you access to assistance apps. Also, it’s worth noting that the Fire HD 10 has a pretty solid battery life and should easily last a whole day on a charge.

How We Chose These Tablets for Seniors

Screen Size

One thing that everybody deals with as we get older is deteriorating eyesight, and up until a couple of hundred years ago, reaching 40, when natural eyesight degradation happened, you essentially had to go into retirement. Luckily, modern technology has given us glasses, although even with that, reading some modern screens can be difficult even with the glasses on. That’s why we did our best to pick tablets that had larger screens; in fact, none of our picks go below 10 inches, even though there are a lot of great tablets around that size.

It’s important to consider that having a larger screen doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easier to read but rather that you can increase the font size and UI elements without feeling as if everything is crapped. As such, if you’re buying for a senior who has bad eyesight, going for one of the bigger screen options we’ve suggested is the way to go.

Audio

Another thing that tends to happen a lot as we get older is a degradation of our hearing, especially if we spent our younger years at concerts or in places with very loud sound without adequate protection. This often means that elders might have to rely on a hearing aid, so having a tablet with good speakers is important. Of course, the reality is that you’re never going to get as good a quality from tablet speakers as you would from a standalone set of speakers, but most of the tablet picks above have at least a bare minimum of quality. That’s great for things like text-to-speech, watching content, or even making phone calls, all of which are things that can be important to a senior person, although if they do rely heavily on audio, then the Google Pixel Tablet with its speaker and charging dock might be the way to go.

Accessibility

There have been a lot of advances in the past few years when it comes to accessibility, and even things like hearing aids can come with Bluetooth compatibility that allows folks to access the tablet’s audio directly. As such, we did our best to pick tablets that have a lot of features or run on an operating system where you should be able to find your accessibility apps. That can be anything from medication reminders to pharmacy apps and even emergency alert apps. The only real exception to that is the Amazon Fire 10 HD, which, while essentially being built on Android, has removed pretty much most Google aspects of it, so it’s a closed system.

Regardless of which one of our picks you go for, you should double-check to make sure the apps you need are available on the operating system of the tablet that you’re buying.

Performance

While most seniors probably don’t need a tablet that’s powerful enough to play video games, having a tablet with good performance will certainly help with frustrations down the line. After all, it can be difficult even for the most calm person to deal with a slow or lagging tablet, so making sure that the senior you’re buying for has a smooth experience is important. Luckily, all the tablets we’ve suggested above have excellent performance and shouldn’t cause any lag or issues, especially for light usage such as watching content or browsing the web. That said, the Amazon Fire 10 HD is again the single exception to that, especially since it only has 3GB of RAM, but that’s not necessarily a dealbreaker for lighter usage.

This article is managed and created separately from the Digital Trends Editorial team.