Thursday, March 28, 2024

Cheap Tablets: Steep discounts on Apple iPad, Galaxy Tab S6, and Surface Pro

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Tablets can be a worthwhile addition to any home office. They’re also incredibly useful for keeping the kids entertained while you hammer away at the keyboard, and you entertained after you’ve put them to bed. As luck would have it, there are several fantastic tablet deals floating around at the moment, including must-have offers on the Amazon Fire HD 8, Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab S6, and Microsoft Surface Pro 7.

Fire HD 8 Tablet — $50, was $80

Although some would say targeting too broad of an audience is a bad idea, Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Tablet succeeds where others have failed. With a compact eight-inch screen, it’s the most portable tablet on the list. In fact, because it only weighs 0.8 pounds, it can be difficult to tell whether or not you’ve actually packed it in your bag. It’s extremely mobile and is even more lightweight on the wallet. If you’re a casual user looking for a decent entry-level tablet, you’ll be glad to know you won’t have to pay a small fortune just to get your feet wet. The Fire HD 8 is one of the most affordable tablets on the market with a retail price of only $80. This makes it a decent option for anyone who only needs the essentials. 

The screen has 1,280 x 800 resolution, but though the name implies that it’s a high definition tablet, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s not as smooth as an Apple’s Retina display nor is it as advanced as the Fire’s latest models, but if you don’t mind the pixelation and dullness, the price is more than enough compensation. And because the 1.5GB of RAM is a bit minimal, the long 10-hour battery life makes this a tablet best suited for simple tasks like reading, browsing the web, or watching videos. But don’t think of looking for too many applications. The Fire HD 8 uses Amazon’s own app store, and though there are some third-party applications, it’s vastly limited compared to what’s on the Play Store and App Store. You need to be an Amazon Prime user to get more premium channels and to stream sites, but with all the benefits that come with the membership, you’re getting a lot for your money.

With all that said, if you’re looking for a good tablet on a $100 budget, Amazon’s Fire HD 8 is the one to beat. If you get it while it’s on sale for only $50 on Amazon, you can save up to $30. 

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New Apple iPad (10.2-inch) — $279, was $329

Throughout the years, Apple has maintained its standard of quality with every iteration and new release of its highly sought-out products, and the iPad is no different. In terms of price, it’s a bit of a jump from the Fire HD 8, but when you look at the value, it’s practically night and day. With a 10.2-inch Retina display, pixelation becomes a thing of the past, and every swipe and activity on-screen flows seamlessly. The colors, visual quality, and larger screen are already worth the extra premium, and those features are just the tip of the iceberg. 

With an A10 Fusion processor, the iPad is capable of handling up to two tasks simultaneously. This reduces — if not eliminates — the need to jump between applications by fitting everything you need in one compact screen. The power of the A10 Fusion chip also keeps the iPad responsive and at peak performance at all times, no matter what applications you’re on. If you pair it with the Smart Keyboard, you can comfortably use it as a budget-friendly MacBook for a quarter of the price.

Not only that, but it’s also a fully capable multimedia workstation. With its built-in eight-megapixel high-definition camera, you can take quality photos and videos and edit them on the spot. Videos also work well with the Retina display and stereo speakers. The 1.07-pound weight helps make this an ideal tablet for time-intensive everyday tasks like writing complex documents, editing photos, and streaming videos. And even with constant use, it can last up to 10 hours, so you don’t have to worry about constant charging or abrupt interruptions throughout the day. 

Check out Apple’s iPad on Amazon where it’s currently on sale for only $279, netting you $50 in savings. You can also opt for more space with the 128GB variant if 32GB isn’t enough.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 — $550, was $650

We at Digital Trends have ranked the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 as the best Android tablet on the market, making this a worthy go-to tablet. It uses a 10.5-inch Amoled screen with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, offering even more visual impact than the Fire HD 8 and even less bezel. Weighing in at only 0.9 pounds, it’s even lighter than an iPad Air and feels like glass in your hands. And if the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 isn’t good enough for you as a tablet, what about as a laptop? With the BookCover Keyboard, you can take your miniature desktop with you wherever you go with no hassle at all. Pairing it with the magnetic S Pen just makes using the tablet feel like child’s play.

In terms of technical specs, it uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8150 processor, which has almost as much power as Samsung’s flagship smartphones with the Snapdragon 855. Depending on how much storage space you want, the amount of RAM you get also changes. It offers more memory with the 256GB tablet as opposed to the 128GB tablet, with 8GB and 6GB of RAM, respectively. The Galaxy Tab S6 is also capable of multitasking, much like the iPad, to allow users to maximize the tablet’s potential as a desktop alternative. For those who care about camera quality, it comes with two cameras — wide (five-megapixel) and ultra wide (13-megapixel) — to give users not only the power of a computer but of a digital camera as well. 

To seal the deal, the Galaxy Tab S6 has one of the best battery lives here with 15 solid hours. It’s a tablet that can do it all. Check it out on Best Buy where it’s currently on sale for only $550, scoring you $100 in savings.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 7 — $976, was $1,199

Now, if it’s a dedicated laptop alternative you want, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is what you’re looking for. It’s not as budget-friendly as the previous tablets, but for anyone who needs a professional studio-on-the-go, this two-in-one laptop-tablet hybrid is worth every cent. It’s the heaviest option by far at 1.7 pounds, making it nearly twice as heavy as the Fire HD 8, but you can rest assured that it’s packed with more features than you’d expect from such a compact device. 

The Surface Pro 7 features a 12.3-inch touchscreen display to optimize viewing regardless of angle and ambient lighting. Its size also falls perfectly in between a tablet and a laptop, making migration from use as one to use as the other practically seamless.  All you have to do is flip over the built-in Kickstand, attach a Type Cover, and, bam, you have a keyboard. The resolution is 2,736 x 1,824, making this the most high definition tablet listed, so you can enjoy all your favorite videos and creative endeavors without a hitch. In fact, some select systems can even handle 4K streaming with little to no problems.

The Surface Pro 7 uses a tenth-generation Intel Core processor that keeps it at peak performance. Coupled with up to 16GB of RAM, it could easily be one of the fastest tablets on the market if looking purely at its processing speed. The pre-installed Windows 10 operating system also makes this tablet fully optimized for Microsoft Office and other programs you would normally use on a dedicated computer setup like Photoshop or Premiere Pro. 

If you think the tablet-laptop hybrid design of Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 is what you’re looking for, then we assure you that the premium is worth it. Fans of previous models can probably testify on our behalf. It’s currently discounted at only $976 on Amazon with savings up to $223. If you’d like to upgrade its specs, add more storage or memory perhaps, most of the available Surface Pro 7 models are also on sale. 

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Check out our curated deals page for more amazing deals for your work from home setup, including laptop deals.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details, and availability of the products and deals in this post may be subject to change at anytime. Be sure to check that they are still in effect before making a purchase.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

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