Price and competition

The Wi-Fi-only edition of the Galaxy Tab S4 costs £599 in the UK, and comes with 64GB of internal storage, expandable to a maximum of 400GB via the microSD slot. There’s also an LTE version coming for £649.

The 10.5in iPad Pro is a superbly capable and versatile alternative, but it’s a touch more expensive, with prices starting at £619 – if you want the Apple Pencil stylus, that will set you back an extra £89. It’s widely rumoured that a new, upgraded version of the iPad Pro will be introduced before the end of 2018, so it might be worth waiting a few months before buying.

If you’re looking for something cheaper, the old Galaxy Tab S3 is still available: we’ve found the Wi-Fi version online for £425. However, not only is the 9.7in screen slightly smaller than the S4’s, you also get only half the internal storage, and an older, slower Snapdragon 820 processor.

Another more affordable option is the latest iteration of the regular 9.7in iPad. This naturally doesn’t have all the high-end features of the iPad Pro, but it works with the Apple Pencil, and you can pair a Bluetooth keyboard and get a similar experience at a much lower cost, with the iPad itself starting at £319 for the 32GB model.

Finally, don’t forget the Microsoft Surface family. The range stretches from the £379 Surface Go up to the £1,149 Surface Book 2 with its detachable keyboard, so there’s bound to be something that suits your needs. The catch is that these devices all run Windows 10, which is great for “proper” computing, but means you’re left with a more limited range of touch-friendly apps when you switch to tablet mode.