Elsewhere, the middling battery life of the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is a stumble. Battery testing from our colleagues at Laptop Mag revolves around simulated web browsing at a constant brightness until the tablet powers down.

In this test, the Pro 4 only put up a mark of six hours and five minutes. While the Pro 4's specifications are more power hungry than a standard tablet, most premium tablets can still reach around nine hours of battery life. The Pro 4 features a 12.3-inch, 2736 x 1824 display that is a notable upgrade from past Surface models, which featured 2160 x 1440 displays.

The iPad Mini 4 updates Apple's iPad Mini line and improves specifications and build quality. The Mini 4 is built on a 1.5GHz Apple A8 processor, and benchmark testing from our colleagues at Laptop Mag showed that its performance is in line with the best mainstream tablets.

In processing performance test Geekbench 3 and graphics test 3DMark, the Mini 4 had respective scores of 3,107 and 18,313 points. Both were on par with comparable home tablets, so you can play games and browse the web on the Mini 4 with ease.

The Google Nexus 9 speedy processor can handle work or games. The tablet has average battery life.

The Nexus 9 is a reliable high-end tablet, but its solid design is hampered by some build-quality hiccups. Google's flagship Android tablet computer has an impressive combination of performance and design. Benchmark testing from our colleagues at Laptop Mag found that the Nexus 9's 2.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor provided respectable performance.

The iPad Air 2 is built on Apple's A8X chip, which replaces the A7 chip used in the company's previous generation of iOS devices. While it's no longer Apple's top processor, the Air 2 still outperformed numerous competing tablets in performance testing from our colleagues at Laptop Mag.

In Geekbench 3, a benchmark test designed to measure a computer's processing performance, the iPad Air 2 produced a score of 4,547. Similarly, the iPad Air's score of 21,660 in graphics benchmark 3DMark handily placed it in the upper tier of our evaluated tablets.

The Google Pixel C specifications are stellar on paper, with a 10.2-inch display that has a resolution of 2560 x 1800 pixels. It's a marginal but beneficial bump in resolution compared to other top tablets, which generally reach the 2048 x 1536-pixel range.

In our hands-on testing, we were impressed by the Google tablet's phenomenal screen and display performance. During testing from our colleagues at Laptop Mag, the Pixel C had a top-in-class brightness rating of 509 nits, which is a unit of measurement for the luminance of a screen.

During its evaluation, in which a tablet loops through webpages at a constant brightness until the battery dies, the Google Nexus 9 only lasted for seven hours and 42 minutes; battery life under eight hours is usually only seen on budget tablets. During our hands-on testing, the Nexus 9's 2048 x 1536 display handled tasks like displaying text and playing high-definition videos exceptionally well.

In Laptop's benchmarking, the display's brightness rating of 371 nits was more than Top Ten Reviews' average of 347 nits.

Weight of 0.58 pounds, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is light and thin enough to easily fit into a drawer or backpack. You can purchase the Samsung in 32GB or 64GB configurations, and micro-SD support provides storage flexibility. However, the tablet's battery life is a notable misstep in comparison with its competitors.

In Laptop's testing, a tablet scrolls through webpages at a constant brightness until the battery powers down. During this test, the S2 put up a subpar mark of 7 hours and 42 minutes. Most mainstream tablets average between 8 and 9 hours of battery life.

Apple's build quality is an upside on the Mini 4. The dimensions of 8 x 5.3 x 0.24 inches and weight of 0.66 pounds make the Apple's iPad Mini 4 one of the lightest tablets we've seen.

The Mini 4's rounded edges and weighty aluminum construction give it a durable feel. The tablet lasted for a lengthy nine hours and 23 minutes in Laptop's battery test, in which a tablet loops through webpages at a constant brightness until it powers down. Apple offers the tablet in 16GB, 64GB or 128GB configurations, and separate models include support for cellular data.

Text and images were displayed with excellent fidelity and virtually free of noticeable pixilation. Overall, the Google Pixel C display abilities deservedly place it in the same league as other premium tablets we reviewed.

The Pixel C also performed solidly during battery benchmarking tests from our colleagues at Laptop Mag. In their testing, a tablet loops through webpages at a constant brightness until it powers down.

Although the Pro's specifications were phenomenal, the tablet's price tag and scale generally made it impractical for home and mainstream users. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro solves many of these missteps, as the newest iPad Pro offers more features meant to appeal to a general audience.

Thanks to its phenomenal design and performance, the iPad Pro earns the Top Ten Reviews Gold Award. Internally, the Pro is built with the updated Apple A9X processor, and in tests from our colleagues at Laptop Mag, the A9X put up superb marks for a tablet computer.