Tablet computer

A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a <a href="/facts/Mobile_device/cNS1Rhvg">mobile device</a>, typically with a <a href="/facts/Mobile_operating_system/wysBVca1">mobile operating system</a> and <a href="/facts/Touchscreen/zpSKDFpe">touchscreen</a> display processing <a href="/facts/Circuitry/IRfQ6Cc2">circuitry</a>, and a <a href="/facts/Rechargeable_battery/A6zUkPkW">rechargeable battery</a> in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, have similar capabilities, but lack some <a href="/facts/Input%2foutput/WQTE8Jas">input/output</a> (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern <a href="/facts/Smartphone/cSIrBMWG">smartphones</a>, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally, and may not support access to a <a href="/facts/Cellular_network/8zA0jQJ9">cellular network</a>. Unlike <a href="/facts/Laptop/3EFwTAb2">laptops</a> (which have traditionally run off operating systems usually designed for desktops), tablets usually run mobile operating systems, alongside smartphones.
The touchscreen display is operated by <a href="/facts/Gesture_recognition/jly3YdnY">gestures</a> executed by finger or <a href="/facts/Digital_pen/c0HUI5XU">digital pen</a> (stylus), instead of the <a href="/facts/Computer_mouse/fJpa1tUE">mouse</a>, <a href="/facts/Touchpad/5BptytYa">touchpad</a>, and <a href="/facts/Keyboard_(computing)/MczF9LIS">keyboard</a> of larger computers. Portable computers can be classified according to the presence and appearance of physical keyboards. Two species of tablet, the slate and booklet, do not have physical keyboards and usually accept text and other input by use of a <a href="/facts/Virtual_keyboard/h7dmTg31">virtual keyboard</a> shown on their touchscreen displays. To compensate for their lack of a physical keyboard, most tablets can connect to independent physical keyboards by <a href="/facts/Bluetooth/sWAjpMrj">Bluetooth</a> or <a href="/facts/USB/XcIKWLyg">USB</a>; 2-in-1 PCs have keyboards, distinct from tablets.
The form of the tablet was conceptualized in the middle of the 20th century (<a href="/facts/Stanley_Kubrick/y5cxcQzV">Stanley Kubrick</a> depicted fictional tablets in the 1968 science fiction film <a href="/facts/2001%3a_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)/yUhFQY8W">2001: A Space Odyssey</a>) and prototyped and developed in the last two decades of that century. In 2010, <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a> released the <a href="/facts/IPad_(1st_generation)/FCH0AXW9">iPad</a>, the first mass-market tablet to achieve widespread popularity. Thereafter, tablets rapidly rose in ubiquity and soon became a large product category used for personal, educational and workplace applications. Popular uses for a tablet PC include viewing presentations, video-conferencing, reading e-books, watching movies, sharing photos and more. As of 2021 there are 1.28 billion tablet users worldwide according to data provided by <a href="/facts/Statista/7nDTwSm6">Statista</a>, while Apple holds the largest manufacturer market share followed by <a href="/facts/Samsung_Electronics/STxnmHwl">Samsung</a> and <a href="/facts/Lenovo/4UNdKGUU">Lenovo</a>.
The tablet marget is divided evenly between Android tablets, and Apple's iPad (running <a href="/facts/IPadOS/fClrmH7D">iPadOS</a>). Note though Android tablets use the Google <a href="/facts/Android_(operating_system)/nNyHb0xz">Android</a> operating system (and are thus all similar, run the same apps, more or less), but are made by many manufacturers, e.g. Samsung tablets very common, and no one manufacturer's tablets are as popular as Apple's iPad. Apple's tablets are in general well updated, most users are running on recent supported versions, as of 2025, 6% of iPad users are on iPadOS 12.5, an unsupported version, while for Android tablets, the single most used Android version at 27% use is a supported one, the next one Android 11.0 at 16% isn't. The problem is especially bad in a few countries: 73% of US users use insecure Android tablets, and 78% of UK users, and the very old Android 9.0 Pie is still the most commonly used tablet version in both countries. Overall, a bit less than half of users globally have used unsupported Android tablets for years.

Tablet computer open-in-new

Tablet computer