Looking for a tablet to do everything from reading and watching movies on to getting work done from the comfort of your newly-assembled home office? We’ve rounded up four excellent tablet deals from Best Buy. The Apple iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 are the most powerful tablets right now and are best for productivity, while the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 and iPad Mini are the perfect tiny size for your kids. Save up to $150 when you get them today.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 – $110, was $130
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 is perfect for kids. It’s easy to navigate and has a Kids Mode so you can restrict your children’s app and internet access. Furthermore, it comes with a subscription to Samsung Kids, which provides your children with engaging educational content. Unfortunately, this tablet kind of looks cheap. While the build quality seems solid enough, it doesn’t scream premium. It has a full plastic body that feels slippery and is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. Still, the tablet is pleasantly compact and light, and your kid won’t be having any trouble holding it even with one hand.
Its front looks exactly like most Samsung tablets, with the physical home button found on the center underneath the screen. The 7-inch display has a 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution that looks good despite being a fairly low pixel density for a tablet of this price range. It has a 5-megapixel camera on the back that is adequate and can record high-definition videos (but not 4K), and the 2-megapixel front-facing camera is perfect for taking selfies. Just don’t expect the photos to be anywhere near Instagram-grade.
On the top-right edge, you’ll find the power button and volume control buttons, while on the bottom edge are the Micro-USB charging port and the speaker, right next to it. A 3.5 mm audio jack is on the top edge and a Micro-SD card slot is located on the left side.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal memory. This tablet’s performance is pretty good. It can easily handle multiple open tabs and runs apps smoothly for the most part. Some games were a little glitchy, but not enough to frustrate us.
During our battery test, the tablet managed to last more than 11 hours while running an HD video on a continuous loop, and that is a very good number considering the price. When used intermittently, the tablet lasted a terrific 50 hours. It’s also worth noting that the Galaxy Tab A 7.0 doesn’t lose any juice when the screen remains inactive.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 usually comes with a $130 price tag, but Best Buy has slashed a cool $20 off of it. Get your child this tablet for just $110.
iPad Mini — $350, was $400
The iPad Mini sports a nearly identical design to its predecessor. The bezels are still as chunky as ever, which is baffling considering the rest of the world’s gadgets, including the iPad Pro, have moved on from this outdated design trend. Nevertheless, the iPad Mini is still the best tablet that you can get for its size. It offers speedy performance, fluid software, and a gorgeous display. It’s also the most affordable option in Apple’s tablet lineup. Right now, you can purchase the iPad Mini with 64GB of memory on Best Buy for $350 instead of $400 – a cool $50 worth of savings.
Despite the lack of an edge-to-edge screen, the iPad Mini’s Retina display with a 2,048 x 1,536 resolution looks great, with sharp details and vibrant colors, and images appear completely natural, thanks to Apple’s True Tone technology. The home button below also serves as the Touch ID lock, and it’s very responsive even for users who have already gotten used to the convenience of Face ID. This tablet is powered by the same chip that’s inside Apple’s latest iPhones — the A12 Bionic processor — which is still one of the fastest mobile processors on the market. It won’t perform as well as the latest iPad Pro’s A12X Bionic chip, but it’s still impressively fast. If you’re looking to do some light editing work on Adobe Photoshop or Premiere Rush, you won’t encounter any problems, although the tiny screen might be an issue.
Unfortunately, the iPad Mini lacks Smart Keyboard support, which means you’ll need to buy a third-party keyboard case (or a detached Bluetooth keyboard) if you want to use it for writing. At least it now supports the first-gen Apple Pencil, which was previously only compatible with the iPad Pro (the second-gen remains exclusive with the iPad Pro). This makes the iPad Mini great for drawing and taking notes.
With a tiny 7.9-inch screen and a product weight of just 0.66 pounds, the iPad Mini is ideal for those who travel a lot and don’t want their hands to grow weary with prolonged use. Get one for $350 on Best Buy today.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 – $550, was $650
So far, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is the closest an Android tablet has come to replicating the iPad Pro experience. While it’s hard to compete with the seamlessness of Apple’s iOS ecosystem in tablet form, the Galaxy Tab S6’s custom One interface paired with Android 9 Pie works like a charm. Plus, the DeX interface, which kicks in when you attach a keyboard dock to give you a desktop feel, is also worthy of high praise. Another highlight is the Galaxy Tab S6’s 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display, which we think no other tablet out there can rival (well, except the S5e). All things considered, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is our choice for the best Android tablet for 2020, and it’s even powerful enough to replace your laptop thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor.
The Galaxy Tab S6 has uniformly sized slim bezels surrounding its 10.5-inch screen. They are thin enough to be aesthetically pleasing, but not so thin that you will accidentally activate the screen around the edges. Samsung’s decision to ditch glass in favor of aluminum ensures that this tablet won’t shatter when dropped. The all-new S Pen attaches via magnets on an oblong indent on the back. It’s not just for storage, as this is where the S Pen recharges, and it does need recharging now that it has Bluetooth. The kickstand on the back remains dead simple to use, something Apple’s iPad Pro and the Smart Keyboard can’t claim. Speaking of the keyboard (sold separately), Samsung’s Keyboard case remains a mandatory purchase, as it not only offers a pleasurable typing experience but also triggers the DeX interface. This interface replicates the desktop experience and allows you to do an assortment of functions not possible on tablet mode, like having 20 (!) windowed apps open at once.
As mentioned, the Galaxy Tab S6’s super AMOLED screen is gorgeous. It’s perfectly readable outdoors even on a bright, sunny day, and everything on it looks crisp thanks to its 2,560 x 1,600 resolution. Furthermore, it supports HDR content for glorious high-definition consumption of Netflix, YouTube, and more.
This tablet won’t make you worry about lags, glitches, or screen freezes as its Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor is more than sufficient for handling heavy work. Even with multiple tabs open in Samsung’s internet browser and several app windows open on top of each other, the Tab S6 never slowed down. Apps launched swiftly, resizing them was a snappy affair, and games like Alto’s Odyssey, Pako: Forever, and Grand Mountain ran without any stuttering. Finally, the Galaxy Tab S6’s 7,040mAh battery will easily get you through a busy day and beyond, and it can be charged up in less than two hours.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is undeniably the best Android tablet that you can buy, ideal for people who need a workhorse of a device to replace their laptop. Get it for $550 on Best Buy, a huge $100 off its normal retail price of $650.
iPad Pro – $800, was $950
If you’re looking for something powerful to replace your laptop, take a look at the 11-inch iPad Pro, our choice for the best tablet of 2020. It has a lot going for it, including a drop-dead gorgeous screen, aesthetically pleasing slim bezels, and nearly desktop-grade performance (although this model isn’t the brand-new one). Right now, you can get it at Best Buy for $800 instead of $950.
Appearance-wise, the iPad Pro keeps up with the current design trend seen in most electronic devices, the iPad Pro’s bezels are slim and symmetrical. Although it feels massive, it is lightweight enough to use with one hand (well, almost). Just like the iPhone X, the home button is now missing. Unlocking the screen is done through Face ID, and you have to navigate the interface through swiping and gestures. In portrait orientation, you’ll find the power button and the volume rocker on the right edge. Unfortunately, just like the latest iPhone, this one, too, doesn’t have an audio jack.
The device’s 11-inch Retina LED display has a 2,388 x 1,668-pixel resolution and is breathtaking. Images look super sharp, colors are vibrant, and it gets plenty bright even when outdoors. However, the blacks aren’t as deep as those presented by the OLED display on the iPhone XS, but the images it presents are still stunningly gorgeous. It supports HDR content and has a 120hz screen refresh rate, so watching videos and working on this tablet is an absolute blast. Battery life is one of its strong suits. On a single charge, the iPad Pro can easily last the whole day with normal usage.
The iPad Pro is a workhorse of a portable device. It is powered by the powerful A12X Bionic processor. Playing graphically demanding iPad Pro games was fast and fluid, and Apple even claims the chip can process graphical input better than the Xbox One. Multi-tasking also wasn’t an issue, as the iPad Pro can deftly handle heavy programs like Photoshop with relative ease. While you might still want a desktop or laptop to run other programs, the iPad Pro is the best for professionals compared to the iPad Mini, iPad, and iPad Air.
Probably the biggest draw to the iPad Pro is its exclusive compatibility with the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil. The other iPads only support the 1st-gen Apple Pencil, which you have to plug into the Lighting port to charge and is always in danger of snapping in half. The Apple Pencil 2, on the other hand, can be charged wirelessly and magnetically attaches onto the frame of the iPad Pro.
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