Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
iPads may be the most sought-after tablets, but there are plenty of others on the market that are worth considering, and a few are on sale for Amazon Prime Day. If you've been eyeing a new iPad, you're in luck, as many of Apple's tablets have been discounted for the shopping event. If you prefer Android or simply don't want to enter the Apple ecosystem, Fire tablets, Samsung slabs and others are also on sale right now. Here are the best iPad and tablet deals for Prime Day 2023.
Despite its flaws, the Fire HD 8 is worth a look at this price if you just want a competent tablet for as little as possible.
This matches the best price we've seen for Apple's entry-level iPad.
We call the iPad Air the best option for most people in our iPad buying guide.
The 8.3-inch iPad Mini remains the best compact tablet for most people.
This 12.9-inch iPad Pro is overkill for most, but it's still the most luxurious tablet in Apple's lineup.
At this deal price, the Fire HD 10 is likely the best tablet you can buy for less than $100.
This matches the best price we've seen for this child-friendly variant of the Fire HD 10.
The Fire HD 8 Plus upgrades the base model with an extra gig of RAM and wireless charging support.
This is half off the MSRP for the Kids version of the Fire HD 8.
If you must have an Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab S8 is one of the better options we've tested.
The Galaxy Tab S8+ upgrades the base model with a vibrant 12.4-inch OLED display.
If you can live with the limitations of Fire OS, this is the lowest price we've seen for Amazon's highest-end tablet.
Amazon's Fire 7 tablet is the cheapest device in the Fire tablet lineup, and it's really only a viable option if you have a strict budget to adhere to since other Fire tablets provide much stronger performance.
Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad is down to $250, which matches the tablet’s all-time low. Apple normally sells this 64GB model for $329, though we’ve frequently seen it retail around $275 for most of the past few months. The 9th-gen iPad is the top budget pick in our iPad buying guide, and we gave it a review score of 86 in 2021. If you need more storage, the 256GB model is also on sale for $390.
This iPad’s design is dated next to newer models, as it still has a Lightning port, Home button, thick bezels and a non-laminated display. But it still gets you a huge array of apps, and its A13 Bionic chip remains fast enough for light work and casual media consumption. It’s also the only current iPad to still carry a headphone jack.
The iPad Air is the iPad we recommend for most people, and right now it’s available for $500. That’s a price we've seen for much of the last few months, but it's $100 off Apple's MSRP. The Air earned a review score of 90 last year. While it lacks the 120Hz refresh rate, 128GB of base storage and better speakers of the iPad Pro, it provides a similarly elegant design for less cash, with a faster M1 chip, superior display and wider accessory support than the 9th-gen and 10th-gen iPads.
The iPad Mini is also down to an all-time low of $380. That’s roughly $65 off the 8.3-inch tablet’s typical street price and $120 off Apple’s MSRP. We gave the latest Mini a score of 89 back in 2021, but it remains the best compact tablet on the market, as it’s essentially a smaller version of the iPad Air. It uses Apple’s A15 Bionic chip instead of the more powerful M1, but the former is still plenty quick for most needs. The big downside, as with most non-Pro iPads, is that it only has 64GB of storage by default.
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro, meanwhile, is down to $1,049. That’s $50 off Apple's list price for the jumbo-sized tablet, though it's a deal we've seen fairly regularly in recent months. The 12.9-inch Pro has all the hardware upgrades of its 11-inch counterpart, but its “Liquid Retina” display offers better brightness and contrast thanks to its Mini LED backlighting. It’s the closest any iPad comes to being a full-on laptop replacement, though iPadOS still has its share of issues with multitasking and productivity. Still, if you just want the most luxurious iPad possible, or if a tablet fits better into your workflow than a traditional notebook, it’s worth considering.
Amazon’s Fire HD tablets are worth a look if all you want is a competent device for basic streaming and web browsing for as little as possible. The Fire HD 10 is the best value in the lineup for most people, and it’s back down to its all-time low of $75 for Prime Day. This 32GB model usually costs around $130. The 64GB version is also on sale for $90.
All Fire tablets are a step down from an iPad in terms of performance and build quality, and their OS still pushes you toward Amazon apps like Kindle or Prime Video. The app store is far less robust in general, with no official support for Google services like YouTube or Gmail. You’ll also have to deal with lock screen ads unless you pay an extra fee. But the Fire HD 10’s 10.1-inch 1080p display is nice enough for casual media consumption, and its processor is fast enough to not be a dealbreaker. Plus, its matte plastic design is comfortable, it gets a solid 10 or so hours of battery life, and it has a microSD slot for adding storage. This version of the Fire HD 10 released back in 2021, but it’s still hard to do better at this deal price.
We’ll also note that the Fire HD 10 Plus is on sale for $95. This variant adds an extra gigabyte of RAM (4GB total) and wireless charging support. It might be compelling if you want to buy a charging dock and use the tablet like an Alexa smart display, but the base model should be enough for most people in need of an affordable tablet.
The Fire HD 10 Kids and Kids Pro are each down to $120, matching their lowest prices to date. These devices have similar hardware as the base Fire HD 10, but like all of Amazon’s Kids tablets, add a protective bumper case, built-in kickstands, a longer two-year warranty, and a year to Amazon’s Kids+ service (which includes a variety of child-friendly books, games and apps). They ship with a simplified UI by default, and mercifully, they don’t feature ads on the lock screen.
Between the two, the Kids edition has a larger rubbery case, while the Kids Pro model has a slimmer hard-plastic case designed for slightly older children. If you’re not comfortable giving your kid an iPad, these are decent substitutes.
If you’re on a super tight budget, the Fire HD 8 is a decent value at $55, which again matches the best price we’ve seen. Normally, this tablet retails around $90. It has a smaller (8-inch) and lower-resolution (1,280x800) display than the Fire HD 10, and it's not as quick in day-to-day use, but its performance is adequate for the basics, it still gets 10-ish hours of battery life and it's light in the hand.
Amazon also makes a Plus model of the Fire HD 8 with 3GB of RAM (instead of two), wireless charging support and a marginally better camera. Given that the Fire HD 8 isn’t all that fast, the Fire HD 8 Plus might be worth the step up if you have a little more to spend. The 32GB model is now on sale for $70, which is only $5 more than its all-time low and 42 percent off Amazon's list price.
The Fire HD 8 Kids and Kids Pro are both available for $75. That marks a new low and comes in $55 below their average going rate. These two come with the same extra features as the Fire HD 10 Kids models above, but they use the Fire HD 8 as their base, so they aren’t as fast or spacious. If you want to save some cash on a streaming and reading machine for your kid, though, they’re solid values at this price.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 is on sale for $500, which matches the best price we’ve seen outside of trade-in deals. We’ve typically seen this 11-inch slate retail around $635 in recent months. The Galaxy Tab S8 line is the top Android pick in our guide to the best tablets thanks to their lively displays and robust S Pen stylus support. The base Tab S8 has an LCD panel with a fast 120Hz refresh rate and sharp 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, along with a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and 8GB of RAM. Samsung says it will supply software updates to the Tab S8 lineup through early 2026 as well.
That said, you should only get this if you’re deeply committed to Android. Google’s OS still isn’t as accommodating to productivity as iPadOS or Windows, nor does it have as many apps that are explicitly designed for large screens. But if you own a Galaxy phone or just don’t want to jump into Apple land, this is still good hardware.
The 12.4-inch Galaxy Tab S8+ is available for $600, which is more than $200 below its usual street price and matches its all-time low. This variant has the same general strengths as the standard Tab S8, but it has a more vibrant OLED display that ranks among the best on any tablet, plus it’s slightly thinner (0.22” instead of 0.25”). It also has a larger battery to make up for the bigger display. Again, though, this is a good chunk of change to spend on an Android slate. Like the standard Tab S8, it also lacks a headphone jack. We gave the Galaxy Tab S8+ a review score of 85 last year.
The recently released Fire Max 11 is down to $150, which is the first major discount we’ve seen and 35 percent off this slate's standard going rate. This is the largest and most powerful tablet Amazon sells, with an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 resolution display and a beefier octa-core processor than the one in the Fire HD 10. Its chassis is made of aluminum instead of plastic as well. The issue is that it still runs Fire OS, whose shortcomings in app support and productivity features (plus its built-in ads) are harder to swallow when you’re spending more than $100 to use it. But if you’re in the niche group that wants a more premium Fire tablet without spending iPad or Galaxy Tab money, it could have appeal.
Amazon's Fire 7 tablet is on sale for $40 for Prime Day. It's the cheapest device in the Fire tablet lineup, and it's really only a viable option if you have a strict budget to adhere to, as other Fire tablets provide sharper displays and much stronger performance. The Fire 7 provides a 7-inch 1024 x 600 touchscreen, up to 32GB of storage and up to 10 hours of battery life. If you can afford to step up to the Fire HD 8, do so, but a $40 tablet that actually works may still be useful for some.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
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