Budget Android tablets are abundant, and there are plenty of options, whether for students or family use. Here are our top picks for every kind of user.
The great thing about the budget Android tablets market is the variety of choices. This means consumers have a lot to choose from depending on their needs.
Android has an offer for each niche. Some prefer large screens, while some would like a larger entertainment device.
Nonetheless, there are a lot of tablets to choose from. Here are some of the best budget Android tablets available in the market, depending on the user’s needs.
1. The all-around budget option: Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1
Samsung has a lot of tablets up in their catalog. The best all-around budget option is the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1. It does not have flashy specs or eye-catching features, but it is very capable of being a portable entertainment device.
The 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 display is a TFT panel. It is not Super AMOLED like other Samsung devices, and the difference is noticeable.
The colors are not as vibrant while viewing angles are not that great either. However, watching movies is still a great experience, thanks to the Dolby Atmos dual speakers.
It should be noted that this tablet is not a productivity laptop—the 2GB of memory is not up to the task. Just a few apps open and this tablet will stutter. The Exynos 7904 processor is not great either.
So for multitasking and productivity, there are other options to check out.
2. The best tablet for kids: Samsung Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition
The internet is a great yet scary world, and as much as parents want their kids to stay away from it, it is inevitable.
Luckily, Samsung has created the Samsung Galaxy Tab A Kids Edition that has parental controls. This allows parents to monitor the activities being done inside the tablet. It also prevents kids from opening harmful websites.
There is a free three-month trial of Samsung Kids. Free access gives the user around 10,000 hours of children’s activities. There is a feature that parents can use to set a time limit on the child’s screentime.
Another neat feature that has been added to this tablet is the STEM curriculum integration. It gives access to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics topics as a study guide.
It cannot handle multitasking well like the Galaxy Tab A 10.1, but the long-lasting battery gives the children a lot of educational playtimes.
3. Best portable tablet: Lenovo Tab M8 FHD
A tablet that is 10 inches or more inside sometimes hinders portability. The Lenovo Tab M8 does not have that problem, however.
It has an 8-inch screen 1920 x 1200 display, and the small form factor makes it a perfect portable device, as it can fit small bags.
Don’t let its portability fool you. It is still loaded with specs that are great for everyday usage. This device has a Mediatek Helio A22 processor partnered with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
It is better at multitasking compared to the Samsung Galaxy A10 due to the 3GB boost. This device can also last up to 18 hours, making it a great travel companion.
There are downsides to this device as well. First, it only has a single speaker that gets muffled at higher volumes. The large bezels make it look like a device from 2016.
The charging port is also micro-USB. It would have been better if Lenovo used USB-C instead.
4. The Google Home companion: Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab
The Lenovo Yoga Smart tab has the highest price in this list. But it is priced that way for a reason: this device has better specs and a more powerful processor.
It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 438 and partnered with 4GB of memory. There is also 64GB of storage available for all file types.
Lenovo’s main selling point for this tablet is its versatility. This tablet also has a built-in stand that may also be used to hang it somewhere.
For users with a lot of Home devices, the built-in Google Assistant Ambient mode is a huge plus. This mode may serve as a central hub for all Google Home devices, allowing for quicker access to several devices at once.
The downsides for this device is the limited amount of storage. It has 64GB built-in with microSD expansion available. However, the microSD can only support up to 256GB — quite short for a modern device.
Despite its shortcomings, the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab is among the best budget Android tablets available. If there are no Google Home devices available, the Samsung Galaxy A 10.1 is a better buy, though.
Images courtesy of Samsung, Lenovo, Lenovo Yoga, Samsung Kids, kaboompics/Pixabay