There's been a thought bouncing around in my head about the state of tablets. I've talked about how stale the category is and how there's a definite need for a change in the space. It's part of the reason why I decided to upgrade to the M4 iPad Pro, just because I thought Apple would have something to blow our minds with iPadOS 18 at WWDC.
Since then, I have been thinking that Samsung got the formula right, specifically with the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. If you want smaller tablets, there are plenty to choose from. They probably won't have all the bells and whistles, but they'll get the job done for whatever you need.
