CheckMag | 3 tablets that make heart-warming "better late than never" 2023 Christmas presents

A tablet is a great thing to give to somebody who mainly consumes content rather than creates it. Reading e-books, showing off photos taken last holidays, playing games, watching YouTube videos, chatting with the loved ones - any of the three options below will be perfect for these activities and anything in-between. Besides, they certainly have enough grunt (and good enough screens) for a bit of image editing and video editing on the go.

The bigger, the merrier: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra

• Notebookcheck review rating: 91%
• Get it on Amazon USA (512 GB storage, Wi-Fi and 5G-enabled)

This is quite possibly the best large-screen tablet money can buy, as of this writing. The Galaxy comes with a gorgeous 14.6-inch OLED display that gets very bright (we saw values up to 900 cd/sqm in our testing), its cameras are very decent for a tablet, and its performance is simply stellar. Wi-Fi 6E and 5G support is onboard as well; of course, Samsung has Wi-Fi only SKUs on offer for those who do not want cellular connectivity.

While the Galaxy Tab is on the heavier side at 732 g, Samsung more than makes up for that with great battery life figures. The S9 Ultra will let you play games for 6 hours straight at full display brightness.

Check out our Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review for full product specs, sample camera shots and other juicy details.

The budget-friendly option: Xiaomi Pad 6

• Notebookcheck review rating: 89%
• Get it on Amazon USA (128 GB)

This lovely piece of technology can be yours for around $350. Its 11-inch screen ticks most of the boxes, its Wi-Fi 6 modem is very fast and its looks are very impressive for a lower mid-range product. The metal case is thin and not at all heavy at 6.5 mm and under 500 g respectively; generally speaking, there is little not to like about the Xiaomi. One aspect worth mentioning is that the tablet comes with no cellular connectivity of any kind, and neither does it have NFC, so it's just Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Not sure if this the right tablet is for you? The full Xiaomi Pad 6 review will leave no questions unanswered.

For those who like it compact: Apple iPad mini Gen 6

• Notebookcheck review rating: 91%
• Get it on Amazon USA (64 GB storage, Wi-Fi only)

With a weight of less than 300 g and a footprint that is more reminiscent of a compact e-book reader than of your average tablet, the iPad mini is as travel-friendly as it gets, and it packs quite a bit of a punch too. Its A15 chip will have little issue churning through any games and any benchmarks possible. This being an Apple product, it sports very good speakers and good cameras; its 8.3-inch IPS display is not super-bright at 440 cd/sqm but it certainly is sharp and the colors are fairly true-to-life too.

Its battery life figures are decent and, much like it is with the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, the product can be had in a Wi-Fi only version or in a Wi-Fi + 5G version.

The full list of both cons and pros of the iPad can be found in our iPad mini 6 review.

• Further reading: The best tablets according to Notebookcheck (Q4 2023 update)