When it comes to tablets, iPads are wonderful, but iPads can be expensive. For example, the new iPad Pro can be specced out to cost more than £2,000. Luckily, there are some excellent Android and Windows alternatives on the market for a lot less. Here’s our pick of the best …
Best for kids
Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition (from £129.99)
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition is all about peace of mind, shipping with a brightly coloured protective bumper case and a two-year worry-free repair or replacement guarantee. Also including one year of Amazon Fire for Kids Unlimited, out of the box, you get tonnes of the latest children’s shows for online or offline viewing. The 8” HD display, 32GB internal storage and up to 10 hours of battery life aren’t too shabby either. And with parental controls baked into the interface, your little ones will be tapping and swiping safely too.
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Best for business
Microsoft Surface Pro 6 (from £879)
To call the Surface Pro 6 a tablet is underselling it. Laptop power, tablet good looks and an ingeniously designed kickstand all unite to create what can only be described as a super slate. Running the full version of Windows 10, the Pro 6 can power creative apps such as Photoshop, and there’s enough oomph under the hood for professional video editing software too. Matched with excellent optional accessories such as a folio keyboard cover and pressure-sensitive pen, your Surface can level up to become your ultimate creative business tool.
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Best for students
Microsoft Surface Go (from £379)
If the Surface Pro screams business, the Surface Go screams student, with a more compact design, less powerful internals and a much lower price tag. Lecture notes can be mind mapped with ease, thanks to apps such as OneNote, paired with the optional Surface Pen, and the folio-type cover delivers a typing experience no Android tablet can match. The nine hours of quoted battery life mean the Go should get you through a day of lectures on a single charge, and the excellent stereo speakers mean when study is done, you can fire up Netflix and relax.
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Best for bookworms
Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4 (£299)
What makes the Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4 so perfect for bookworms is its size, screen and software. Thin and light, at 8.4 inches, it feels beautifully weighted, perfect for one-handed holding. The 2K screen is stunning, with pin-sharp resolution detailing every serif and ampersand to perfection, and with the Eye Care mode filtering harmful blue light, it should help reduce eye strain too. Running Android, it’s a doddle to get your books loaded onboard the tab’s ample storage, and the 10-hour battery life also means it’s ready for a long-haul flight.
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Best on a budget
Amazon Fire HD 10 (From £149)
If you’re looking to pick up a 10-inch tablet with a Full HD screen, 32GB storage and stereo speakers, you’d usually be spending around £200-£300, unless that is, you opt for the Amazon Fire HD 10. With Alexa built in, the Fire HD 10 isn’t just great value, it’s also a smart voice assistant that can tell you the weather and control your smart home on command, all the while, giving you quick access to the latest Amazon Video and Music content, as well as popular services such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
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Best for tablet rookies
Amazon Fire HD 8 (from £79.99)
Sticking with Amazon for a little longer, it isn’t just its 10-inch tablet that’s undercutting the competition. With the Fire HD 8, you get an easy-to-handle HD display, stereo speakers and quick access to your Kindle and Audible library. Costing as little as £79.99, it’s not too much of a commitment for those unsure how much they’ll use this piece of tech. While it won’t deliver the app selection of the MediaPad M5 8.4, it comes with Kindle out of the box, and its Dolby-tuned speakers and Alexa support mean Amazon’s sultry-voiced assistant will sound better than ever, as will your Audible audiobooks and favourite tracks.
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Best for turning your home into a cinema
Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 (£599)
If Samsung is ahead of the pack in one area, it’s screen quality, with the Galaxy Tab S4 being its ultimate showcase piece. Super AMOLED technology paired with HDR video support and masterful colour calibration result in a tablet that’s nothing short of jaw dropping. Colours leap out at you, blacks suck you in and excellent brightness levels transfix you. What makes it perfectly suited for movies is its 16:10 aspect ratio, much wider than 4:3 iPads, meaning less black border and more glorious, full-screen 2K content.
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Best all-rounder
Huawei MediaPad M5 lite (£239.99)
The Huawei MediaPad M5 lite is a shining example of an all-rounder. It has enough power for 3D gaming, a brilliant Full HD display for movies, great battery life and a quick charge, so you won’t be tethered to a wall. There’s also an optional pen accessory. Unlike the cheaper Amazon tablets, it gives you full access to the Google Play store, so app support is stellar and with quad stereo speakers tuned by Harmon/Kardon, everything from YouTube to Netflix won’t just look crisp, it’ll sound immersive too.
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Best under £50
Amazon Fire 7 (from £49)
If you’re not fussed about installing loads of apps and just want a tablet that gives you quick access to your Amazon content, iPlayer shows and favourite radio stations, the Amazon Fire 7 is as cost-effective as it gets. Packing a 7” IPS display, its compact form is perfect for ebooks, and it’s ideally suited to simple games too, perfect for any crossword or Sudoku fans looking for some commuting distraction. Starting at £49 for the 8GB version, we’d recommend you stump up an extra £10 for the 16GB version if you want to avoid low storage warnings, but even if you don’t, you’ll be hard pressed to get more tablet for less elsewhere.
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Best for artists
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 (£469)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 may cost £130 less than the newer Tab S4, but it offers an almost identical pen experience out of the box. Getting into numbers, 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity means it can match professional-grade graphic designer tablets, so drawing on it is a joy. Samsung’s note-taking software is on board, and more advanced apps such as Sketchbook Pro are available to download for free. Meanwhile, your artist’s canvas – aka the screen – is Samsung’s stunning Super AMOLED tech, so your masterpieces will be showcased to perfection.
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To find discount codes for tablets from major electricals retailers, visit discountcode.theguardian.com/uk
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