WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 I can't believe she's finally dead. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:13.400 Yep. Guess I'll need a new one then, but my budget for a tablet is only $300, I'd like to spend 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:17.400 less if I can. Don't worry mom, I'm here for you. 00:00:17.400 --> 00:00:20.400 Thank you. 00:00:20.400 --> 00:00:29.680 And it's a good thing I am because the budget tablet market is a veritable jungle, full 00:00:29.680 --> 00:00:35.320 of predators. There's scummy manufacturers selling last decade's tech at this decade's pricing. 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:40.520 There's devices loaded up with adware and spyware masquerading as deals. 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:47.240 And sure, iPads are really great, but sadly iPads aren't $300. 00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:53.000 Or are they? We scoured the bargain bins to find the best deals, and we've come up with five tablets 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:56.000 that won't waste your money or your time. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:03.440 And we found some big surprises. For one thing, Budget Tablet Kingpin Amazon is nowhere on our list this time around. 00:01:03.440 --> 00:01:16.800 And for another, there's the surprise segue to our sponsor. 00:01:16.800 --> 00:01:22.320 Let's kick things off with our sub $100 contender, Walmart's O&N 10.1 inch tablet. 00:01:22.320 --> 00:01:25.840 The last time we looked at a Walmart tablet, we called it the eWaste Special. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:32.040 They've upgraded their creaky plastic and plastic build with metal and glass. 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:37.160 It not only feels significantly more premium than their older tablet, it even feels, I'd 00:01:37.160 --> 00:01:43.360 say, as good as Samsung's entrance in this roundup, which is twice as expensive. 00:01:43.360 --> 00:01:48.200 But while the build quality is excellent for the price point, the screen resolution is 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:54.120 just $1280x800, which is pretty low for this size. 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:57.400 It also isn't very bright, and it's not that pretty. 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:01.760 Wait, where did you guys get my grade 4 report card? 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:06.360 Making matters worse, the O&N has only 3 gigs of RAM, which slows down multitasking to the 00:02:06.360 --> 00:02:10.800 point where even updating apps in the background can render this tablet sluggish for minutes 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:17.600 at a time. The O&N also lacks a headphone jack, though it does come with a slot for expandable storage, 00:02:17.600 --> 00:02:22.760 which you'll probably want to use because this thing only comes with 32 gigs of storage, 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:29.120 10 of which are consumed by a surprisingly bloat-free Android 14-based operating system. 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:35.000 That is a refreshing chain from the ad-ridden experience of most inexpensive tablets, which 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:40.440 is probably the biggest argument for this thing. For all of its flaws, it's just $98. 00:02:40.440 --> 00:02:45.760 So at the very least, we have got to give Walmart a most improved award, even if it 00:02:45.760 --> 00:02:51.840 doesn't score an outright recommendation. If you know that your workload will be light and your eyes aren't too judgmental, or you 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:56.040 want something that you can throw in the backseat to shut the kids up on a road trip, then this 00:02:56.040 --> 00:03:02.760 could be a perfect solution. Just be aware that Walmart doesn't seem to offer any promise of future software updates. 00:03:02.760 --> 00:03:08.040 And the same goes for our next pick, the AldoCube iPlay 50 Pro Mini. 00:03:08.040 --> 00:03:12.200 We decided to look at this one after seeing a surprising amount of enthusiasm for it on 00:03:12.200 --> 00:03:16.960 Reddit, and you know what? It is pretty slick, at least on paper. 00:03:17.040 --> 00:03:22.400 Basically, every aspect of it is significantly improved over our $100 tablet, making it better 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:25.880 at multitasking, gaming, well, everything. 00:03:25.880 --> 00:03:31.200 However, while the internals might wow, the performance improvement really is very noticeable 00:03:31.200 --> 00:03:34.960 here, the externals are a little less impressive. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:40.040 The construction, while metal, lacks refinement, with parts that aren't flush, even the screen 00:03:40.040 --> 00:03:46.320 we actually measured is a little off-center. There's no biometrics of any kind, even if that is true of most budget tablets. 00:03:46.320 --> 00:03:49.520 And the single speaker is truly awful. 00:03:54.720 --> 00:03:59.560 Thankfully, though, you can at least plug some headphones in with the 3.5mm jack. 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:07.560 And there are other things to like. It comes with a combo SD and SIM card slot, and the screen, while off-center, isn't half 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:10.880 bad and includes a screen protector. 00:04:10.880 --> 00:04:16.080 It does suffer a fair bit when viewed off-axis, but its higher density than our last tablet 00:04:16.080 --> 00:04:21.680 making it much better for reading and watching and is a huge upgrade overall over the ONN. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:24.880 That is, assuming you care about more than just raw size. 00:04:24.880 --> 00:04:29.040 Like many unknown budget brands, I wouldn't expect much by the way of customer support, 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:36.280 device updates, or accessories. We're running Android 13 with a year old security patch, which is a yikes. 00:04:36.280 --> 00:04:41.280 But that's kind of par for the course, and we were very pleased to find that unlike other 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.840 budget tablets, we had no issues with Widevine support. 00:04:44.840 --> 00:04:50.640 What's Widevine, you ask? It's a form of digital rights management that's used by most major streaming services. 00:04:50.640 --> 00:04:54.600 It's what makes it so that when you try to screen record Netflix, it shows up black. 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:59.360 Anyway, the part that matters is that we were only considering devices with Widevine level 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:05.520 1. That's the level that will allow you to stream in HD rather than being stuck at 480p on Netflix. 00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:09.640 Moving on, if software support matters more than best hardware for your buck, you might 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:14.440 want to take a look at our next contender. Now, I'm going to be real with you guys. 00:05:14.440 --> 00:05:21.440 Samsung's tablet lineup is large and confusing, ranging from excellent and expensive to complete 00:05:21.440 --> 00:05:26.000 dog s***, and they seem to go out of their way to make it darn near impossible to figure 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:32.320 out which is which. For example, there's the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, and you might think, hmm, okay, that must 00:05:32.320 --> 00:05:36.840 be a tablet version of the Galaxy S6 phone that came out over 9 years ago. 00:05:36.840 --> 00:05:43.920 But you'd be wrong. The S6 Tab actually came out 4 years after the S6 phone, then a year after that it was 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:47.520 cut down a little bit to become the Tab S6 Lite. 00:05:47.520 --> 00:05:56.000 But the story is hardly over. That tablet was refreshed as the Tab S6 Lite 2 years after that, and then it got refreshed 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:00.800 again this year and is still called the Tab S6 Lite. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:06.680 But enough about that. It's the A9 Plus that we're looking at today, specifically the 8GB RAM version, which we 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:10.000 chose in hopes of getting a better multitasking experience. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:15.160 Like the competitors we've seen so far, the A9 Plus has a metal construction, but unlike 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:20.920 those, it's lighter weight, which is kind of refreshing, a refreshing feeling that fades 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:27.520 once you start using the thing. See, in spite of its name brand Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, it performs no better than the 00:06:27.520 --> 00:06:33.480 AldoCube and even manages to chug when just swiping between pages on the home screen. 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:40.840 I think this has got to be a software issue. I mean, it has a high refresh rate 90Hz display that looks butter smooth when you're doing 00:06:40.840 --> 00:06:45.920 other things. But now that we're spending over $200, I don't really care whether it's the hardware 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:50.360 or the software. I'm a lot less willing to make excuses for any kinds of issues. 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:59.680 Maybe it's the infamous Samsung bloat? I mean, even if we exclude the 16 Superfluous Samsung apps, we got six random apps from 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:04.720 third parties that were preloaded on this thing. Look, Samsung, I invited you into my home. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:10.680 I didn't say that you could bring all your friends. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty decent tablet once you remove that crap. 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:15.880 I mean, the display is kind of ghosty, but I would describe it as adequately sufficient. 00:07:15.880 --> 00:07:19.640 The lightweight build really is easier to hold for an extended period than our cheaper 00:07:19.640 --> 00:07:23.320 devices and the cameras are the best we've seen yet. 00:07:23.320 --> 00:07:28.200 Same goes for the speakers. 00:07:28.200 --> 00:07:34.080 It includes microSD expansion and it's even slated to get four years of software updates. 00:07:34.080 --> 00:07:38.120 However, it's still clear that Samsung has cut some corners in order to hit this price 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:45.200 point. There's no real biometric authentication, no in-screen digitizer for S Pen stylus support, 00:07:45.200 --> 00:07:50.720 no support for decks with a monitor thanks to the USB 2 charging port, and it also has 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:58.600 no headphone jack. Also, like our other budget options today, it supports only Wi-Fi 5. 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:03.480 But if you can get over the Samsung isms, you've got a pretty well-priced tablet that 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:08.480 will satisfy pretty much anyone who's using the device for primarily content consumption, 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:12.560 and you also get a robust accessory collection that could even help you get a little bit 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:18.320 of work done. Speaking of work done, check out the BBL on this Lenovo. 00:08:18.320 --> 00:08:22.200 Like, damn girl, she's a thick boy. 00:08:22.200 --> 00:08:28.200 With a large 11.5-inch display, eight speakers, and a built-in kickstand. 00:08:28.200 --> 00:08:34.400 The Lenovo Tab Plus is positioned as a media consumption monster, and I gotta say, it kind 00:08:34.400 --> 00:08:41.200 of delivers. The screen, while not the brightest, has great contrast and handles motion well, not to mention, 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:46.920 gives plenty of room to multitask, and the speakers, wow, do they ever get loud, and 00:08:46.920 --> 00:08:53.560 not just loud, they're even good. 00:08:53.560 --> 00:08:58.920 They're probably the best ones in our roundup, which, spoiler alert, does include an iPad. 00:08:58.920 --> 00:09:03.720 Let's put a pin in that for now though, lttstore.com, and come back to the Tab Plus. 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:08.720 The all-metal housing contributes to a very premium feel, but also results in a heavy 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:12.400 tablet that can be a bit unwieldy to single hand. 00:09:12.400 --> 00:09:18.200 The integrated kickstand does help with this a lot, because you can just put it down, and 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:26.960 OK, this is really cool. It opens up all the way to nearly 180 degrees, allowing for a nice drawing or note-taking 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:34.920 angle with the sold separately stylus. It also comes with ample onboard storage, and RAM, and expandable storage too, and with 00:09:34.920 --> 00:09:38.720 their media focus, they also included a headphone jack. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:47.660 But you knew there was going to be a but. The processor, which it shares with the much cheaper AldoCube, is a bit of a downer, especially 00:09:47.660 --> 00:09:52.360 because of the way that it holds back an otherwise well-rounded desktop mode. 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:56.020 My biggest issue though, is not the processor, it's the bloatware. 00:09:56.020 --> 00:10:01.020 Lenovo aggressively tries to trick you into installing unneeded games and apps while you're 00:10:01.020 --> 00:10:05.660 setting up the device, and even if you cleverly navigate their dark pattern obstacle course, 00:10:05.660 --> 00:10:11.180 you will still find that the device has automatically dumped a bunch of garbage on your home screen. 00:10:11.180 --> 00:10:16.620 I'm talking 17 additional apps, plus an apps-for-you folder on the home screen where you can download 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:22.780 even more apps that you never asked for. It's confusing, and honestly disrespectful. 00:10:22.780 --> 00:10:27.860 But with that said, the worst offenders can be easily removed, and Lenovo is promising 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:32.760 two Android version updates and four years of security updates, a pretty compelling value 00:10:32.760 --> 00:10:38.300 proposition at the usual street price of under $300 and sometimes as low as $250. 00:10:38.300 --> 00:10:43.100 Let's just hope they don't use those updates to cram even more ads into the user experience. 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:51.420 Now, it's time for the big surprise. At the top of our price range, we've got the iPad 10th Gen, which, unlike last time, 00:10:51.420 --> 00:10:57.620 is brand new rather than recertified and is also, get this, pretty good. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:01.740 It's not without flaws, I mean, let he who has never removed a headphone jack throw the 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:11.180 first stone. It's got stupid Apple Pencil support, a stupid Folio keyboard, stupid slow USB 2 speeds, 00:11:11.180 --> 00:11:14.460 and a stupid lack of expandable storage. 00:11:14.460 --> 00:11:20.940 But now that the cost of entry has dropped to $300, even below that in some recent sales, 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:27.020 a lot can be forgiven, making the iPad maybe the easiest recommendation on the whole list. 00:11:27.020 --> 00:11:32.540 I mean, sure, the SoC in here is four years old, but unlike the rest of them, at least 00:11:32.540 --> 00:11:37.220 at some point it was a flagship tier SoC, which makes it more than enough for all but 00:11:37.220 --> 00:11:41.700 the most hardcore of tablet computing, and there's the screen. 00:11:41.700 --> 00:11:45.740 It's still an LCD, but it is a darn fine LCD. 00:11:45.740 --> 00:11:52.100 It's a nice LCD panel. And while Apple doesn't provide details on product support for the iPad, they have an 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:57.300 excellent track record of OS and security updates, with most iPads getting anywhere from six 00:11:57.300 --> 00:12:01.540 years or more of full OS upgrade support. 00:12:01.540 --> 00:12:05.140 And thanks to Apple's battery replacement service, there's a solid chance that you 00:12:05.140 --> 00:12:08.660 will actually get that kind of lifespan out of the hardware. 00:12:08.660 --> 00:12:12.420 On the subject of battery life, while no tablet here struggled with every one of them 00:12:12.420 --> 00:12:17.460 managing what I would consider to be all-day battery life, the Walmart tablet surprisingly 00:12:17.460 --> 00:12:21.220 beat everyone else by a decent margin in our tests. 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:25.740 Speaking of margins, if you're in the market for a cheap tablet, now is probably a pretty 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:28.820 good time to pull the trigger, at least if you're an American. 00:12:28.820 --> 00:12:32.980 There is a strong possibility that tariffs are coming and you the consumer will be the 00:12:32.980 --> 00:12:41.460 one paying the price. One study showed that overseas produced tablets, so all of them, could go up in price by $200 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:47.020 on average. I don't know that this will actually happen, and I doubt that it would hit this price point 00:12:47.020 --> 00:12:51.700 quite that hard, but what I'm getting at is cheap tablets might not be getting cheaper, 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:56.220 so if you need one, now might be a good time. The question is, which one? 00:12:56.220 --> 00:13:00.300 For the money, the O&N tablet is pretty hard to beat. 00:13:00.300 --> 00:13:06.700 For the money. Then, my next best contenders have got to be the Tab Plus and the iPad 10th Gen, whichever 00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:13.300 one you can get for cheaper. If you're tech savvy, I do think the AldoCube iPlay 50 Mini Pro offers phenomenal value 00:13:13.300 --> 00:13:17.540 for what it is, but it's not the kind of thing that I would recommend for a normie 00:13:17.540 --> 00:13:23.740 relative like these ones are. And on the subject of being tech savvy, this is by no means an exhaustive list. 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:28.540 The budget sector is a fickle beast with sales and price drops, part swaps and more, so let 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:33.460 us know in the comments what options you tech savvy folks recommend, and in return, I'll 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:39.580 let you know about our sponsor. If you guys enjoyed this video, why not check out our Holiday PC Buyer's Guide. 00:13:39.580 --> 00:13:42.780 It's got a build for every budget for the gamer on your list.