Tablets are a great way to remain productive if you don’t have a laptop and your mobile phone’s screen is too small. A few years ago, a tablet was primarily operated by tapping the screen. But as technology advanced and compatible peripherals emerged, it’s now easy to connect a wireless keyboard and mouse. This lets you turn your tablet into a laptop that has the same basic functions while being much lighter. We rounded up the top cost-effective models so you can find the best budget tablet for you.
Mobile apps are usually only a few megabytes, though some are as large as a few hundred megabytes. This isn’t usually a problem, especially if you use your tablet with productivity applications. However, the space fills up faster when downloading games or transferring large files such as photos or creating digital art.
There are tablets with large-capacity memory, such as 64 or 256 gigabytes, but the price increases exponentially. Adding a few hundred dollars more to the price tag is sometimes not worth it, as it won’t change the tablet’s other internal components or functions.
When looking for great affordable tablets, it’s often better to find one that can accommodate an external hard drive. This way, you can get a powerful tablet with a low storage capacity rather than forking out more money for an average tablet with a large memory.
It’s important to consider what you’ll be using your tablet for the most, as this can influence which operating system is the best for your purposes. The most common tablet operating system is Google’s Android. Through the Google Play Store, you have access to around 2.7 million apps spanning a plethora of categories, from productivity and home automation to mobile games and entertainment.
However, many of the most popular drawing or creative-content applications aren’t available on Android. For those, you’ll have to turn to Apple’s iPad. While there are fewer apps available for Apple devices, the drawing app ProCreate, for example, is only available for the iPad.
But with that said, Apple’s tablets, such as the iPad Air and the iPad Pro, are more expensive than most Android gadgets. That’s because Apple uses internal components that cost more to manufacture or develop. Android tablet makers, meanwhile, use readily available and mass-produced components.
If you're set on buying the most affordable iPad, this model is the way to go; although, it's the priciest option on the list. With a powerful A13 Bionic chip, it's lightning fast. It features front and back cameras with HD resolution, a 10.2-inch display with vivid colors and True Tone capabilities. It offers built-in Touch ID, Wi-Fi and up to 10 hours of battery life. The iPad 9th Gen is available with 64 GB or 250 GB of storage.
If you're looking for the best budget Android tablet, this one is a top contender. It features a 10.4-inch screen and ultra-widescreen display with a built-in landscape-oriented camera. Available with 32GB or 64GB of storage, this cheap Android tablet has an enhanced quad-speaker system with Dolby Atmos surround sound and includes two months of free YouTube Premium and six months of free Spotify Premium. It has one USB 2.0 port.
With 32GB of storage, a quad-core 2-gigahertz processor and 2GB of RAM, this 8-inch Lenovo tablet is perfect for general productivity tasks. It has a full metal back cover, and the thin bezel only takes up 18% of the display. It has a built-in Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi module, a front and rear camera and a 5,000 mAh battery that lasts the whole day.
The Amazon Fire tablet is an excellent choice for watching online content, browsing the internet and staying in touch with friends. You can opt for 32 GB or 64 GB of storage, assisted by a powerful octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM. Using a compatible SD card, you can increase the storage up to 1 terabyte. Other features include a 10-inch 1080p display and 12-hour battery life.
This Samsung tablet has a smaller 8.7-inch display with HD resolution and a front-facing camera. The compact and lightweight design makes it conveniently portable. It's protected by a durable metal frame. In addition to 32 GB storage, This Samsung Galaxy tablet offers 1 TB of expandable storage. There's built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Plus, it comes with two months of free Youtube Premium.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus 3rd Gen Tablet
This 32 GB or 64 GB Lenovo model is a great tablet for college students. It's slim and portable with a 10.6-inch display and HD resolution. Immersive Reading Mode keeps students in the zone by making long screen sessions easier on the eyes, so it's more similar to reading on paper. Dolby Atmos offers superior sound capabilities. There's built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
If you're looking for a kids tablet, this is an excellent choice. It has an 8-inch HD display, 2GB of RAM, and the storage is expandable to 1TB. You can choose either 32 GB or 64 GB of storage. It uses a faster Hexa-core processor than previous models, and the battery lasts about 13 hours. It comes with one year of access to Amazon Kids+ and a kid-proof case to keep it safe.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
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