Best Cheap Android Tablet Deals for April 2021

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If the idea of a tablet is appealing to you, but iPads are not, know that you’ve got some options in 2021. Android tablets have matured a lot over the past couple of years, driven by competition from great brands like Samsung and Lenovo. And now even Amazon is offering cheap Android tablets, if the price of Apple iPads or Samsung Galaxy Tab devices is causing you sticker shock. There are quite a few of these to choose from, however, so if you’re finding yourself facing some decision paralysis, then check out this all-in-one list of the best Android tablet deals available right now.

Today’s best Android tablet deals

• Gateway 8-Inch Tablet 32GB — $65, was $90
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 32GB — $119, was $149
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 64GB with S Pen — $295, was $350
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 128GB with S Pen — $570, was $650
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ 128GB with S Pen — $760, was $850

Are Android tablets worth it?

It might seem like Apple has the tablet market cornered, and while the iPad is still dominant, gone are the days when that was your only viable option. Android tablets have become much better in recent years, and they’re a particularly good iPad alternative if you find the price of Apple’s tablet offerings to be a little steep (although the 10.2-inch iPad is a great value, admittedly). A tablet running the Android operating system also offers some obvious benefits if you also own an Android smartphone since your tablet and phone will share a common app ecosystem.

You still need to do some due diligence when shopping for Android tablet deals, though. Unlike iPads, which are made only by Apple, there are a ton of different brands cranking out cheap Android tablets that litter sites like Amazon — and there are plenty of Android tablets you shouldn’t buy. Instead, stick with name brands like Samsung, Lenovo, and other trusted hardware makers that have an established reputation.

However, if you’re shopping for Android tablet deals on the tightest of budgets, you do have some cheap options worth considering. Amazon’s Fire tablets are chief among these: Although they technically run on the proprietary Fire OS (which is Android-based) instead of the standard Android mobile operating system, they still share many apps. Amazon can also afford to make these things so cheap by monetizing Prime content through them. That’s good news for anybody who doesn’t want to spend a lot of money, and in our opinion, the Amazon Fire devices are the only truly cheap Android tablets worth your cash.

If you can stretch your budget a bit, then the field opens up to more premium name-brand tablets. Samsung easily takes the crown here, offering the best Android tablets in its Galaxy Tab S devices (the Galaxy Tab S7+ being one of our current favorites). The Galaxy Tab A models are budget-conscious alternatives to the pricier S line if you’re after cheap Android tablets. The Lenovo Tab series also represents a very solid value, and certain models like the Tab M10 Plus come with a handy Alexa-enabled speaker dock that lets you use the tablet as a smart home display when you’re not taking it on the go.

An interesting newcomer to the Android tablet scene is the Google Pixel Slate, a spinoff of the software company’s hugely successful Pixel line of smartphones. The 12.3-inch Pixel Slate actually runs on Chrome OS, so it’s not technically an Android tablet per se, but more like a touchscreen Chromebook — something that becomes much more apparent when the Slate is paired with a keyboard case that effectively turns it into a superslim 2-in-1. Nonetheless, Chrome OS now works with many Android apps (Google is the name behind both software environments, after all), which makes the Pixel Slate a worthy consideration if you’re looking for Android tablet deals on something with more laptoplike hardware and functionality.

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