The 9 Best Cheap 10-Inch Tablets On The Market

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Tablets don’t come in many shapes, but they do happen to come in many sizes.

The 10-inch tablet has been a popular choice since the COVID-19 global pandemic started, giving adults another work-from-home device or keeping children occupied and caught up on their school work during the day.

If you’re in the market for your own 10-inch tablet, we’ve broken down a list of affordable devices for any and all desired user experiences. Let us help you get started on discovering what tablet will work best for you.

Benefits of a Tablet

Why choose a tablet over a laptop or smartphone? It’s the best of both.

Tablets can essentially be portable desktops (if there’s WiFi available or the tablet has a phone service provider connection) with just as much processing power as laptops (plus a lot lighter)  and more versatility — think HDMI ports, microSD capabilities, USB ports, etc. — than a smartphone. A tablet tends to also better for your eyes when compared to a smartphone. It can be used for significant tasks that some laptops aren’t intended for, such as crafting presentations for a work project while on the plane or drafting up some digital mockup designs for renovation projects away from your home desktop or office setup.

Some tablets are even lighter and less expensive than both laptops and smartphones! You can capitalize on a tablet’s larger touchscreen, high processing power plus overall affordability and functionality compared to modern laptop and smartphone devices.

What Are You Looking For In Your Tablet?

Certain tablets are designed to function better for desired user experiences. For example, the Amazon Fire Tablet is mainly a content consumption device, meaning it is intended for you to stream, read, game or surf the web. Other tablets, like the BOOX brand, are better suited for content creation, such as digital drawing or sketching. And finally, devices like the Microsoft Surface Tablet family are designed to replace your laptop, since it has similar processing power and capabilities.

Make sure you consider what activities you’ll be doing on your device before making your final decision.

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Best 10-Inch Tablet Options For Any and All Users

Ready to see the latest and greatest options available to you? Check out these nine 10-Inch tablets that bring advanced and useful features to the tablet table.

Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet

This Android tablet from Amazon (yes, it’s compatible with Amazon’s Alexa and the Amazon store) packs the most capabilities into one of the best prices. The upgrades in this most recent edition include dual-band, enhanced WiFi compatibility, 30% faster-processing speeds from the new 2.0 GHz octa-core processor and 2GB RAM, 12-hour battery life plus a 1080p full HD display. This 10.1-inch tablet is the way to go if you’re looking to spend less than $100 on your next tablet. The device includes a USB-C cable and 9W power adapter in the box, but you can upgrade to a 15W Charger for even faster charging.

There are ads on the device, but you can get the Fire Tablet with no ads for a little extra money up front.

Microsoft Surface Go 2

The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is a little more on the expensive side, but for a good reason. This is the closest you’ll get to a fully functioning laptop inside a 10-inch tablet with a Windows 10 Home operating system. The 64GB Flash Memory allows for quicker processing power, and partnered with a notably long 10-hour battery life, this device gives you the capability of a laptop compacted into 1.2 lbs.

Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite

If you’re a parent looking to get a tablet for your little ones, seriously consider the Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite. Along with parental controls, it provides a specially enhanced eye-comfort mode that reduces blue light and provides reminders to the user when the device is too close to their face or when the user has been reading while laying down for too long.

Some additional bonuses? The quad stereo speaker system offers superb sound for any video streaming, the 3GB RAM (partnered with the 32GB ROM) provides optimum processing power and the battery life is designed to last 55 hours for music, 13 hours for videos and eight hours for video games. The device runs on Android 8.0.

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Apple iPad Air

If you already have Apple devices, this will be the most convenient option. Connect it with your Apple AirPods, Apple Pencil, iPhone, and other Apple-associated devices.

The 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, A14 Bionic chip with Neural Engine, 12MP rear-facing camera and 7MP FaceTime HD front-facing camera are just a few of the standout features on this device. Why is it more expensive to get the latest iPad Air rather than a regular iPad? The compatibility capabilities, processing power plus front and rear cameras are far more advanced technology in the Apple Air.

Onyx BOOX Note3 10.3

Are you a creative looking to experiment with a tablet? Check out the Onyx BOOX Note3 10.3. It offers a “real handwriting feel” with its Mobius flexible screen, AG glass flat cover-lens that can render the pen-to-paper writing feeling and a glare-free view for creating content anywhere. Plus, the 1872×1404 resolution and 227 dpi screen create an easy-to-use, small-to-large-format display of any content you’ve designed on the screen. Another feature creatives will enjoy is the Split-Screen Mode, which enables users to have two tabs open at once (multitasking at its finest) without slowing down or crashing the tablet.

Even though this happens to be the most expensive machine on the list, it’s the most advanced tablet we’ve featured to date and offers the best capabilities for all desired user experiences. This device runs on Android 10 for the most up-to-date processing power.

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Lenovo Tab M10 Plus

Another excellent option for parents, the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus, offers a Kid’s Mode — including dedicated content for kids, parental control and specialized eye protection. Bumpy environment and posture alerts are also available features if desired.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core processor with up to 2.3 GHz primary frequency offers super quick performance speeds and heightened processing power for television shows, games, music, movies and more. This device runs on Android 9 Pie.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7

Streamers, rejoice. This featured model in the Samsung Galaxy Tab A series is the one for you. Not only does the quad-speaker system play Dolby Atmos surround sound, but the 10.4-inch ultra-widescreen display also allows for enhanced gaming, streaming and video calling via WiFi. Is this not enough to convince you that the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 is your go-to binge device? You also get two months of free YouTube Premium and six months of free Spotify Premium. Get yours and start streaming immediately.

Related: The Top 7 Streaming Devices [To Satisfy Your Binging Needs] 

VANKYO MatrixPad S10

This affordable option runs on a quad-core processor and 2GB RAM, making it faster and more effective for quicker app launches, smoother gameplay plus all-around better performance compared to its previous editions. With 32GB of storage (also known as onboard memory), you’ll be able to save and download more as soon as you purchase the device, and you can add a microSD card to cap out the device at 128GB of memory total.

The previously mentioned features plus the two front box speakers and eight-hour mixed-use battery life aren’t as advanced as some other tablets on this list. Still, the $110 price tag makes this tablet well worth the investment if you’re looking for a cheap yet reliable device.

RCA New [RCT6A06P22] 10 Inches

Capping off the list is the RCA New 10 Inch Tablet, the cheapest option we’ve shared to date. It has 16GB of onboard memory, 2GB of RAM, runs on Android 9.0 and has about a six-hour mixed-use battery life. This option is pre-owned, but it does come backed with Amazon’s 90-day Renewed Guarantee, meaning they will replace or refund you completely within that period if the device is not functioning properly or you are not happy with your purchase. This device would be ideal for your child if you want a cheap device that will perform well and you don’t mind it being pre-owned.

Make Your Pick

Now that you better understand what kind of tablet you want, take some time to go over your preferred specs and then narrow down your options to find the perfect tablet for yourself or your household.

Do you want one with a dual camera? An included stylus? Endless hours of battery life? WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular service provider (LTE) connectivity? We could go on and on about the many different features to look for in each device listed, but only you can decide which one will line up best with what you’re looking for in a tablet.

Make sure to check the price range on your favorite devices, too, since the cost differences can be vast when it comes to these modern gadgets.

You might also like: Should You Buy a Chromebook? [And The 7 Best Chromebooks to Buy Right Now] 

The 9 Best 10-Inch Tablets On The Market Right Now: 

1. Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet
2. Microsoft Surface Go 2
3. Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite
4. Apple iPad Air
5. Onyx BOOX Note3 10.3
6. Lenovo Tab M10 Plus
7. Samsung Galaxy Tab A7
8. VANKYO MatrixPad S10
9. RCA New [RCT6A06P22]