Best tablet for musicians (for sheet music and more)

Searching for the best tablet for musicians? You have come to the right place.

Gone are those days when you only had the option to invest in huge-sized musical instruments. Due to technological advancements, all you need is a tablet for recording, composing, and other music-related tasks.

Though, you can find many different options for other tablets. But, not every tablet model is suitable for making music and is not compatible with music production apps.

To help you in your quest, I have reviewed the top 10 picks of the best tablets for musicians. All the tablets options that I have picked are perfect for producing music.

Quick Pick Table

10/08/2022 08:03 am GMT

These tips can help you make a choice:

The Best Tablet For Musicians – Reviews 2022

Best value – Xiaomi Pad 5 Pro

The Xiaomi Pad 5 Pro is downright one of the best tablets for musicians. It comes with a super light, easy-to-carry design with a beautiful display and substantial specifications.

Though it may not be a match to iPad Pro or iPad Air, nevertheless, it gives a pretty decent performance. It is available mid-price and comes with the most innovative features.

Design

The tablet comes with a premium design almost as good as an iPad Air tablet. It features a sleek and attractive aluminum chassis, like any high-end tablet.

Furthermore, the slim bezels and rounded-edged design of the tablet sure resemble the iPad Air. Besides, the super-light design measures about 25.5 x 16.6 x 0.7 centimeters. It further enhances the overall portability of the tablet.

Display

The best thing about this tablet is its brilliant 11-inch display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It features an IPS panel with a screen resolution of 1600 x 2560.

You get to enjoy amazing visuals having excellent color accuracy with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support. Moreover, the incredible viewing angles make it easy for you to work in both dark and bright environments.

Overall Performance

The Xiaomi Pad 5 Pro offers the best value for money in terms of performance. It runs on a potent Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 processor for snappy performance.

It is capable enough to handle even the most heavy-duty demanding music production apps. Besides, you can also work on all your everyday tasks on this tablet with ease with a 6GB Ram and 128GB storage.

Input & Battery 

Another great thing about this amazing tablet is its long battery runtime. You can work nonstop on this tablet on a single charge for about 10.5 hours.

In addition, the tablet boosts USB C port support and a wi-fi 5 connectivity.

Expert Opinion

The Xiaomi Pad 5 Pro tablet offers the right features in the best price range. As a musician, you get to work with the most innovative features without breaking your bank.

Best tablet for musicians on Android – Samsung Galaxy Tab S7

The Galaxy Tab S7 is undoubdly one of the best tablets for musicians and music production. It comes equipped with the most exceptional speakers and top-notch specifications with Dolby Atmos technology.

Display 

It features an 11 inches display with a WQXGA panel that offers a comfortable view for sheet music. The 2560 x 1600p screen resolution offers excellent display quality for music production, jamming, or live recording music.

Moreover, the Samsung tablet comes in a compact with super sturdy metallic chassis. Also, it features scratch-resistant glass that enhances its overall functionality.

Design

The tablet measures about 0.25 x 6.3 x 9.84 inches and weighs up to 1.1 lb. You can also get the tab in several different beautiful colors.

Overall Performance

The tablet comes with a ‎Qualcomm SDM865 Octa-Core processor that can run all kinds of heavy-duty musical tasks. Also, you won’t face any problems when adding different effects during music production.

Furthermore, the Android 10 in the S7 Galaxy tab is a user-friendly option for music producers. You can efficiently multitask and store massive amounts of data using 128GB storage and 6GB RAM. You also get an option for increasing storage up to 1TB by adding an external MicroSD card.

Input & Battery

The S7 Galaxy tab features a proper USB C port. It allows you to pair an external keyboard, microphone, and other musical peripherals.

Furthermore, the 12 hours of extended battery runtime is more than enough for a tablet for music.

Expert Opinion

The fantastic acoustic video and audio experience of the S7 completely steals the show. It comes with all the right specs, including an S pen makes it stand out amongst many other tablets.

Editor’s Choice – Apple iPad Pro 12.9

The Apple iPad Pro is a top choice of a tablet for music for seasoned musicians. It is all because of its excellent display, magic keyboard, and lightning-fast processor that handles all your music needs.

Overall Performance

The Ipad Pro runs on an A12X Bionic chip to give you an exceptional and snappy performance. Besides, the low latency option of the Apple Ipad makes it perfect for providing a live musical performance.

Moreover, the RAM and storage space allow you to smoothly run all kinds of advanced music production tasks. Also, you will not face any speed delays even when running heavy-duty music apps on the Apple Ipad.

Display

The stunning retina display of the Ipad Pro is like a cherry on top of all the fantastic features. It comes with a screen resolution of 2732 x 2048p.

This provides you will the most vivid picture quality with color accuracy with straining your eyes. Also, the 12.9-inch screen size of the iPad Pro gives extra screen real estate to help you work with comfort.

Moreover, the liquid retina display gives excellent visuals both indoors and outdoors. Also, the screen has a super sturdy scratch-free design that can withstand rough use.

Design

Another amazing thing about the iPad Pro is its solid metallic aluminum chassis. It measures about 11.43 x 1.95 x 8.81 inches and weighs around 1.39 lbs.

Connectivity & Battery

Besides, you will love its fantastic design and top-notch performance. You also get a second-generation apple pencil along with a magic keyboard.

Both of these are just what you need for music mixing and recording live music in your recording studio. The long battery life gives you enough backup for long recording music sessions.

Also, the tablet offers excellent wi-fi 6 connectivity and Thunderbolt 4 port support. It gives you the freedom to connect various musical devices.

Expert Opinion

You are surely going to love all the advanced features of the Apple iPad Pro. But, if you only plan to use it for basic tasks, its overall performance is undoubtedly going to be overkill.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7

The Surface Pro 7 tablet is one of Microsoft’s latest models of tablets. It comes packed with the most notable features you will love as a musician.

You can efficiently run different music-related apps on the Microsoft Surface Pro 7. The Surface Pro 7 tab gives equivalent performance equivalent to a PC.

Overall Performance

The Surface Pro 7 tablet comes equipped with a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor. It has enough processing power that enables you to run multiple applications and live streams fluidly.

The Windows 10 Home operating system has a user-friendly operation that helps you manage multiple applications at once. On the other hand, the tablet comes with 256GB and 16 GB RAM storage space.

Together these combined give a lightning-fast performance to help you manage as many apps without speed delays as possible. Besides, the vast storage ensures you never run out of space to install new music production apps.

Display

This tablet for musicians comes with adequate screen real estate for comfortable viewing. You can easily read sheet music on the 12-inch screen of the surface pro.

Moreover, the 2736 x 1824p screen resolution guarantees a crystal clear view with vivid color accuracy. Its 3:2 screen aspect ratio is more than sufficient for you to view and read musical sheets.

Design Input 

The tablet measures about 12.74 x 9.09 x 1.91 inches and weighs around 1.70 lbs. Besides, it comes in a robust and aesthetically pleasing metallic chassis.

Input & Battery Life

You get to work with multiple connectivity options, including USB C ports and type-A ports in Surface Pro. It also comes with a headphone jack to help you enjoy listening to music tracks in high quality.

In addition, the 10.5 hours of battery backup enables you to produce music without worrying about charging the tab.

Expert Opinion

If you are a professional musician, you don’t have to worry about performance delays. The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 can easily handle all kinds of different heavy-duty instruments.

Cheap tablet for musicians – Fire HD 10 Tablet

The Fire HD 10 Tablet by Amazon is undoubtedly the best inexpensive tablet for musicians. Even at a budget price, it has all the proper specifications making it an ideal pick for an aspiring musician.

Display & Appearance

Though it is a budget tablet, its brilliant display will make it an ideal pick for all your musical needs. Whereas the 10.1 inches display makes it easy for you to read books or music without feeling too cramped.

Furthermore, the screen resolution of 1920 x 1200p provides you with HD picture quality. You will love the super bright and crystal clear display of the Fire HD tablet.

Overall Performance

The Fire HD tablets show that even affordable tablets come with the most powerful processors. It runs on an octa-core 2GHz processor with 3GB RAM and has a storage of 32GB.

Though, the 32 GB internal storage will run out of space in no time. But, you can always add external SD up to 512GB of space.

Design

The Fire HD tablet measures around 8.0″ x 5.4″ x 0.4″ and weighs 16.4 ounces.

Input & Battery

It includes a fire dual-band wi-fi connectivity to give you seamless connectivity. This makes all the difference and allows you to download several music production applications easily.

In addition, the super long 12 hours give you extra runtime compared to similarly priced tablets. At the same time, the USB C port comes with an option of fast charging.

Expert Opinion

Fire HD 10 Tablet is the most versatile tablet for music that comes with excellent battery life and display. Besides, you get unlimited access to all of Amazon’s content to further increase its functionality.

Lenovo Tab M10 Plus

The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is yet another budget tablet for music that you can get. Its diverse features, combined with an immersive audio experience, make it the perfect tablet for musicians.

You will love this table if you are one of those music producers who record and compose tracks at once. Not only this, but the built-in speakers come integrated with Dolby Atmos support for acoustic sound quality.

Display

It features a 10.3-inch IPS display screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200p. Together these ensure a comfortable view with sharp striking on-screen images.

On the other hand, the 16:10 aspect ratio makes it easy for you to read music sheets, musical staves, etc.

Overall Performance

The Octa-Core 2.3 GHz processor can efficiently manage multiple operations without any lags in performance. Whereas the user-friendly Android 9 Pie OS enhances the functionality of the tablet.

Furthermore, the combination of 4GB RAM and storage space of 128GB is adequate for storing large amounts of data. But, you can always use an external microSD card option to make more space.

Design

The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is one of the best tablets with a compact design. Besides, it hardly weighs anything, making it easy for you to take along with you for music production.

It measures about 9.6 x 6.04 x 0.33 inches and weighs up to 1.40 lbs.

Input & Battery

Along with the fantastic features, you get to record music using exceptional dual microphones on this tablet. The microphone’s high sensitivity makes them perfect for recording audio with crystal clarity.

In addition, the Dolby Atmos in the tablet support boosts the audio and video overall performance. Also, the USB C port guarantees a seamless data transfer. Last but not least, the 12 hours of battery backup is more than enough for live gigs.

Expert Opinion

The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is a dream come true for musicians who record music and compose original tracks together. Besides, you may not even need to connect any external microphone due to the built-in mic.

iPad Mini

Do you want to get a new iPad? But, you also want to stay under a budget? Then the ideal solution for you is to get the iPad Mini. This Apple iPad is just what you need for music production, recording, or just listening to music.

Display

Same as iPad Pro and iPad Air, the iPad mini also has a brilliant Retina display. It is integrated with true tone technology to show images with precision and clarity.

You will love the compact size of the iPad mini; unlike Apple iPad Air, you can easily hold the tablet in one hand. Though, the 8.3 inches display with a screen resolution of 2266 x 1488p may not be too big.

This is where the second-generation Apple pencil comes in handy. It makes it easy for you to work on the small display of the iPad.

Overall Performance

This Apple iPad runs on the latest A15 Bionic chip. It is the reason why it is one of the best tablets that give exceptional audio and video playback performance.

The massive 256GB storage combined with a swift 4GB RAM gives enough processing speed. It has enough juice to handle all music production tasks.

Design

The affordable iPad Mini comes in a compact size and measures about 7.69 x 5.3 x 0.25 inches. Furthermore, it weighs 293g.

Input & Battery

Though this may be a mini version of an iPad Air, you won’t be disappointed by its battery backup. You get a runtime of almost 10 hours of continuous use on this tablet.

In addition, the USB C port connectivity gives you the freedom to easily attach any musical peripherals.

Expert Opinion

On a budget? Why get any other tablet when you can invest in an iPad Mini. Its Retina display combined with vivid colors and sharpness offers brilliant visuals. Besides, the lightweight modern aluminum with excellent portability.

Budgete one – Samsung galaxy tab a8

The Samsung A8 is an entry-level best budget tablet perfect pick for those who have started their musical journey. But, its affordable price is not only the best thing about this tablet for music.

It comes with excellent audio, good display, and thin bezels that you will love for creating music. Besides, the expandable storage gives enough space for music producers to save music tracks without running out of space quickly.

Display

The display screen size of 10.5 inches offers a big screen size for reading sheet music. At the same time, it has a 16:10 aspect ratio ensures no additional unused space left on the screen.

Moreover, the display is perfect for music production. It displays clear and bright visuals even at a reasonable price range.

The compact size of a tablet measures about 0.27 x 6.37 x 9.72 inches and weighs around 1.12 lbs.

Overall Performance

Just because the A8 tablet comes at an affordable price range. It may not deliver a strong performance compared to the Samsung galaxy tab s4.

But the Unisoc Tiger T618 has sufficient processing power for working on essential tasks. You shall face no issues multitasking and bouncing between multiple apps on the 3GB RAM.

The 32 GB storage space may seem limited. But, you also get an option to increase the storage up to 1TB with the help of an external microSD card.

Input & Battery

The Samsung A8 comes with diverse connectivity options. It features superfast Bluetooth and wi-fi 5 connections.

In addition, the long battery life of 12 hours has enough power to last a whole day’s use. Even when working on music production tasks, you won’t have to worry about the tablet running out of charge.

Expert Opinion

The sturdy construction and admirable performance of the A8 make it one of the best tablets for musicians. Like any other Samsung tablet, it gives a very reliable performance even at a reasonable price range.

Huawei MediaPad M6

Unlike any other tablet, the Huawei MediaPad extended battery runtime of 48hours will blow your mind. Its exciting features and exceptional battery makes it one of the best tablets for musicians always on the go.

Design

The Huawei MediaPad has the perfect size without being too small or too big. It comes with having dimensions of about 6.29 x 0.31 x 9.05 inches.

Furthermore, its light 460 g weight makes it easy for you to take the tablet on the go. You can easily hold this tablet with one hand for recording and composing music. It features a super sturdy anodized aluminum chassis with a premium feel.

Display

This tablet has a 10 inches display screen featuring a WQXGA IPS panel. It displays images with crystal clarity and brightness. The accurate color reproduction combined with an aspect ratio of 16:10 guarantees easy viewing.

Overall Performance

Overall, you will love the performance of its Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 processor for music production. This combined with 2GB RAM and storage space of 16GB gives enough power to run different music-related apps smoothly.

Input & Battery

On a full single charge, the tablet can handle continuous use for 48 hours. On the whole, it only takes about two total hours to charge the MediaPad M6 tablet fully. It is why the Huawei MediaPad M6 is the best option to take along on musical tours and gigs.

You also get a USB C port on this tablet that opens limitless connectivity options.

Expert Opinion

The best thing about this tablet for musicians is its great battery backup. Also, it works with a stylus pen and a keyboard cover to increase its functionality. In short, the Huawei MediaPad M6 performs like a workhorse giving reliable support for music production.

Best tablet for Musicians – Buying Guide

When looking for the best tablet for musicians, you first need to determine the purpose of investment. Are you getting a tablet just to listen to and play your favorite tracks, or for music production, or reading sheet music?

It is essential because some tablets work ideally to listen to music. But, these tablets do not have appropriate features for advanced requirements like music production.

So, you need to look closely at the features and specifications of the tablet for musicians. Remember, there is much more to a tablet than just its compact size. To help you, I have listed down the essential points you need to look for in a tablet for musicians.

Operating system

Different tablets come with another operating system. Most of the tablets come with a Mac or a Windows operating system.

The one you end up getting depends upon your personal preference. You must also consider whether the music apps you plan to work on are compatible.

Screen

When looking for tablets, always go for the one with a large screen. This makes it easy for you to work on for hours without straining your eyes.

Also, a display with vivid colors and thin bezels makes the viewing experience much more enjoyable.

Audio quality

Since composing and producing music is all about listening to different music tracks. You need to invest in a tablet that offers high audio quality.

So, when getting a tablet, make sure you get the one that comes with quad speakers.

Storage Space

Storage space is also an essential factor you need to consider in a tablet. Make sure you invest in a tablet that comes with an ample amount of internal storage.

This makes it easy to store different music tracks, sheet music, and editing software. Some tablet features include an external storage option of attaching an external microSD card.

Size

The size of the tablet you invest in depends on your use and your budget. Usually musicians are much more used to reading music from A4 paper sheets.

Keeping this in mind, ideally, a tablet with 10 inches screen size is perfect for musicians. Though you can easily find tablets with a bigger size, they tend to be more on the expensive side.

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FAQ’s

Conclusion

In the article, you shall find all the essential information to help you find a tablet for yourself. All the tablets that I have listed are the best tablets for musicians and give excellent performance.

But, if you don’t mind splurging a bit, consider the Apple iPad Pro 12.9 tablet. Whereas the affordable Huawei MediaPad M6 comes with the perfect combination of specifications.