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The best tablets are used for a variety of reasons, but they're especially perfect for note-taking. These devices are a digital alternative to pen and paper, making it easier than ever for students and professionals to write down everything they need while being lighter and smaller than laptops.
Since tablets run the gamut in terms of everything they can do (and all the prices they show up at), if you're looking for a tablet to take notes in classes or meetings, you must consider what else you might want to use it for. For students, you might get a tablet instead of a laptop, while professionals might carry one for commuting purposes since they are much more portable. There are note-taking tablets on the market that fit both of those scenarios.
ZDNET went hands-on with the following tablets, with our pick for the best note-taking tablet overall being the iPad Air, thanks to its lightweight build and compatibility with the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil. But we also included tablets from Boox, Amazon, and more to take digital notes on.
The Kindle Scribe is perhaps the perfect example of part e-reader, part tablet. It has the same functions you've come to know and love in a Kindle, like a 300 ppi glare-free screen, weeks of battery life, and adjustable warm light. It's also compatible with Amazon's Premium Pen, so you can take handwritten notes or underline important quotations within the book you're reading.
Your notes are automatically organized in one place for every book so that you can browse, review, and export them via email. The Kindle Scribe also comes with preset templates to help you create notebooks, journals, and lists, and you can create sticky notes in Microsoft Word and other compatible Word documents.
The new Active Canvas allows you to take notes and scribble your thoughts directly onto the pages of your book. ZDNET editor Kyle Kucharski put the Active Canvas to the test and appreciated the feature as an avid note-taker.
Review: Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024)
"The cool design element here is that the notes you draw with the pan exist on another "layer" than the book text, allowing you to edit what you write without messing with the text in the book," he wrote in his review, adding, "I actually found that I preferred using the sticky notes function, which drops a tiny icon on the text that, when tapped, opens up a floating window with your notes that can then be closed."
There are also useful AI features that can summarize up to 15 pages in a notebook, extracting key takeaways from the text in a neat summary. These features can also transcribe handwritten notes into text, which might benefit those with chicken scratch handwriting.
Kindle Scribe tech specs: Display: 10.2-inch 300 ppi Paperwhite display | Storage: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB | Weight: 0.96 pounds | Dimensions: 7.7 x 9.0 x 0.22 inches | Battery life: Up to 12 weeks (at 30 minutes per day)
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