Compare large tablets from 12 inches

More screen space brings three main advantages: films and series look far more impressive, two apps side by side are comfortable to use, and when drawing or taking notes you have as much room as on a sheet of A4. With a keyboard cover, a 12 or 13-inch tablet becomes a fully fledged laptop replacement for many people for office work, email and browsing.

The downside: large tablets are noticeably heavier, often 600 grams to over 700 grams, and less comfortable to hold when standing or lying down.

At the top end are the 13-inch iPad Pro and iPad Air and Samsung's large-screen Tab S models. They offer excellent displays, fast chips and long software support. Alongside them are affordable large-format tablets – such as the Redmi Pad Pro, Lenovo Idea Tab Plus or 13 and 14-inch models from Blackview, TECLAST and other makers. These score with lots of screen space and big batteries, but take a close look at display quality, chip and updates.

With large tablets, a stand or a case with a stand function is worth it, because holding them gets tiring over time. If you want to draw, check whether a pen is supported and whether it's included. For laptop-style use, a matching keyboard with a trackpad is the most important piece.

Large displays need more energy, so manufacturers fit bigger batteries in large tablets. Actual battery life depends heavily on brightness, refresh rate and usage. Look for fast-charging support, because with a weak charger a large battery takes many hours to fill.

If the tablet will mainly serve as a TV in bed or in the kitchen, a stand and good speakers matter more than a particularly fast chip.