So, let me tell you how I ended up doing this entire tablet performance test in the first place — and no, it wasn’t because I suddenly woke up with a “tech reviewer” personality. Honestly, I was just trying to replace my ancient iPad that has the battery health of a 97-year-old pigeon and randomly shuts off every time I try to watch Netflix.
Also, side note: if your device has ever gone from 37% to 1% in two seconds, just know that I see you, I feel you, and you deserve financial compensation.
Anyway.
I walked into Best Buy in Queens (you know the one — where the parking lot is just chaos and a dream) and I was just browsing, or that’s what I told myself. Next thing I know, I’ve got three tablets in my cart and a salesperson staring at me like I’m tech-hoarding.
So I didn’t plan this. But sometimes when life throws tablets at your face, you… uh… test them.
Let’s get into the good stuff.
(Actually, wait, I said “let’s get into”—pretend I didn’t. My bad.)
The Contenders aka tablet performance test
Here’s who ended up in my unofficial-but-very-official-in-my-heart tablet performance test lineup:
H3: 1. iPad Pro 2025 (M3 chip — dramatic pause)
This thing is so fast, I swear it loads apps before I even tap them. Like it knows. It’s psychic or haunted or both.
H3: 2. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra
Huge screen. Gorgeous. Also feels like holding a high-tech dinner plate.
H3: 3. Lenovo Tab Extreme 2
The underdog. The wildcard. The tablet equivalent of that kid in school nobody expects to win the race but somehow does because he’s fueled by spite.
H3: 4. Amazon Fire Max 13
I threw this in because someone on Reddit convinced me it was “actually underrated if you tweak it.” (Spoiler: that person lied.)
Real-Life Speed Tests (Aka Me Being Chaotic in My Kitchen)
I didn’t do the whole “lab conditions” thing. Look, I live in Queens. My kitchen counter is my office, my snack bar, my existential crisis corner, and apparently now my tech review studio.
Here’s what I tested:
- Opening 12 apps at once
- Rendering a 4K video clip I shot of pigeons fighting over a bagel (peak New York content)
- Switching between YouTube + email + Spotify + 32 random tabs I forgot to close
- Drawing apps (even though I draw like a toddler holding a crayon with their foot)
- Gaming — and yes I opened Genshin Impact because I needed something GPU-intensive and unnecessarily pretty
Oh, and I did the “leave it in the sun by accident while eating halal food outdoors” test. Not intentionally. But we roll with it.
Let me walk you through what happened because it was… a lot.
Which Tablet Actually Felt Fast in tablet performance test?
You know how sometimes performance charts look like this:
- 1st: Blah blah 12,000 score
- 2nd: 11,870
- 3rd: 11,500
- 4th: 1 (Amazon Fire, bless its heart)
But in real life? It hits different.
Here’s my very scientific scale of speed:
“Instant”
“Pretty fast but also ‘hold on I’m thinking’ fast”
“Okay… any day now”
“I could literally heat up leftovers in the microwave during this load time”
So:
iPad Pro 2025 — Straight-up “Instant”
Apps open like they owe the iPad money.
Video rendering? Wildly quick.
Gaming? Smooth. No dropped frames.
Split-screen multitasking? Actually works without lag.
I swear this thing made me more productive just because it judged me silently.
Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra — “Instant-ish”
Extremely fast. Sometimes even quicker than the iPad, especially switching between apps.
The screen is stupid beautiful (like distractingly so).
But when I pushed heavy video stuff, it hesitated for a half-second — not much, but noticeable.
Lenovo Tab Extreme 2 — “Pretty fast but also… thinking.”
Look, it surprised me.
Doing normal stuff? Great.
Heavy tasks? Fine-ish.
Video editing? It gets a lil warm and tired, like me after climbing one flight of stairs.
Amazon Fire Max 13 — “Microwave leftovers” speed
Love it for reading, watching videos, browsing.
But don’t ask it to be powerful. This is not a performance tablet. This is a chill tablet. A vibes tablet
Multitasking Mess Test (aka My Brain on a Screen)
I opened:
- Gmail
- Spotify
- Amazon
- Messenger
- YouTube
- Notes
- Chrome with way too many tabs
- And a PDF I forgot I downloaded in 2021
Then I jumped between them like someone avoiding responsibilities.
Winner: iPad Pro
It just… powered through everything like it was nothing.
Runner-up: Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra
Close call. Super smooth but not as bulletproof.
Honorable mention: Lenovo
It tried. It really tried. And I respect that.
Amazon Fire:
Let’s not talk about it.
Battery Life — The Part Where They All Lie to You
You ever notice manufacturers claim “Up to 12 hours,” but somehow your device dies after three YouTube videos and a sneeze?
Here’s what actually happened:
iPad Pro:
About 9–10 hours of mixed use. Respectable.
Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra:
11–12 hours easily. Samsung did black magic here.
Lenovo Extreme 2:
About 9 hours if I wasn’t abusing it.
Amazon Fire Max 13:
Surprisingly 12+ hours.
Because slower chips = less battery drain.
Snail energy efficiency.
Heat Test (because NYC in the summer is a furnace)
I didn’t intend to do a heat test but the tablets were in my tote bag during a heatwave and I walked home from the Q17 bus stop.
Samsung ran hottest.
Like “don’t put this on your bare legs” hot.
iPad warmed up a bit.
Nothing crazy.
Lenovo was like “eh, whatever.”
Amazon Fire stayed cool
because it was barely working.
The Verdict — Which Tablet Comes Out on Top?
Alright, here’s the straight-up truth:
🏆 Overall Winner: iPad Pro 2025
Fastest. Smoothest. Most reliable.
Also the priciest, because of course.
🥈 Runner-Up: Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra
Almost tied for first.
If you love Android, this is your champion.
🥉 Third: Lenovo Tab Extreme 2
Great value. Surprisingly capable.
🚫 Last: Amazon Fire Max 13
Not a performance tablet.
But if you just wanna read, watch, and chill — go for it.
Should YOU Upgrade? A Mini Pep Talk
If your current tablet:
- Takes forever to load,
- Randomly freezes,
- Or heats up like a street vendor grill,
…you probably should.
But if it still works fine?
Save your money.
Tablets don’t evolve as fast as phones.
Unless you’re editing videos or gaming, the upgrade might not even matter.
Also — real talk — don’t fall into the trap I did of walking into Best Buy “just to browse.” Nothing good comes from that.
Outbound Link Suggestions
(You asked for 1–2 relevant ones)
- A chaotic-but-funny tech blog I like: https://chaosmakesitbetter.com
- A great long-term battery test article (not mine): https://mrmobile.mobi
