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.

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.

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.

Apple iPad mini 2 Apple's iPad mini finally has a Retina display, and it's just as good as you'd imagined. But what you may not have expected from this iOS 7-powered slate is that it would get a crazy long 11 hours and 6 minutes of battery life over Wi-Fi.

Like the iPad Air, the iPad mini with Retina display features Apple's new 64-bit A7 processor, making this one screaming fast slate.

In addition, Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 performance ceiling is notably modest for a non-entry level tablet. During our testing with performance test Geekbench 3 and graphics test 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited, the tablet had respective scores of 1,123 and 4,602 points.

In practice, the Yoga Tab 3 will be able to handle basic gaming and web browsing well, but its abilities are modest compared to top tablets.

During our testing, ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 onscreen text and images were displayed with stellar fidelity and sharpness. For a non-premium-priced tablet, it also has a steady performance ceiling.

In performance test Geekbench 3 and graphics test 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited, the tablet had respective scores of 2,855 and 13,041 points. While its graphic performance is a step below the best tablets – which generally hit the 20,000 point range – its processor was still fast enough to handle tasks like web browsing and multitasking in our hands-on testing.

The Surface Pro 4 isn't without its unpolished edges, but from the inside and outside, it comes the closest of all the tablets we've seen to achieving the ideal balance between these two product families. Internally, the Surface Pro 4 benefits from its reliance on full-powered Intel Core processors.

While most tablets are built with mobile-optimized processors, the Core series has a high enough performance ceiling to accommodate business and power users. With its 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-6300U processor, the Pro 4 had respective scores of 6,811 and 60,424 points in benchmark programs Geekbench 3.