The 2021 iPad is affordable in its class, and it has a higher quality 10.2-inch screen with higher resolution, far superior performance and experience, and all the apps you could ever ask for.Īpple's $449 2021 iPad Mini with an 8.3-inch screen is the best small-screen tablet you can buy with the best performance, screen, and speakers. Otherwise, we generally recommend Apple's standard 2021 10.2-inch iPad for most people, even those considering the Fire 7. In the $150 price range, we'd rather recommend the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite over Amazon's larger $149.99 Fire HD 10 because of greater app access. Although we haven't tested the A7 Lite, based on the specifications and our experience with Android tablets, we can surmise that it offers marginally better performance with the same screen resolution as the Fire HD 8.

If you're looking for a slight display upgrade while keeping under the $100 mark, Amazon's 2020 Fire HD 8 offers a larger 8-inch screen.įor an affordable tablet that accesses Google's larger Play app store, Samsung's Galaxy Tab A7 Lite with an 8.7-inch screen should do the trick. If ultimate affordability is the key factor here, the Fire 7 is your best option. We don't know of any other tablet from a brand we trust, that's as affordable as the Fire 7. If you're looking for an affordable tablet that can do it all, the standard Apple iPad is our pick.

Pros: Affordable, portable, plastic build makes it durable, great battery lifeĬons: Slow performance, limited app store, terrible cameras You just really need to make sure the Amazon app store has the apps you want. Overall, the Fire 7 remains a good choice if you're looking for a basic, ultra-portable, and budget tablet for video streaming or casual gaming. Other popular streaming apps like Apple TV Plus and HBO Max are also notably missing. Even though it's based on Android, it is missing key apps, namely Google apps like YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and so on (Fire tablets do not support the Google Play store). Apart from those upgrades, the Fire 7 is the same compact and affordable tablet it's always been, and it's best suited for streaming video and playing casual games.īeware, however, that Amazon's app store continues to be a weakness. The Fire 7 is Amazon's smallest and cheapest tablet, and the latest 2022 release comes with improved performance and longer battery life over the previous model from 2019.