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.

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.