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Best tablets for reading in 2024
Amazon
If you’re aiming to read more this year, investing in a reading tablet can be a game-changer. Reading tablets and e-readers combine the portability of a tablet with access to a vast library of e-books. Many are designed to mimic the experience of reading a paperback book, reducing eye strain with e-ink technology or high-resolution displays.
You can download books from platforms like the Kindle library or Apple Books app, giving you access to a wide range of genres. Kindle Unlimited is a great option for avid readers, offering unlimited access to e-books and audiobooks for $12 per month.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the best tablets for reading in 2024, including the versatile Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, Apple iPad, Kindle Scribe and the eye-friendly Kindle Paperwhite.
Best Amazon Kindle tablets for reading
Amazon Kindles are often considered the best tablet for reading ebooks, as they offer the most paper-like experience. If you’re looking for a dedicated reading tablet and don’t care as much about streaming or getting work done on your device, a Kindle is an excellent choice.
Amazon Kindle
Amazon
The basic Amazon Kindle e-reader is the lightest and most compact Kindle. It features a six-inch 300 ppi high-resolution display designed to provide a glare-free, paper-like experience. It offers 16 GB of storage and a battery that can last up to six weeks on a single charge.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
Amazon
The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is one of the most popular Kindle models. It features a 6.8-inch display, adjustable warm light, and up to 10 weeks of battery life. The device is also waterproof, making it perfect for reading by the pool or in the bath. Additionally, it offers a simplified reading experience with access to a vast library of e-books and audiobooks through Kindle Unlimited.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
Amazon
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition offers everything in the Kindle Paperwhite, plus wireless charging, an auto-adjusting front light, and 32 GB of storage. This option also supports a more seamless reading experience with faster page turns and enhanced performance. With ample storage, it’s perfect for users who want to carry a large library of books and audiobooks with them wherever they go.
Kindle Scribe
Amazon
The Kindle Scribe features a larger 10.2-inch screen and a stylus for note-taking or drawing. This makes it a superior option for students, business professionals and artists who want a portable e-reader with an option for taking notes on the go. It’s an overall excellent choice for avid readers who appreciate a distraction-free reading experience with the convenience of advanced technology.
Amazon Kindle Kids
Amazon
The Kindle Kids e-reader is built specifically to encourage reading. It does not have games, ads, or videos like other tablets to reduce distractions for young readers. The Kindle Kids comes with a free one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ which provides access to a number of kid-friendly books. There are four cover options to choose from including solid colors and fun prints.
Best Apple iPads for reading
Apple iPads aren’t necessarily considered reading tablets, but you can definitely read on them. Apple iPads come with the Apple Books app, making them great for quickly downloading and reading ebooks.
Apple iPad 9
Apple via Amazon
The 10.2-inch iPad 9, released in 2021, is the most affordable of Apple’s iPad offerings. It offers a 8 MP wide-angle back camera, and a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle front camera. It boasts stereo speakers, too. This iPad is powered by a A13 Bionic chip. It boasts up to 10 hours of battery life, and is compatible with the Apple Pencil ($99) for drawing or note-taking.
Available in two colors; prices vary.
10.9″ Apple iPad 10th generation
Amazon
The latest edition in Apple’s classic iPad lineup is the iPad 10th generation. This 10.9-inch tablet features a Liquid Retina display with Apple’s True Tone technology. It has Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, an upgrade from the iPad 9’s A13 chip. The iPad 10 is compatible with Wi-Fi 6 and 5G internet for fast performance.
The iPad 10 also offers all-day battery life, so that you can read all day or bring it with you to school, work or on vacation without having to worry about plugging it in mid-day.
11″ Apple iPad Pro 4 (2022)
Amazon
The latest iPad Pro comes with several major upgrades. One of the most notable changes is that the 2022 iPad Pros are equipped with the M2 chip, the same fast and powerful chip included in the latest MacBooks. The M2 chip makes this the fastest iPad yet — and an excellent choice for video editing, streaming or gaming.
Apple made some improvements to the writing and drawing experience on the new iPad Pros as well. When used with the Apple Pencil 2, the iPad Pro provides a more effortless experience. The Apple Pencil can now be detected up to 12 mm above the iPad Pro display, which allows users to draw with more precision and preview marks before they make them. It also makes it more efficient for the iPad to register handwriting and convert it to text with the Scribble app.
The new 11-inch iPad Pro comes in silver and space gray. Pricing varies based on storage and connectivity selections.
Apple iPad Mini 6
Apple via Walmart
The iPad Mini 6 is a compact tablet with an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display screen. Released in 2021, the Apple tablet is powered by an A15 Bionic chip. It features a 12 MP wide-angle back camera, and a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle front camera. It boasts landscape stereo speakers. Available in four colors.
Amazon also has a good deal on the Wi-Fi and cellular model with 64 GB of storage. Choose from four colors.
Best Amazon Fire tablets for reading
Amazon Fire tablets are another great budget-friendly option for reading.
Amazon Fire HD 8
Amazon
The new Fire HD 8 tablet (2022) offers 30% faster performance over the prior model. The tablet features a lightweight yet durable design with an 8-inch HD screen. It also provides enhanced battery life with 13 hours of watch time on a single charge.
Like all Amazon Fire products, you have a choice between ad-supported and ad-free models. The ad-supported models are less expensive, and feature advertisements on the tablet’s lock screen. The ad-free models don’t have these lock screen ads — a better choice for those who are gift shopping.
The Amazon Fire HD 8 is available in black, denim and rose colors.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus
Amazon
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus offers includes fast charging and wireless charging capabilities. It comes with an improved 5MP rear-facing camera for clearer pictures. The Plus model includes 3GB of RAM for better multi-tasking.
Amazon also claims the Fire HD8 Plus is twice as durable as Apple iPad mini (2021), as measured in tumble tests.
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is a great deal at only $20 more than the standard model. It comes in a dimpled gray finish with two storage options: 32GB or 64GB. It’s scheduled for release Oct. 19, though you can preorder now.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids
Amazon
The new Fire HD 8 Kids is built for kids ages 3-7. The tablet comes in a durable kid-proof case and has a two-year warranty. It also includes a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, which includes thousands ad-free books, games, videos and apps suitable for children. The tablet includes parental controls to limit screen time and set content restrictions.
The tablet is offered in 32GB or 64GB storage options with a blue or purple kid-proof case.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro
Amazon
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro tablet is designed for school-aged kids. It comes bundled with a kid-friendly case, a two-year worry-free guarantee and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+. The Kids Pro tablet also has access to a digital store where parents can buy and download additional content, including popular games like “Roblox” and “Minecraft.”
Best Samsung Android tablets for reading in 2024
Explore the best Android reading tablets from Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
Samsung
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a portable 2-in-1 device with PC and tablet functionality. It features Microsoft 365 integration for a better PC experience. It offers an 11-inch tablet screen size and a clear HD display for reading. The tablet also comes with an S Pen.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Samsung
The top-of-the-line Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is another great multi-use tablet for reading and work. It comes with a massive 14.6-inch screen (120 Hz), an ultra-wide dual front camera that records video in 4K and an upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset.
An S Pen is included.
Best Samsung Tab tablets for reading
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is an excellent choice for reading due to its compact size, lightweight design and sharp display.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite
Walmart
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 features an 8.7-inch display screen and an upgraded metal frame. It offers fast performance and a long-lasting battery and a sharp display, making it one of the best tablets for reading under $100. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 comes with 32 GB of memory.
Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s top official for freeing Americans held overseas, on Friday arrived in Damascus, Syria, for a high-risk mission: making the first known face-to-face contact with the caretaker government and asking for help finding missing American journalist Austin Tice.
Tice was kidnapped in Syria 12 years ago during the civil war and brutal reign of now-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. For years, U.S. officials have said they do not know with certainty whether Tice is still alive, where he is being held or by whom.
The State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, accompanied Carstens to Damascus as a gesture of broader outreach to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, the rebel group that recently overthrew Assad’s regime and is emerging as a leading power.
Near East Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein was also with the delegation. They are the first American diplomats to visit Damascus in over a decade, according to a State Department spokesperson.
They plan to meet with HTS representatives to discuss transition principles endorsed by the U.S. and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan, the spokesperson said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Aqaba last week to meet with Middle East leaders and discuss the situation in Syria.
While finding and freeing Tice and other American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime is the ultimate goal, U.S. officials are downplaying expectations of a breakthrough on this trip. Multiple sources told CBS News that Carstens and Leaf’s intent is to convey U.S. interests to senior HTS leaders, and learn anything they can about Tice.
Rubinstein will lead the U.S. diplomacy in Syria, engaging directly with the Syrian people and key parties in Syria, the State Department spokesperson added.
Diplomatic outreach to HTS comes in a volatile, war-torn region at an uncertain moment. Two sources even compared the potential danger to the expeditionary diplomacy practiced by the late U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who led outreach to rebels in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 and was killed in a terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound and intelligence post.
U.S. special operations forces known as JSOC provided security for the delegation as they traveled by vehicle across the Jordanian border and on the road to Damascus. The convoy was given assurances by HTS that it would be granted safe passage while in Syria, but there remains a threat of attacks by other terrorist groups, including ISIS.
CBS News withheld publication of this story for security concerns at the State Department’s request.
Sending high-level American diplomats to Damascus represents a significant step in reopening U.S.-Syria relations following the fall of the Assad regime less than two weeks ago. Operations at the U.S. embassy in Damascus have been suspended since 2012, shortly after the Assad regime brutally repressed an uprising that became a 14-year civil war and spawned 13 million Syrians to flee the country in one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the world.
The U.S. formally designated HTS, which had ties to al Qaeda, as a foreign terrorist organization in 2018. Its leader, Mohammed al Jolani, was designated as a terrorist by the US in 2013 and prior to that served time in a US prison in Iraq.
Since toppling Assad, HTS has publicly signaled interest in a new more moderate trajectory. Al Jolani even shed his nom de guerre and now uses his legal name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
U.S. sanctions on HTS linked to those terrorist designations complicate outreach somewhat, but they haven’t prevented American officials from making direct contact with HTS at the direction of President Biden. Blinken recently confirmed that U.S. officials were in touch with HTS representatives prior to Carstens and Leaf’s visit.
“We’ve heard positive statements coming from Mr. Jolani, the leader of HTS,” Blinken told Bloomberg News on Thursday. “But what everyone is focused on is what’s actually happening on the ground, what are they doing? Are they working to build a transition in Syria that brings everyone in?”
In that same interview, Blinken also seemed to dangle the possibility that the U.S. could help lift sanctions on HTS and its leader imposed by the United Nations, if HTS builds what he called an inclusive nonsectarian government and eventually holds elections. The Biden administration is not expected to lift the U.S. terrorist designation before the end of the president’s term on January 20th.
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder disclosed Thursday that the U.S. currently has approximately 2,000 US troops inside of Syria as part of the mission to defeat ISIS, a far higher number than the 900 troops the Biden administration had previously acknowledged. There are at least five U.S. military bases in the north and south of the country.
The Biden administration is concerned that thousands of ISIS prisoners held at a camp known as al-Hol could be freed. It is currently guarded by the Syrian Democratic forces, Kurdish allies of the U.S. who are wary of the newly-powerful HTS. The situation on the ground is rapidly changing since Russia and Iran withdrew military support from the Assad regime, which has reset the balance of power. Turkey, which has been a sometimes problematic U.S. ally, has been a conduit to HTS and is emerging as a power broker.
A high-risk mission like this is unusual for the typically risk averse Biden administration, which has exercised consistently restrained diplomacy. Blinken approved Carstens and Leaf’s trip and relevant congressional leaders were briefed on it days ago.
“I think it’s important to have direct communication, it’s important to speak as clearly as possible, to listen, to make sure that we understand as best we can where they’re going and where they want to go,” Blinken said Thursday.
At a news conference in Moscow Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had not yet met with Assad, who fled to Russia when his regime fell earlier this month. Putin added that he would ask Assad about Austin Tice when they do meet.
Tice, a Marine Corps veteran, worked for multiple news organizations including CBS News.
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