Ever since Apple kicked off the tablet computer age with its original iPad in 2010, there’s been a race in two directions - one is to pile on more features and power and watch the price soar, while the other has been to pare it down to its bare minimum and sell it as cheaply as possible, in the hope of having a major mainstream hit.
Oddly, though, it’s the laptop and not the tablet that remains the most common portable computer. Perhaps it’s the keyboard, and the prevalent idea that a tablet is a passive media consumption device rather than a serious work computer. Whatever, this hasn’t stopped tablet manufacturers from producing some stunning examples for less than £400, and what’s wrong with a passive media consumption device anyway?
Fire HD 10 tablet
With a productivity suite including Microsoft Office apps and Bluetooth keyboard support, Amazon is pushing the credentials of its latest ten-incher to be a professional’s companion.
It almost works. The device features an eight-core processor and 3GB of RAM (there’s a Plus model with 4GB, but it costs more). But while the cheaper version of the Fire HD 10 comes with just 32GB of storage, the difference here is that the Amazon tablet also sports a Micro SD card slot, allowing you to add up to an extra 1TB of space for your apps, documents and downloads.
Its operating system is a version of Android, and so you don’t get access to the Google Play Store, with Amazon’s more limited alternative filling the gap. This is almost certainly good enough as long as you’re not expecting the latest mobile games, as all the main streaming services are there, plus Amazon’s enormous Kindle book and magazine ecosystem.
With everything else in place, the question becomes whether a ten-inch screen is big enough for you. Small screens like this are nice to use while lounging on the sofa but, while the ability to rotate them into portrait alignment helps somewhat, trying to type a large document on them can be a chore.
Buy now £149.00, Amazon
Huawei MatePad T10s (10.1in)
There are lots of Huawei MatePads, but this one balances price and features most effectively. There’s 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage inside, along with an eight-core chipset that should give it enough power to run your apps.
Some Huawei products have a problem, however, and this is one of them. Despite running a version of Android, it has no access to the Google Play Store (or other Google services) thanks to a legal argument in the US. The replacement Huawei AppGallery contains most of what you’ll need, but there are a few big names missing, such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Video. If you want to watch Sky Go, All 4, Now TV, UKTV Play or the Premier League official app, they’re all supported, but you won’t be flicking over to watch Stranger Things when the football’s finished unless things change, or you find a way to sideload the Play Store.
This is a bit of a shame, as Huawei makes some nice devices, and this one comes with parental control, a decent HD screen, and weighs only 744g.
Buy now £149.00, Amazon
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 10.1in
An excellent iPad alternative, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A7 runs a full version of Android with 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, about ten hours of battery life, and a surprisingly decent quad-speaker arrangement, though you’re more likely to hook it up to some nice headphones or wireless earbuds. It’s light enough to hold in one hand, and while we’ve seen thinner bezels on a tablet, they have a use here as somewhere to hold it without setting off the touchscreen.
There are no productivity features here, no matching keyboard case, desktop DeX mode, stylus or even fingerprint security - this is a device aimed at media consumers, and it does a good job of that.
Buy now £216.20, Amazon
Lenovo Smart Tab P10
This reasonably priced Android tablet comes in a convenient bundle on Amazon with an Alexa Smart Dock, turning it into a smart screen while docked. Great if you’re already invested in the Alexa ecosystem, but enough of an incentive to buy if you’re not? We’re not sure.
Elsewhere, you get a wonderfully thin and light tablet that skimps a bit on power but, with 64GB of storage built-in and a metal and glass finish that feels great in the hand, is better than you’d expect for the price. You can expect about 10 hours of video playback on the crisp HD screen before sending it off for a charge,. There are also dedicated user profiles, including a kids’ mode that cement the Lenovo Smart Tab P10’s role as a media tablet the whole family can use.
Buy now £239.97, Amazon
CHUWI HiPad (11IN)
A Windows and Android tablet from an obscure Chinese brand, the Chuwi HiPad uses an Intel Atom processor which, while capable of running the OS and its apps, isn’t going to give you the kind of performance you’d expect from an Intel Core.
The ability to dual-boot is an interesting one, however, meaning it can pull double duty, with desktop-class Office apps and fullscreen mobile streaming. This does, unfortunately, put more of a strain on the 128GB of built-in storage, so the presence of a Micro SD slot is good to see, and an optional keyboard dock turns it into a hybrid laptop. A fast (10Gbps) USB Type-C port handles data transfer and charging,
The screen is a decent one, with an HD IPS panel that’s bright and clear, and the 4:3 aspect ratio make it equally suitable for office work and media consumption. Compared to previous models, the quality of the speakers has vastly improved and it now supports Android 11 (12 being the latest version).
Buy now £199.00, Amazon
iPad 10.2 (2021)
This iPad was originally launched in 2021, and is now available at below the £300 mark. This model is an excellent example of Apple’s craft, with a powerful enough processor featuring the responsive A13 Bionic Chip and a Retina screen that’s bright and colourful. It comes with 64GB of internal storage.
Once you’ve downloaded a few games, all the streaming apps, Kindle, Spotify and maybe a digital magazine or two, you will likely have storage for some pictures too (that you can take on the 12MP front camera and 8MP wide camera) with maybe a few GB to spare for iPlayer or Netflix content for offline viewing when you’re away from Wi-Fi. Spending the extra £100 for the 256GB version turns it into a much more versatile device, but rather defeats the object of it being so cheap.
The iPad remains one of the best tablets you can buy, especially at this price level. The battery stretches for almost 10 hours, and there’s software such as Pages and Numbers as standard, plus full keyboard, mouse and Apple Pencil support to get some real work done.
Buy now £299.00, Currys
Surface Go 2
The cheapest version of the Surface Go 2 has an RRP of £393, but is frequently found going for less than that. It’s not a powerful tablet, about matching the Galaxy Tab A in benchmarks but falling short of the iPad, yet it has two major features that make it stand out. It comes with 64GB of storage (expandable using Micro SD cards), and it runs Windows.
This, from a ‘getting work done’ perspective, gives it a huge advantage as you have proper desktop Office apps (in fact anything available from the Microsoft Store). By default this runs Windows in its streamlined S-mode, though you can replace this with full-fat Windows 10 if you need to install software from elsewhere (and there’s a lot that’s missing from the MS Store) but performance will be limited by the 4GB of RAM. Don’t expect a Windows 11 update either.
The low-power processor leads to a decent battery life of around eight hours, and for streaming fans, the touchscreen is a particularly lovely one, but the lack of performance from the Pentium Gold 4425Y CPU means that, as a cheap tablet, it’s sadly limited in what it can do.
Buy now £393.80, Amazon
