4 Of The Best Tablets With 5G You Can Buy In 2026

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The best tablets today offer better displays, bigger batteries, more features, including AI functionalities, and improved cameras than what we had just five years ago. As such, they're getting closer than ever to rivaling laptops as portable work and entertainment devices, especially when paired with accessories such as a keyboard or stylus.

Now, because portability is one of their biggest strengths, it simply makes sense to pick a tablet that supports 5G cellular connectivity. Not only will it save you the trouble of having to use your phone as a hotspot every time you want to use your tablet, but it'll also help you avoid relying on public Wi-Fi networks at cafes, restaurants, hospitals, and airports. These are often unsecured and therefore frequent targets for malicious actors looking to steal your data.

However, buying a 5G tablet in 2026 isn't straightforward. While many manufacturers list cellular versions of their tablets on the spec sheet, those models are often no longer available. This means you need to be careful to choose a model that actually supports either a physical SIM or eSIM and is still readily available. To make things easier for you, we've scoured the market and picked the four best tablets with 5G cellular support. Our recommendations include two iPads — the iPad Pro M5 and iPad 11-inch (2025) — and two Samsung Galaxy Tabs: the Tab S10 Plus and the Tab S10 FE.

The iPad Pro M5 is one of the most powerful tablets you can buy in 2026. Plus, as is the case with several Apple tablets, it too offers 5G cellular connectivity across multiple configurations. Its 11-inch, 256GB 5G version is currently available for $1,199 on Amazon, whereas the 13-inch model costs $1,759. The M5 iPad Pro is the first tablet to feature Apple's second-generation C1X cellular modem, which delivers faster cellular data speeds. This was confirmed when PCMag tested it on Verizon's 5G network and recorded faster speeds than the M4 iPad Pro. However, just like the base iPad (2025), the M5 iPad Pro supports only eSIM.

One of the biggest selling points of the M5 iPad Pro is its Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED display. It outclasses the AMOLED panel on some of its competitors by offering more true-to-life colors and deeper blacks. Moreover, CNET says it's the brightest tablet display they've ever tested. It delivers up to 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness and a whopping 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness. There's also ProMotion, aka adaptive refresh rate, which intuitively adjusts the refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz to make everything feel even smoother.

Under the hood, the M5 chip comfortably outperforms the M4 iPad Pro, M3 iPad Air, and the Galaxy Tab S11, handling even demanding creative apps like Lightroom and GarageBand flawlessly. Pair it with the best iPad accessories, such as the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, and it's a lot closer to a MacBook Pro than many would think. Lastly, you can expect the iPad Pro M5 to last an entire day of normal use, even on 5G. Better yet, it charges fairly quickly, reaching 50% in just 35 minutes, provided you use a 60W USB-C charger.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus is one of the best Android tablets available today, as is evident by its near-perfect 4.7-star rating on the Samsung Store after more than 800 reviews. Its 5G cellular versions for AT&T and T-Mobile are available for $1,250. For the price, you get 256 GB of storage, 12 GB of RAM, and a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset. While it doesn't have a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip anymore like the Tab S9 Plus, the S10 Plus doesn't skimp on performance.

Reviewers at TechRadar used it with Canva and CapCut and "never noticed performance lacking." Actual user feedback also suggests the same, with reviews such as "everything feels snappy and smooth." The 12.4-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate is one of its biggest advantages. Not only does it deliver crisp and smooth visuals, but it also comes with an anti-reflective coating, which makes the tablet easy to use outdoors. In addition to heavy workloads, the Tab S10 Plus is also great for content consumption, thanks in no small part to its four speakers, all of which are tuned by the reputable audio brand AKG.

You also get seven years of software updates, which, combined with the full suite of Galaxy AI features, makes the Tab S10 Plus very future-proof. Some of Galaxy AI's standout productivity-boosting features include Circle to Search, Sketch to Image, and Handwriting Help. According to reviewers, "Galaxy AI is a game-changer that makes the tablet both more powerful and more fun." Experts have also praised the tablet's multitasking abilities, particularly the freedom to run two apps side by side with full control over their boundaries.

The Apple iPad 11-inch (2025) is easily the best iPad for most people. It's also the most affordable iPad you can buy right now, with its 128 GB 5G-equipped cellular version currently available for $500 on Amazon. Keep in mind, though, that it doesn't have a physical SIM tray and only supports eSIM. However, its affordability isn't the only reason it enjoys a 4.8-star rating after nearly 700 reviews. It's simply a well-rounded package that delivers on most fronts.

It comes with an 11-inch Liquid Retina display with support for the sRGB color gamut, True Tone, and a 60Hz refresh rate. According to TechRadar, which used it for streaming on various platforms as well as for work, the display delivers punchy colors and provides an overall excellent viewing experience. One small drawback, however, is that unlike the iPad Air, it doesn't come with an anti-reflective coating, which makes it a bit less suitable for outdoor use.

The iPad 11 packs the A16 chip instead of the previous generation's A14 Bionic, making it around 15% faster than the iPad 10. Reviews say it "handles daily tasks and multiple apps smoothly with no lag." However, the A16 chip doesn't support Apple Intelligence. So if you're after features such as Writing Tools, Genmoji, or Clean Up in Photos, you'll have to consider the iPad mini, iPad Air, or iPad Pro instead, all of which cost more. As with any Apple tablet, the iPad 11 also offers excellent battery life. Apple claims it can last up to 10 hours on a single charge, and hands-on testing by Laptop Mag has confirmed this. As for charging, it comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable and a 20W power adapter in the box.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE is a good 5G tablet for those looking for an Android option primarily for everyday tasks and media consumption rather than heavy workloads. Its 5G cellular version, available for Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, costs $650 and offers 128 GB of storage. In addition to an excellent 4.7-star rating after nearly 500 reviews on the Samsung Store, the Tab S10 FE is also widely considered one of the best value-for-money Android tablets by experts like PhoneArena, and for good reason. For starters, it includes Samsung's S Pen, which immediately makes it better for tasks such as note-taking and light creative work than a vast majority of its peers.

Moreover, like Tab S10 Plus — which is nearly twice as expensive — you get all the multitasking benefits of One UI, including split-screen support as well as Samsung DeX, which lets you turn One UI into a desktop-style interface. You also get all the software-based Galaxy AI features that you would with any premium Samsung tablet. The Tab S10 FE sports a 10.9-inch IPS LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. While it may not deliver the same deep blacks as an AMOLED display, the LCD panel isn't prone to burn-in even after years of extended use.

Under the hood, it features Samsung's proprietary Exynos 1580 chipset with 8GB of RAM. According to Geekbench scores, it's around 30% to 35% more powerful than the Tab S9 FE. Interestingly, despite having a smaller 8,000mAh battery than the S10 Plus, the Tab S10 FE arguably offers better battery life. According to IT Pro's hands-on testing, the Tab S10 FE lasted 17 hours and 24 minutes in an HD video rundown test, compared to the Tab S10 Plus's 13 hours and 45 minutes.

Our biggest selection filter for this guide was ensuring that the tablet offers cellular connectivity, whether through a physical SIM or eSIM. During our research, we were surprised to find that although many of the best Android tablets also offer 5G cellular connectivity, those variants are now largely unavailable across retail websites such as Amazon and Best Buy, as well as on the manufacturers' official websites. As such, while we would have loved to include options such as the OnePlus Pad Go 2 or the OnePlus Pad 3, we were largely limited to Apple's iPad lineup and Samsung's Galaxy Tab lineup.

Still, we had a pool of 10+ tablet models to sort through. To narrow them down, we looked at the user feedback and ratings they've received on official stores and Amazon, as well as what reviewers from reputable tech publications such as PCMag, PhoneArena, and TechRadar had to say. In addition to 5G cellular connectivity, we also prioritized factors such as display quality, performance, battery life, the operating system, and long-term software support. Furthermore, we carefully selected tablets across different price points, from the top-of-the-line iPad Pro M5 to the mid-range Galaxy Tab S10 FE, to ensure there's an option here for every reader.