Summary Of The Best Budget Android Tablets
- Best Overall: Lenovo Tab M10 Plus (3rd Gen)
- Best Premium: Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+
- Best Budget: Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023)
- Best Compact: TCL Tab 8
- Best Lightweight: Lenovo Tab M9
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus (3rd Gen)
Pros
- Sleek, modern design
- Large high-quality display
- Has stylus support
- Large battery
Cons
- The Wi-Fi model gets an inferior chip
The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus might be the best tablet that you can get without spending over $200, and you can say the same even when you’re looking at the higher-specced 4GB/64GB model. First off, you get a design that seriously doesn’t look like it belongs to a budget Android tablet. With a big screen and quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, this is built for entertainment; but with stylus support, it is also made for productivity.
The Tab M10 Plus (3rd Gen) has a microSD slot and a headphone jack, and you can get a SIM card slot with the LTE model. The major downside is that the Wi-Fi-only model has a pretty inferior SoC, creating a pretty annoying dichotomy that consumers need to consider.
Component | Specifications |
---|---|
OS | Android 12 |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G (LTE Model), MediaTek Helio G80 |
Display | 10.61-inch IPS LCD, 1200 x 2000 |
Storage Configurations | 3GB/32GB, 4GB/64GB, 4GB/128GB, 6GB/128GB |
Rear Camera | 8MP with AF, FHD Video Recording |
Front Camera | 8MP |
Battery | 7,700 mAh |
Charging | 20W |
Headphone Jack | Yes |
MicroSD Slot | Yes |
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+
Pros
- Has a 90Hz display, rare in this price bracket
- Totes a respectable Snapdragon chip
- 128GB version comes with plenty of RAM
- Has 5G connectivity
Cons
- On the more expensive side (though still budget)
- Slightly faster charging would have been nice
You can’t deny the quality that Samsung brings to its products and the same remains true even when you’re looking for a budget Android tablet. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ has a relatively simple design that I quite like, encasing a large 11-inch screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. For reference, high refresh rate units are almost impossible to find at this price point.
If you opt for the 128GB model, you get 8GB of RAM, which is fantastic. If you want something that falls under $200, you’ll need to settle with the 64GB model, though Samsung made the choice to literally halve the RAM to 4GB for that model, which is a little annoying. The chip in this is a good Snapdragon option though, so that makes up for things in its own way.
Component | Specifications |
---|---|
OS | Android 13 with One UI 5.1 |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G |
Display | 11-inch TFT LCD, 90Hz, 1200 x 1920 |
Storage Configurations | 4GB/64GB, 8GB/128GB |
Rear Camera | 8MP with AF, FHD/30 Video Recording |
Front Camera | 5MP, FHD/30 Video Recording |
Battery | 7,040 mAh |
Charging | 15W |
Headphone Jack | Yes |
MicroSD Slot | Yes |
Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023)
Pros
- Stylus support
- Very affordable
- Battery life is quite good
Cons
- Fire OS might not be it for some people
- No cellular connectivity
The Fire HD 10 emerges from the labs of the Jeff Bezos’ behemoth, Amazon. The Fire HD 10 is a very simple tablet that doesn’t try to be more than what it claims to be. You get a 10-inch FHD+ display, as the model name might give away, and you also get FHD video recording on both sets of cameras. All while starting at less than $100. It’s a good deal, especially when you consider it supports a stylus too.
The major downside to this tablet though, is Fire OS, which is Amazon’s own build of Android. It doesn’t come with the Google Play Store, so that’s a major bummer if you’re extremely used to the pure Google experience. In fact, you won’t be able to access any official Google apps unless you sideload them, so that sucks.
Component | Specifications |
---|---|
OS | Amazon Fire OS |
Processor | MediaTek MT8186A |
Display | 10.1-inch IPS LCD, 1200 x 1920 |
Storage Configurations | 3GB/32GB, 3GB/64GB |
Rear Camera | 5MP, FHD/30 Video Recording |
Front Camera | 5MP, FHD/30 Video Recording |
Battery | Unspecified (13 Hours of Battery Life) |
Charging | 15W |
Headphone Jack | Yes |
MicroSD Slot | Yes |
TCL Tab 8
Pros
- Very affordable
- Has a compact build for those who want something smaller
- Cameras are okay for the price
Cons
- Battery capacity is on the low end
- 2GB of RAM is small
You might know TCL for its TVs, but the company occasionally dabbles into mobile devices, though primarily in the budget range. The TCL Tab 8 is just that: a budget Android tablet. It opts for an 8-inch screen, which helps bring the price down and it brings respectable cameras to the division as well.
The major downside is that with the low price, you get a dated device. Considering it came out in 2022, that’s par for the course. It’s not horrible though, and if you’re looking for a tablet to browse with, watch videos, or hand to a kid to play some basic games, it will do more than enough without costing a kidney.
Component | Specifications |
---|---|
OS | Android 11 |
Processor | MediaTek MT8766 |
Display | 8-inch IPS LCD, 800 x 1280 |
Storage Configurations | 2GB/32GB |
Rear Camera | 5MP, FHD/30 Video Recording |
Front Camera | 5MP, FHD/30 Video Recording |
Battery | 4,080 mAh |
Charging | Unspecified |
Headphone Jack | Yes |
MicroSD Slot | Yes |
Lenovo Tab M9
Pros
- Deceptively lightweight
- Design is sleek and modern
- Rear camera is rather nice
Cons
- A higher screen resolution might have been nice
- Front camera is low quality
Lenovo doesn’t make phones anymore, leaving its subsidiary Motorola to be doing that. Instead, when it comes to Android, it focuses its time on making tablets instead. The Tab M9 is one of those and it brings the classy design that we all love from Lenovo. It’s a 9-inch tablet, so it is right on the border between being considered big and compact.
You get a microSD slot, a headphone jack, and SIM card support if you get the LTE model. I do think that the HD+ display could have had a slightly better resolution, but I suppose it comes with the price point. Plus, if you like your tablets to feel light as air, this is the lightest option on the list by quite a lot.
Component | Specifications |
---|---|
OS | Android 12 |
Processor | MediaTek Helio G80 |
Display | 9-inch IPS LCD, 800 x 1340 |
Storage Configurations | 3GB/32GB, 4GB/64GB, 4GB/128GB |
Rear Camera | 8MP with AF, FHD Video Recording |
Front Camera | 2MP, HD Video Recording |
Battery | 5,100 mAh |
Charging | 10W |
Headphone Jack | Yes |
MicroSD Slot | Yes |