Best tablets for manufacturing in 2026

The ranking

Our picks for manufacturing

1. 

   1 Best overall for manufacturing

   BARTEC ET60/65EX2 Android

   BARTEC · Rugged tablet, Ex version

   Certified for

   Zone 2/22

   Marking

   II 3G Ex ic op is IIC T4 Gc

   Certification

   ATEX + IECEx, Class I Division 2

   Operating system

   Android 14

   Security updates

   Until December 2031 (unconfirmed)

   Weight

   1074 g

   When a production or logistics team spends its day scanning parts at goods receipt, stock on the shelf and work orders on the line, the BARTEC ET60/65EX2 Android is our top pick. BARTEC offers it with an SE55 1D/2D Advanced Range scan engine inside the unit, so there is no camera app or add-on to manage, and a dedicated scan key sits beside three programmable keys. The 10.1-inch optically bonded display reaches 1,000 nits, works with gloves or a stylus, and the tablet has built-in NFC for tags. Its internal supercapacitor keeps it powered while the battery is changed, so a shift change does not mean a reboot, and BARTEC quotes up to 10 hours indoors on the standard battery.

   On certification it goes furthest of the five for factory tracking work. It is intrinsically safe to Ex ic IIC T4 with dust group IIIC, which covers conductive metal dust, for Zone 2/22 under ATEX and IECEx. The North American types add Class I Division 2 (Groups A to D), Class II Division 2 (Groups F and G) and Class III Division 2 at T4, so one product line can serve plants in Europe and North America; the Division listing applies to the North American part numbers only, and its Zone 22 listing there is group IIIB. It survives a 1.5 m drop to concrete (BARTEC says this exceeds MIL-STD-810H), and it runs Android 14 with an upgrade path to Android 16.

   The limits are specific. It is certified for Zone 2/22 only, so it is not for mixing rooms or other areas classed Zone 1/21, and the scan engine is a factory option that changes the Ex marking (“op is”, inherently safe optical radiation), so order the version you need. The certificate says to protect it from high-energy impacts and high electrostatic charge, and the battery is changed and charged outside the hazardous area only. Its Ex dust marking includes IP64 (dust-tight, protected against splashing water), below the IP66 to IP68 of the other picks, so do not plan on hosing it down. At 1,074 g it is not the lightest. The December 2031 security-update date is Zebra’s date for the ET60/ET65 the tablet is built on, and BARTEC says it needs a LifeGuard service contract, so we treat it as unconfirmed and do not rank on it.

   View full details + Add to compare✓ In your comparison BARTEC ET60/65EX2 Android
2. 

   2 Best for MES and ERP software on Windows

   Getac F110-EX G7

   Getac · Rugged tablet, Ex version

   Certified for

   Zone 2/22

   Marking

   II 3G Ex ic op is IIC T4 Gc

   Certification

   ATEX + IECEx

   Operating system

   Windows 11 Pro

   Security updates

   Supported while kept on a current Windows 11 version

   Weight

   1680 g

   Plants that run MES, ERP or quality software written for Windows need a full Windows tablet, and the Getac F110-EX G7 is the one we would start with. It runs Windows 11 Pro on an Intel Core 13th-generation processor with 16 GB of memory (32 GB optional), so desktop applications run natively on x86. The 11.6-inch LumiBond display reaches 1,200 nits, the highest of our five, and there is a digitizer pen for signing off checks and marking up drawings. A 1D/2D imager and an HF RFID reader are factory options for tracking work, and Getac’s LifeSupport battery-swap technology lets a battery be changed without shutting down (outside the hazardous area only).

   It is intrinsically safe to Ex ic op is IIC T4 with dust group IIIC (T130 °C) for Zone 2/22, certified under IECEx, and it is rated from −21 °C to +60 °C, the highest upper limit of the five. It has IP66 and Getac gives a 1.2 m drop rating in use, and Windows 11 Pro stays supported as long as it is kept on a current version.

   Several limits matter on a factory floor. It weighs 1,680 g, the heaviest of the five, which counts if staff carry it all shift. Our data holds an IECEx certificate but no published ATEX certificate and no North American listing, so check what your site accepts before you buy. The certificate bars every interface (USB, Thunderbolt, DC-in, docking, LAN) from hazardous areas, and the battery is changed and charged outside only. The IECEx certificate names the model with a “c” suffix and not the generation, so we matched it to this version ourselves, and that match is unconfirmed.

   View full details + Add to compare✓ In your comparison Getac F110-EX G7
3. 

   3 Best for mixing rooms and other Zone 1/21 areas

   ecom Tab-Ex 05 DZ1

   ecom (Pepperl+Fuchs) · Dedicated Ex tablet

   Certified for

   Zone 1/21

   Marking

   II 2G Ex db ia IIC T6 Gb

   Certification

   ATEX + IECEx, Class I Division 1

   Operating system

   Android 16

   Security updates

   Q1 2032 (maker’s statement)

   Weight

   1122 g

   Where a factory has areas classified Zone 1/21, such as solvent-mixing rooms, filling points and dust-handling areas, the Zone 2/22 picks are not permitted and this is the tablet we would put in them. It is a flameproof (Ex db ia) tablet certified for IIC T6 with dust group IIIC (T80 °C) under ATEX and IECEx, so its maximum surface temperature in dust is 80 °C, against 130 °C or 135 °C on the other four picks, which gives more margin where dusts or solvents ignite at low temperatures.

   It is also the widest of the five for North America: Class I and II Division 1 (Groups A to D and E to G), Class III, and AEx Zone 1 and Zone 21, with national approvals including Inmetro (Brazil), KC (Korea) and South Africa. The 8-inch Android tablet is IP68 and MIL-STD-810H, takes glove and wet-hand touch, has a programmable function key that can be set to push-to-talk or an alarm, and comes with an S Pen. ecom lists a camera-free version for sites that restrict cameras, and states security updates until 2032, a date our data flags as unconfirmed.

   Scanning is its weak point on this page. It has no scan engine; it scans through the camera and an app, or with the Ex-rated Ident-Ex 02 wireless 1D/2D scanner as an accessory. The screen is small and not bright (8 inches and 600 nits, against 1,000 to 1,200 nits on the BARTEC and Getac tablets), it weighs 1,122 g, the battery is not user-replaceable, and the certificate allows charging only outside the hazardous area. The certificate says not to use it near processes that generate high electrostatic charges, so check any powder-coating or pneumatic-conveying line.

   View full details + Add to compare✓ In your comparison ecom Tab-Ex 05 DZ1
4. 

   4 Best for line-side use with charging in the zone

   i.safe MOBILE IS940.2

   i.safe MOBILE · Dedicated Ex tablet

   Certified for

   Zone 2/22

   Marking

   II 3G Ex ic IIC T4 Gc

   Certification

   ATEX + IECEx, Class I Division 2

   Operating system

   Android 14

   Security updates

   Until Q4 2032

   Weight

   1059 g

   On a line where a tablet is picked up between tasks, leaving it on a dock at the line beats walking out of the area to recharge it. The i.safe MOBILE IS940.2 is the pick for that: its certificate allows charging inside the hazardous area, which none of the other four here permits. i.safe lists its IS-DS940.1 docking station for charging in the Ex area, so a crew can park the tablet at the station and pick it up charged.

   It is intrinsically safe to Ex ic IIC T4 with dust group IIIC under ATEX and IECEx, with Class I Division 2 (Groups A to D) and Class II Division 2 (Groups F and G) for North America. The 10.1-inch Android 14 tablet has a 50 MP camera, 5G and Wi-Fi 6, NFC, glove-usable touch, a programmable red key and IP68, and i.safe states security updates until Q4 2032.

   Charging has conditions: the certificate limits charging to 0 °C to +45 °C, the USB-C cover may only be opened outside hazardous areas, so in-zone charging is on the dock rather than by cable. Read the certificate’s charging conditions against your gas and dust zones. It is a Zone 2/22 tablet only. There is no scan engine (scanning is camera-based through an app), no brightness figure in our data, and no hot-swap listing, so the battery is changed outside the hazardous area. At 1,059 g it is the second lightest of the five.

   View full details + Add to compare✓ In your comparison i.safe MOBILE IS940.2
5. 

   5 Best for quality inspection and photo records

   Getac ZX80-EX

   Getac · Rugged tablet, Ex version

   Certified for

   Zone 2/22

   Marking

   II 3G Ex ic op is IIC T4 Gc

   Certification

   ATEX + IECEx

   Operating system

   Android 15

   Security updates

   Until February 2029 (unconfirmed)

   Weight

   780 g

   Quality and maintenance staff who photograph parts, fixtures and installed plant and key in results will find the Getac ZX80-EX the easiest tablet to carry. At 780 g it is the lightest of the five by a wide margin, with an 8-inch 1,000-nit display, a 16 MP autofocus rear camera, an 8 MP front camera and 12 GB of memory on a Qualcomm QCS6490 running Android 15. It is IP67 and rated for a 1.8 m drop, and a 1D/2D imager and NFC are optional.

   It is intrinsically safe to Ex ic op is IIC T4 with dust group IIIC (T130 °C) for Zone 2/22 under IECEx, rated from −21 °C to +55 °C. The digitizer pen helps with markup on parts and drawings.

   The limits are worth planning around. Our data holds an IECEx certificate but no published ATEX certificate and no North American listing. Getac’s security-update date of February 2029 is for the standard ZX80, and Getac lists no separate date for the EX version, so we treat it as unconfirmed. Glove touch is not stated, hot swap is not stated for the EX version, and the battery is changed outside the hazardous area only. The IECEx certificate names the model with a “c” suffix and not the generation, so we matched it ourselves and that match is unconfirmed.

   View full details + Add to compare✓ In your comparison Getac ZX80-EX

Before you buy

What a manufacturing tablet must show

Which of these matter depends on how each line and room is classified, and that can differ within one site. Have your safety engineer confirm the classification, then read the certificate for the exact model you plan to buy.

• Dust group

  Metal dust from grinding, polishing and additive manufacturing is conductive and needs dust group IIIC, which also covers IIIB and IIIA. The ecom Pad-Ex 01 P12 DZ2 and the BARTEC Agile S NI are rated IIIB, so they are not for metal dust.

• Zones for gas and dust

  Areas where gas or dust is only occasionally present are Zone 2/22, while mixing rooms, filling points and dust-handling areas can be Zone 1/21. A Zone 1/21 tablet such as the ecom Tab-Ex 05 DZ1 also covers Zone 2/22, but a Zone 2/22 tablet does not cover Zone 1/21.

• Scanning hardware

  Check how each tablet scans: a scan engine inside the unit, an Ex-rated accessory, or the camera and an app. On the BARTEC ET60/65EX2 and the Getac F110-EX G7 and ZX80-EX the imager is a factory option, so order the version that has it. A scan engine can change the Ex marking (“op is”), so check the certificate for the version you buy.

• Static charge

  Powder coating and pneumatic conveying generate strong electrostatic charge. The certificates for the BARTEC ET60/65EX2, the ecom Tab-Ex 05 DZ1, the i.safe MOBILE IS940.2 and the Getac tablets all carry conditions about electrostatic charge, so read the conditions of use for your exact model.

• Charging and battery swaps

  Most certificates say to charge and change batteries outside the hazardous area. Of the five picks only the i.safe MOBILE IS940.2 may be charged inside it, within its certificate’s limits. Hot swap, as on the BARTEC ET60/65EX2, keeps the tablet running during a swap, but the swap still happens outside.

• North American Divisions

  US and Canadian sites use Classes and Divisions: Class I is gas and Class II is dust. The BARTEC ET60/65EX2’s Division 2 listing covers its North American part numbers only, and our data holds no North American listing for the Getac F110-EX G7 or ZX80-EX, so check the listing for the exact model.