Ever since Apple ushered in the tablet era with the first iPad in 2010, there has been a two-way race: one is to keep adding more features and power and watch prices skyrocket; the other is to strip features down to the bare minimum and sell them as cheaply as possible in the hope of scoring a major mainstream hit.
Oddly enough, though, it’s the laptop, not the tablet, that’s the most commonly used portable computer. Perhaps it’s down to the keyboard, and the prevailing notion that a tablet is a passive media consumption device rather than a serious work computer. Be that as it may, this hasn’t stopped tablet manufacturers from producing some stunning examples for under £400, and what’s wrong with a passive media consumption device anyway?
Fire HD 10 tablet
With a productivity suite that includes Microsoft Office apps and Bluetooth keyboard support, Amazon is strengthening the credentials of its latest ten-inch device as a companion for professionals.
It almost works. The device has an eight-core processor and 3GB of RAM (there is a Plus model with 4GB, but it costs more). While the cheaper version of the Fire HD 10 only comes with 32GB of storage, the difference is that the Amazon tablet also has a micro SD card slot, so you can add up to 1TB of additional storage for your apps, documents and downloads.
The operating system is a version of Android, so you don’t have access to the Google Play Store. Amazon’s more limited alternative fills that gap. This is almost certainly good enough as long as you don’t expect the latest mobile games, as all the major streaming services are there, as well as Amazon’s huge Kindle ecosystem for books and magazines.
If everything else is in place, the question is whether a 10-inch screen is big enough for you. Small screens like this are nice to use when you’re curled up on the sofa. While the ability to rotate them into portrait mode is somewhat helpful, typing on a large document can be a tedious task.
Buy now £149.00, Amazon
Huawei MatePad T10s (10.1 inch)
There are many Huawei MatePads out there, but this one offers the best balance between price and features. It has 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, as well as an eight-core chipset that should provide enough power to run your apps.
Some Huawei products have a problem, however, and this is one of them. Although it runs a version of Android, it doesn’t have access to the Google Play Store (or other Google services) due to a legal dispute in the US. Huawei’s replacement AppGallery has most of what you need, but is missing some big names like Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video. If you want to watch Sky Go, All 4, Now TV, UKTV Play or the Premier League’s official app, they’re all supported, but you won’t have to switch back and forth to watch Stranger Things when the football game is over unless things change or you find a way to sideload the Play Store.
That’s a bit of a shame, because Huawei makes some nice devices. This one has parental controls, a decent HD screen, and weighs just 744g.
Buy now £149.00, Amazon
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 10.1 inch
A great iPad alternative, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A7 runs a full version of Android and access to the Google Play Store. You also get a micro SD card slot to expand the 32GB of internal storage.
The A7 has a vibrant 10-inch screen, around ten hours of battery life, and a surprisingly good quad speaker array, although you’re more likely to hook it up to good headphones or wireless earbuds. It’s light enough to hold in one hand, and while we’ve seen thinner bezels on tablets before, they’re useful here as you can hold it somewhere without triggering the touchscreen.
There are no productivity features here, no matching keyboard case, no desktop DeX mode, no stylus, and not even fingerprint security—this device is aimed at media consumers and does its job well.
Buy now £216.20, Amazon
Lenovo Tab P10
This budget Android tablet comes in a handy package at Amazon with an Alexa Smart Dock that turns it into a smart screen when docked. Great if you’re already invested in the Alexa ecosystem, but enough incentive to buy if you’re not? We’re not sure.
Otherwise, you get a wonderfully thin and light tablet that skimps a little on power but is better than you’d expect for the price, with 64GB of built-in storage and a metal and glass finish that feels great in the hand. You can expect around 10 hours of video playback on the crisp HD screen before you need to send it in for a charge. There are also dedicated user profiles, including a kids mode, which reinforce the Lenovo Smart Tab P10’s role as a media tablet for all the family.
Buy now £239.97, Amazon
CHUWI HiPad (11 inch)
The Chuwi HiPad, a Windows and Android tablet from an unknown Chinese brand, uses an Intel Atom processor, which, while capable of running the operating system and its apps, won’t give you the performance you’d expect from an Intel Core.
What is interesting, however, is the dual boot function, which allows you to use desktop-level office applications and mobile streaming in full-screen mode. Unfortunately, this puts a greater strain on the 128 GB of built-in storage, so the presence of a micro SD slot is good to see. An optional keyboard dock turns it into a hybrid laptop. A fast (10 Gbit/s) USB Type-C port handles data transfer and charging.
The screen is decent, with an HD IPS panel that’s bright and clear, and the 4:3 aspect ratio makes it equally suitable for office work and media consumption. Compared to previous models, the quality of the speakers has improved significantly, and it now supports Android 11 (12 is the latest version).
Buy now £199.00, Amazon
iPad10.2 (2021)
Originally launched in 2021, this iPad is now available for under £300. This model is a great example of Apple’s craftsmanship, with a sufficiently powerful processor with the responsive A13 Bionic chip and a bright and colorful Retina screen. It has 64GB of internal storage.
If you’ve downloaded a few games, all the streaming apps, Kindle, Spotify and maybe a digital magazine or two, you’ll probably also have storage for some pictures (which you can take with the 12MP front camera and 8MP wide-angle camera) and maybe a few GB left over for iPlayer or Netflix content for offline viewing when you’re away from Wi-Fi. Spending the extra £100 on the 256GB version does make the device more versatile but defeats the purpose of being so cheap.
The iPad remains one of the best tablets you can buy, especially at this price point. The battery lasts nearly 10 hours and there’s software like Pages and Numbers as standard, as well as full keyboard, mouse and Apple Pencil support so you can get real work done.
Buy now £299.00, Currys
Surface walk 2
The cheapest version of the Surface Go 2 has an RRP of £393, but is often on sale for less. It’s not a powerful tablet, rivalling the likes of the Galaxy Tab A in the benchmarks but lagging behind the iPad, but it has two key features that set it apart. It has 64GB of storage (expandable with micro SD cards) and runs Windows.
From a getting things done perspective, this is a huge advantage as you have proper Office applications for the desktop (actually everything available in the Microsoft Store). By default, Windows runs in the optimized S mode, but you can replace this with the full-fledged Windows 10 if you need to install software from elsewhere (and the MS Store lacks a lot), but performance is limited by the 4GB of RAM. Don’t expect a Windows 11 update either.
The energy-saving processor ensures a decent battery life of around eight hours and the touchscreen in particular is a blessing for streaming fans, but the lack of performance of the Pentium Gold 4425Y CPU unfortunately limits the possibilities of the inexpensive tablet.
Buy now £393.80, Amazon
