Tablet Sizes: Screen and Body Dimensions for Every Common Size

Tablet dimensions by screen size

Tablet sizes chart: screen width and height

The size a tablet is sold by is the screen diagonal. The width and height depend on the aspect ratio, so two "11-inch" tablets can have quite different screens. The table gives the visible screen (landscape orientation) for each size on the market, using the ratio that size actually ships with.

Apple figures come from each iPad's published pixel count and pixel density, so they are exact for the panel. Android figures are computed from the diagonal and aspect ratio. Screens with rounded corners are measured as if the corners were square, so the usable area is very slightly smaller.

7-inch (Fire 7) 6.04 × 3.54 in8.7-inch 7.47 × 4.46 in11-inch iPad Pro 9.05 × 6.32 in12.9-inch iPad Pro 10.35 × 7.76 in

Why the same diagonal can mean different screens

A diagonal fixes the size of the rectangle's corner-to-corner line, not its shape. A squarer screen packs more area into the same diagonal. At 11 inches:

• 4:3 gives 8.8 × 6.6 in, an area of 58.1 sq in.
• Apple's ~1.43:1 (iPad Pro 11) gives 9.0 × 6.3 in, 57.2 sq in.
• 16:10 gives 9.3 × 5.8 in, 54.4 sq in, about 7% less than 4:3.
• 5:3 gives 9.4 × 5.7 in, 53.4 sq in.

The shape also decides how video fits. A 16:9 film on an 11-inch 4:3 screen fills the width but only 75% of the height, leaving black bars top and bottom. On a 16:10 screen it fills 90% of the height. For reading PDFs, comics and sheet music, the opposite holds: a taller 4:3 page wastes less space. The aspect ratio guide explains the ratios in more detail.

Which brands use which ratio

Tablet screen resolution by size

Pixel counts vary more than physical sizes. Budget tablets keep low resolutions for years, while iPads have used about 264 pixels per inch (ppi) on every full-size model since 2012. The last column is the layout size web pages and apps see (CSS pixels or iPad points), which is what designers and developers usually need.

A 4:3 tablet does not have one fixed resolution: the 9.7-inch iPad is 2048 × 1536 and the 12.9-inch is 2732 × 2048, both at 264 ppi. Density, not resolution, decides sharpness: a 10.1-inch screen at 1920 × 1200 packs 224 ppi, half again as many pixels per inch as a 10.1-inch screen at 1280 × 800 (149 ppi), so small text is visibly crisper. On Android, the layout size depends on the scaling the maker sets, so check the device rather than assuming one value.

Tablet body dimensions and case sizes

A case has to fit the body, not the screen. Bezels add about 8 to 20 mm on each side, and they have shrunk over time: the first 12.9-inch iPad Pro was 305.7 mm tall, while the current 13-inch model is 281.6 mm. Use the ranges below for sleeves and generic cases, and buy a model-specific case for anything with cutouts.

For carrying a tablet with a laptop, a sleeve rated for a 13-inch laptop takes any 12.9- or 13-inch iPad with a keyboard case; see the laptop bag size guide and the 13.3-inch laptop dimensions for the sleeve sizes involved.

How to find out what size your tablet is

1. Check the model name in settings. On an iPad: Settings > General > About > Model Name. On Samsung and most Android tablets: Settings > About tablet. On a Fire tablet: Settings > Device Options. Search the model name to get the official screen size.
2. Read the back. iPads print a model number starting with "A" (for example A2602) in small text on the back; Samsung tablets show an SM- number in settings or on the box.
3. Measure the screen diagonally. Go from one corner of the lit display area to the opposite corner, in inches. Do not include the black border. Round to the nearest standard size in the chart above.
4. Check the shape. Measure the screen width and height and divide the long side by the short side. About 1.33 means 4:3 (most likely an iPad), 1.6 means 16:10 (most Android), 1.67 to 1.7 means 5:3 or a 7-inch budget tablet.

Choosing a tablet size by use

Weight is often the deciding factor. An 8.3-inch iPad mini weighs 293 g, while a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (6th gen) weighs 682 g before a keyboard is added. If the tablet will mostly sit on a desk with a keyboard, compare it with a small laptop: the laptop size guide shows that a 13.3-inch laptop screen is wider than a 12.9-inch iPad screen but has less area.

Tablet screens compared with paper

Many people choose a tablet for reading documents or taking handwritten notes, so the page size it can show at 1:1 matters.

An A4 page shown on an 11-inch iPad in portrait is scaled to about 76% of its printed size; on a 12.9-inch iPad it is about 89%. Full paper dimensions are in the A4 size guide.

Tablets next to phones and laptops

The largest phones now reach 6.9 inches, which makes the smallest tablets look redundant on paper. The difference is width: a 6.9-inch phone screen is about 2.9 in (7.3 cm) wide, while a 7-inch tablet screen is 3.5 in (9.0 cm) wide in portrait, and an 8.3-inch iPad mini is 4.6 in (11.6 cm). See phone screen sizes for the phone side of the comparison.

At the top end, a 13-inch iPad Pro screen (26.5 × 19.9 cm) is taller than a 13.3-inch 16:9 laptop screen (29.4 × 16.6 cm) but narrower. Because of the 4:3 shape it actually has more area: 526 cm² against 488 cm². The monitor size guide covers external displays for tablets that support them.

Frequently asked questions