10 Best Tablet For Taking Handwritten Notes 2026 in the United States

The Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet paired with the Made for Amazon Stylus Pen is a solid choice if you're looking for a budget-friendly tablet for taking handwritten notes and drawing. Its 10.1-inch Full HD (1920 x 1200) display offers a bright, clear screen that's big enough for writing and sketching comfortably, and the display is strengthened with durable aluminosilicate glass to handle everyday use. The included stylus supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, which makes writing and drawing feel more natural compared to basic styluses, although the stylus is sold separately, so you’ll want to be sure to get it for the best note-taking experience.

The tablet runs Amazon's Fire OS, which is simple and family-friendly but not as versatile as Android or iPadOS when it comes to note-taking apps or stylus functionality. With 3 GB of RAM and an octa-core processor, it handles basic tasks smoothly, including note-taking apps like OneNote, but it might struggle if you want to multitask heavily. Storage starts at 32 GB (with about 24 GB usable), which should be enough for notes and some apps, and you can expand it with a microSD card up to 1 TB if you need more space.

Battery life is impressive at up to 13 hours, letting you jot notes and read without frequent recharging. Weighing around 433 grams, it is lightweight enough for comfortable portability. However, the Fire HD 10 does lack support for Wi-Fi 6 and some advanced stylus features found in more expensive tablets. If your main goal is note-taking and casual drawing on a budget, this tablet and stylus combo provides a good balance of size, clarity, and battery life, though power users might find its app choices and OS limitations a bit restrictive.

The new Apple iPad 11-inch offers a lot of appealing features for those looking to take handwritten notes. Equipped with a vibrant 11-inch Liquid Retina display, the iPad provides a high resolution of 2360-by-1640 pixels, making it ideal for note-taking and drawing tasks. The support for Apple Pencil (both USB-C and 1st generation) enhances its capabilities as a note-taking device, providing precision and ease of use for writing and sketching on the go. With a robust A16 chip, the iPad ensures smooth performance and can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, which is great for productivity.

Storage capacity of 256GB is ample for storing a large number of notes, documents, and multimedia files. Additionally, the iPadOS is intuitive and versatile, offering features like Scribble that allow you to write in any text field with the Apple Pencil. The battery life is impressive, lasting all day, which is a big plus for users who need a reliable device throughout their work or study sessions. The iPad is also lightweight, at just 1.05 pounds, making it highly portable and easy to carry around.

However, the starting price can be on the higher side, and accessories like the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard Folio are sold separately, which could add to the total cost. While the iPad includes advanced camera systems, these are less relevant for note-taking but are a nice add-on for multimedia purposes. The new Apple iPad 11-inch is a powerful and versatile tablet that excels in note-taking capabilities, though it may come with a premium price tag considering the additional cost of accessories.

The Amazon Kindle Scribe is a specialized tablet aimed at users who want to take handwritten notes with a natural pen-on-paper feel. Its large 11-inch Paperwhite display with 300 ppi resolution offers sharp, glare-free viewing and adapts brightness automatically, which is great for reading and writing in various lighting conditions. The included Premium Pen is a standout feature since it requires no charging and provides very responsive, paper-like writing, making it comfortable for long note-taking sessions.

With a slim and lightweight design at just 400 grams, it’s easy to carry around and comfortable to hold for extended periods. The device runs on a Kindle-specific system rather than a more common tablet OS, which limits app variety but simplifies the experience and focuses on reading, note-taking, and document markup. Storage at 32GB is ample for thousands of notes and documents, and integration with cloud services like Google Drive and OneDrive helps in managing files conveniently.

Battery life is impressive, lasting up to 3 weeks with typical writing use, which is beneficial for users who need reliability without frequent recharging. While it handles handwritten notes and document annotation exceptionally well, it won't replace a full-featured tablet for multimedia or app-heavy tasks due to its limited operating system and lack of color display. This device is well-suited for those seeking a distraction-free, comfortable way to take handwritten notes and mark up documents with a natural writing experience, but users looking for a versatile tablet with diverse apps or color content should consider other options.