Still editing photos on a monitor? Here are 5 tablets to consider instead

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For most of the history of photography, the image editing process took place behind closed doors, with different shades of color available on different film stocks. In the days of film, some retouching and color manipulation could be done while the film was being developed, with computers allowing for further editing once they arrived. The advent of digital cameras, however, has opened the door to all kinds of things that can be done to an image throughout the post-production process. It became a process that required the power of a desktop computer, with laptops eventually catching up.

But today, even mobile devices can handle the photo editing process: there’s certainly no shortage of essential apps for photographers. While smartphones make them portable, tablets may be more suitable for photographers due to the extra screen space and performance-oriented hardware. Apple iPads, powerful Android tablets, and a number of other tablet options are available for photographers who want to step away from their desktop screen. Photo editing can be done just about anywhere when a tablet is part of the workflow, and these devices can also integrate to expand a desktop setup or to provide touchscreen and pen functionality, which many photographers find more comfortable than using a keyboard and mouse.

There are several models in the iPad line that would be a good choice for photo editing, as Apple has long targeted photographers and other creatives with its offerings. The iPad Pro M5 sits at the top of the range, with 11- and 13-inch sizes available. We get into more practical details in our iPad Pro M5 review, but the larger iPad Pro will likely be better suited to photographers and their different photo editing workflows, as it offers more space to split apps on the screen using native iPadOS features.

Being able to simultaneously look at a photo editing app, a reference image, and anything else that may be part of the workflow can be helpful, but the quality of the iPad Pro’s screen is as beneficial as its size. Apple offers the iPad Pro an Ultra Retina XDR display with OLED technology and up to 1,600 nits of possible brightness. It also includes ProMotion, Apple’s marketing name for its variable refresh rate (VRR) feature that helps balance efficiency between image quality and battery life.

As these tend to be Apple products, the iPad Pro’s biggest drawback is its price. The base 11-inch model starts at $1,199, and photographers may want to upgrade to the 13-inch model and upgrade the storage to get enough space to house RAW image files. But the iPad Pro is incredibly user-friendly for the photo editing process, as external SSDs can be connected via the USB-C interface and accessories like the Apple Pencil Pro can be added to workflows.

Although Apple is often a priority when it comes to creative work, Xiaomi is a brand that is very similar to it in terms of aesthetics. With the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro, the company has created a tablet that photographers can consider adding to their editing workflow. It compares so well to the iPad Pro that we call it the “Android iPad” in our review of the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro. However, for the right photographer, the Pad 8 Pro can add some value to the photo editing process, as it starts at just $600.

This base model’s screen measures 11.2 inches, and while it looks more like the smaller of the two iPad Pro models, the Pad 8 Pro includes a 3.2K resolution paired with a 144Hz refresh rate. It may be slightly lacking for some photographers’ workflows, as it comes with 256GB of storage space and 8GB of RAM. The Pad 8 Pro, however, only costs an extra $40 to upgrade to 512GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM.

Paired with either of these combinations is a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. It features eight cores in total which make the tablet efficient in a number of different types of applications. Xiaomi has built all of its tablets on a version of Android known as HyperOS, and while its proprietary nature may seem limiting at first glance, photo editing apps like Adobe Lightroom are available for the Pad 8 Pro.

The latest Samsung tablet release is the Galaxy Tab S12, and when it comes to photo editing, the best overall option is the high-end Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra. With a 14.6-inch screen, it’s one of the largest tablets you’ll come across – and its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, was one of the best large tablets you can buy for this very reason. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra improves on the S11 Ultra in almost every area in terms of performance and continues to offer S Pen support for those who prefer to edit with the precision of a stylus.

The performance gains will likely even be noticeable for photographers working on lengthy photo edits. Samsung claims a 19% gain in CPU performance and a 17% gain in GPU performance over the S11 Ultra, each of which is significant when it comes to intensive tasks like photo editing. The base model Tab S12 Ultra starts at $1,300 and includes 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. Options with more storage come with 16GB of RAM, which many photographers may want to splurge on.

The previous generation Galaxy S11 Ultra was essentially the Galaxy Tab equivalent of the iPad Pro, and now the Galaxy S12 Ultra has that moniker. Unfortunately, this is also true when it comes to pricing, with the 14.6-inch tablet offering plenty of screen real estate and room for powerful hardware inside. While that represents a steep starting price, the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra should offer everything photographers working on the Android platform should need for their editing workflows.

Photographers who edit their photos via a PC-based setup may be relieved to learn that they don’t have to choose between Apple and Android platforms when it comes to moving the workflow to a tablet. The Microsoft Surface Pro runs Windows 11 and features a 2-in-1 design that allows it to be used as a laptop or the lighter, more convenient form factor of a tablet. It comes in 12- and 13-inch options, with the base model priced at $1,150.

When it comes to direct photo editing, the larger model will probably be the most practical. The display comes with an OLED option with a 120Hz refresh rate. Photographers who have been looking into HDR technology can dive into the Surface Pro knowing that it is supported. When it comes to processing RAW photos and running editing software, the Surface Pro is capable of delivering laptop performance and includes AI integrations for additional features photographers can use.

With companies like Apple and Samsung dominating tablet release cycles, Microsoft’s lineup has become somewhat forgotten among tablet buyers. But the Surface Pro is a natural choice for those who like the Windows platform, and in terms of performance, it’s among several powerful tablets that can replace a work laptop. Several accessories are available, including the Surface Slim Pen which can make navigation in photo editing software more precise, and the Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock, which allows the tablet to connect to a larger external display.

Photographers whose primary interest in a tablet is photo editing on the go can find ultimate portability in Apple’s iPad mini. It runs the same iPadOS as the larger models and offers much of what they can do from a performance standpoint, but on a smaller 8.3-inch touchscreen. This tablet won’t be as handy when you’re working on multiple apps at once, but its ultra-portable nature makes it the perfect complement to cameras for frequent travelers.

Despite the fact that the screen is smaller than most tablets, Apple still gave the iPad mini a Liquid Retina display that covers the wide P3 color gamut and reaches 500 nits of brightness. The mini is powered by Apple’s A17 Pro chip, which doesn’t offer the processing power of its M-series processors, but can still do some pretty heavy photo editing. While this tablet could be called a scaled-down iPad Pro in spirit, it could also be considered a full-scale Pro model iPhone, which has a lot to appeal to mobile photographers.

The iPad mini’s size makes it a great mobile photography option, but it may not be the best solution for photographers simply looking to integrate a touchscreen into their desktop setup. However, like all iPads, the mini can be used as a secondary display for a Mac thanks to Apple’s Sidecar feature. It is also compatible with Apple Pencil Pro. With a starting price of $599, it’s a solid option for Apple users who want to stay within the ecosystem and don’t want to break the bank on purchasing an iPad Pro or a mid-tier option like the iPad Air.

To narrow down what we consider to be the most ideal tablets for photographers looking to move away from a desktop editing setup, we relied heavily on the writer’s decades of experience as a professional photographer, as well as his hands-on experience with tablets as a photo editing device. We’ve identified the hardware specs that we know are important during the photo editing process and researched tablets that stand out in this regard. These specifications included screen size and quality, touchscreen and operating system features, and performance capabilities. We also looked at hardware ecosystems to ensure our selections had plenty of available accessories that could help with the photo editing process.