The best has gotten better with the debut of the Apple iPad Air 2. It’s even more breathtakingly thin than before, but the headline this time around is improved performance — 40 percent better Apple claims, and testers say that the Air 2 delivers — especially for serious gaming. The Retina display now has challengers among Android slates, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not as eye-popping as ever. You’ll also still find more tablet-specific apps for the iPad than for any other device.

Those who want the fit, finish and user experience of an Apple iPad Air 2, but in a smaller tablet. should skip the new Apple iPad mini 3 and stick with the last generation but still current Apple iPad mini 2. It’s unchanged since its debut (when it was called the iPad mini with Retina Display), but has enjoyed a $100 price cut. That’s significant since, internally, the two small iPads are nearly identical, and testing reveals they perform the same. Both have the same access to the hundreds of thousands of tablet-optimized apps Apple offers — more than any other tablet brand. Both run the same generation operating system, and the few hardware enhancements — such as Touch ID — available on the mini 3 aren’t worth its price premium, experts say.

Thinner and lighter than the iPad mini 3, the 8.4-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 also offers an even higher resolution display. Android is far more customizable than the iPad’s operating system (even allowing for Samsung’s TouchWiz add-on), but it’s less seamless and there are fewer available apps overall — fewer still that are optimized for a tablet’s screen size. Performance is excellent overall, though graphics performance is not best in class. Versions with mobile data are available, as is a bigger and just-as-well-liked version, the 10.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 (Est. $500).

The 8-inch Dell Venue 8 sits squarely at the intersection of performance and value. It’s not the swiftest performer, but it’s fully capable of doing the kinds of things most users expect from their tablets without breaking too much of a sweat. It runs a non-modified version of Android KitKat — a major plus in the eyes of enthusiasts. The screen resolution is full HD, 1,920 by 1,090 pixels, perfect for enjoying movies and TV programs. A 7-inch version, the Dell Venue 7 (Est. $150) is cheaper and performs similarly, but has a smaller, lower-resolution display.

If you want a good performing but cheap, small tablet, and don’t care about an HD display, the 8-inch Asus MeMO Pad HD 8 can be a good choice. It’s less expensive than the Dell Venue 8, and packs a more powerful quad-core Intel Atom processor. The display is a step back, however, with a resolution of just 1,280 by 800 pixels. The 7-inch Asus MeMO Pad 7 (Est. $125) is smaller and cheaper still, but delivers the same performance, reviewers say.

The Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 is a near-9-inch tablet with top-notch performance, great features and terrific build quality, and a price that’s more than $100 lower than similar-sized premium tablets from the likes of Apple and Samsung. The catch is that it runs a proprietary operating system based on Android, but so heavily modified that it bears little resemblance to its roots. On the plus side, that allows an easy-to-use interface and some features not found on other tablets. The downside is that customization is near impossible, and all content comes from Amazon.com and only Amazon.com — not the larger Google Play or iTunes app stores.

With some of the best parental controls on the market, a no-questions asked two-year warranty, a rugged bumper case and a terrific lineup of kid-friendly content, the Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition is the best choice for those looking for a tablet for now and for the future. It’s a $50 upgrade to either the Amazon Fire HD 6 (Est. $100 and up) or the Amazon Fire HD 7 (Est. $120 and up), but the value of the upcharge is covered by the extras, including a free one year subscription to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, a child-safe content streaming and app service.