We’ve got our second Prime Day of the year on our hands and tablet deals are coming in fast and furious before it even starts:
Best early Prime Day tablet deals
Amazon’s Prime Day is back (this time as “Prime Big Deal Days”), which means it’s an excellent time to get a new tablet or finally get a tablet at all.
As always with tablets, the belle of the ball is anything with “iPad” in the name, and Prime Day is delivering on that front. Both premium and budget iPads are on sale across a variety of retailers right now, but that’s not all. Samsung’s latest flagship tablet (with an included stylus) can currently be had for much less than market value, while Amazon’s house brand Fire Tablets are, of course, heavily discounted right now.
Whether you favor Apple, Android, or Amazon, there’s something here for you.
Note: All newly added deals are marked with a ✨, while deals with a strikeout were either sold out or no longer available at their best sale price when we last checked. Anything marked with a 🔥 has dropped to an all-time low price.
Best premium iPad deal
Why we like it
Anytime you can save $100 on one of the best tablets around, you gotta take that chance. Apple’s 2022 iPad Air refresh is one of the best in the biz, and Amazon has it for just $499 ahead of Prime Day.
What makes this particular iPad so enticing is that it contains Apple’s in-house M1 chip, the same chip it has used in recent MacBooks, among other things. According to reviewer Stan Schroeder, it’s “ridiculously overpowered.” He was able to play games at the highest settings, participate in Google Meet calls while multitasking, and toy around with GarageBand without any performance hiccups.
It’s hard to ask for more than that.
Best budget iPad deal
Why we like it
Apple’s 2021 iPad looks pretty basic and no-frills compared to the newer and more capable iPad Air, but that doesn’t mean it can’t hang.
Its 10.2-inch display should be plenty for gaming and streaming videos, while built-in Apple Pencil support (sold separately) makes it a potential get for aspiring artists or idle doodlers. Just 64GB of storage isn’t especially great, but for $249.99, it’s hard to expect a lot more than that. Minor nitpicks side, this iPad lives up to the lofty standards that Apple has for all its products, even if it’s not the same kind of powerhouse as the more expensive iPad Air.
Best Android tablet under $1,000
Why we like it
If you want the beefiest specs around and don’t care for iPadOS, it’s hard to think of anything more appealing than Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9.
This is an almost-brand-new Android tablet that’s $120 off at Best Buy, bringing it down to a very agreeable $799. Yes, that’s more than anything else on this list, but there are a number of good reasons for that. First, it sports a staggering 256GB of internal storage. Second, its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is about as good as it gets right now. And third, the dang thing comes with Samsung’s S-Pen accessory.
What’s not to love about that?
Best super cheap tablet deal
Why we like it
It’s important to set expectations right away. With that in mind, the Amazon Fire 7 Tablet is easily the least capable tablet on this list.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of consideration. At just $39.99 with this Prime Day deal, this is an ultra-portable tablet that can be had for the same price as a particularly decadent Grubhub order. Its seven-inch display is perfect for just lazing about on the couch and watching videos, while an SD card slot allows for up to 1TB of expandable storage. Reviewer Haley Henschel wasn’t overly impressed with the Fire 7 Tablet, but as she eloquently put it: “it’s $60. What did you expect?”
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