As we prepare for the back-to-school season, the question on every student’s mind seems to be whether they need a new tablet to handle this year’s course load. I’m a college lecturer and PhD student, so I’ve been in my fair share of modern classrooms, including learning management systems you or your children most likely have to deal with on a daily basis, like Blackboard and Canvas. Additionally, my nephew is also getting to the age where his tablet time has to become something of an in-depth discussion.
I say all of that to note that these four features don’t just come as mere suggestions. Instead, view them more as a list of things that I wouldn’t send any child into school without in the big 2026.
Parental controls that actually work
Set them so you don’t sweat them
The term “parental controls” gets thrown out a lot nowadays as a safety blanket, but few parents realize just what steps they can take to actually protect their children’s learning and attention in the classroom. Parental controls don’t just mean locking down a few spaces of the internet or certain apps, either. Instead, nail down settings that limit screen time per app rather than overall, so reading time doesn’t get lumped into the same screen-time filter as things like gaming.
Parental control features today range from content filtering that adjusts by age and grade rather than as a blanket measure, to remote settings access that allows parents to manipulate parental controls on their own phones, to the ability to approve app purchases and downloads before they even take place. Is there a fine line between protecting your kids’ online safety and being a little hover-parent-ish? Sure. But that line is easier to toe than ever before thanks to parental controls getting smarter along with new technology.
Real drop ratings
Make sure it’s built for backpacks, not bubble wrap
You’ll see a metric ton of marketing language like “drop rated” if you’re on the market for a new school tablet this year, but that should always beg a follow-up question: Dropped from where? If it’s two feet, it’s going to be broken within a few bus rides. If it’s more like six feet, then it’s got a fighting chance to make it through the school year unscathed. If it’s 10 feet? Even better. Because who knows what they do at recess, right?
If your kiddos are a bit younger, scratch resistance will also be a must. It should go without saying that the latest iPad is probably not the best fit for younger students, too. Instead, search for more purpose-built options that can withstand the wear and tear that an elementary school tablet will go through during a given year. You’ll thank yourself for it next time.
You’ll see a metric ton of marketing language like “drop rated” if you’re on the market for a new school tablet this year, but that should always beg a follow-up question: Dropped from where?
Battery life for a full day of learning
Making sure the charge lasts from bell to bell
There’s a little industry secret that barely anyone tells regarding battery life: They’re all tested just about the same way. Most companies advertise a certain battery-life rate using video playback as a measure. However, on the average school day, students engage in far more functions on their tablets than that. Tablet batteries now need to handle things like video calls, running multiple apps at once, multiple tabs open, and, of course, note-taking. None of those features are engaging while simply watching a video.
Now that’s not to say that these companies are out to scam you. After all, they have to measure it some way. But digging a bit further into user reviews should give you a clearer picture of what the day-to-day battery life of any tablet is really like. For instance, this Amazon kids tablet comes in at just under $100 and still offers a 13-hour battery life, backed up by parents’ reviews, too.
Storage and App Management
You need room for homework and then some
In today’s digital marketplace, apps and software are becoming so bloated that it makes you think people have simply forgotten the art of file management. That being said, storage is at a premium these days, whether you’re on a budget or not, and there’s no quicker way to ruin a learning experience or school day than spending around 10 minutes deleting apps or files you may or may not need later.
That’s why I recommend every student’s tablet to have at least 64 GB of SSD storage these days. Think about it this way: Canvas, the main LMS in the United States, is only around 250 MB to download. That’s pocket change in the grand scheme of things, right?
Well, add around six classes’ worth of materials, documents, videos, and more, and all of a sudden, that Canvas app is taking up valuable cache space. Then, couple that with the fact that any other app can cause the same issue, along with software updates, and the 32GB of storage you had is gone in a hurry. There aren’t all that many features truly worth splurging on in 2026, but these four are nonnegotiables in my book.
