The best cheap tablet deals in April 2024: iPad, Samsung Galaxy and more

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For years, tech brands such as Apple, Microsoft and Samsung have told us the future of computing is tablets, instead of laptops.

These companies produce tablets with a broad range of screen sizes, features and prices. Some can be bought with detachable keyboards, others have convenient kickstands, and many work with digital styluses to help unleash your inner artist.

Tablets are often lighter, thinner and generally more portable and convenient than a laptop, with a broader price range and smartphone-based operating systems to make them easy enough for anyone to use.

When thinking of tablet computers, it’s easy to jump straight into the Apple Store and pick up an iPad. Yes, the iPad range is larger than ever – with prices stretching from more than £350 for the 9th-generation iPad (from £369, Apple.com), to more than seven times that for a fully loaded 12.9in iPad pro (£2,679, Apple.com) – but there are plenty of alternatives out there, too.

Brands such as Lenovo, Samsung and Microsoft all offer a range of tablets to choose from. If you don’t own any Apple devices, and aren’t in the company’s ecosystem, looking at an alternative manufacturer can be a great idea – and it can potentially save you some money, too.

Read more: The best iPad deals right now

You won’t find a better deal on a tablet than the Galaxy Tab A9, which is already a steal at full price. The latest entry in Samsung’s budget-friendly A-series impressed us with its bright display and premium-feeling metal frame. It runs on a decently powerful chip, and, while you get less storage and RAM than you would in more-expensive tablets, performance never feels sluggish. Samsung cut most of the costs in the A9 by using a much cheaper camera system but, if you don’t plan on using the cameras for much more than the occasional video call, that’s a compromise worth making.

Buy now

The Galaxy S9 FE is the pared-back version of the most premium tablet Samsung makes, trimming away some of the more expensive features while retaining most of the same functionality and design as the top-of-the-line model. You get the pressure-sensitive S Pen stylus included, which is good news for illustrators and note-takers, and while you miss out on the rich OLED display found in the most expensive Galaxy tablets, the 10.9in LCD screen is impressively bright and vibrant.

Buy now

Here’s a huge £130 saving on the 10th-generation iPad from 2022 – the year Apple’s basic-tier tablet got Face ID and a much neater and larger display. “The new design, faster processor, better and bigger display are easily worth the price, and the new iPad is a real rival to the iPad Air, which usually costs £170 more,” our writer said in their review. “This is the best tablet under £500 from any manufacturer, in my opinion.”

Buy now

A £50 discount at Very makes this one of the cheapest iPad deals going. The 9th-generation tablet boasts a 10.2in screen and full-sounding stereo speakers. Compatible with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, the iPad is complete with a back camera and front camera, for extra versatility.

Buy now

Here’s a discount on the iPad Pro. This is the 2022 model with an 11in display and 128GB of storage. It’s finished in space grey and is powered by Apple’s own, super-speedy M2 processor. Our reviewer gave the tablet a score of 4.5/5 and said: “The M2 is far and away the most effective chip in any tablet, and it is faster than many high-end laptops. Apple says graphics performance is 35 per cent faster than on the previous iPad Pro. And that’s the point of the iPad pro – to have the headroom to do anything you need effortlessly, now and in the future.”

Buy now

Released in 2021, the Surface Go 3 is the latest tablet from Microsoft running Windows 11. “If you’re looking for a light, portable and effective tablet, the Surface Go 3 delivers,” our writer said in their review. “It’s not as fast or quite as cheap as the entry-level iPad, but the display is bigger here, and its key benefit over an Apple device is that it runs full Windows – and the latest version, to boot.”

Buy now

This is the 2021 model with an 8.3in dislay and 64GB of storage. The tablet is finished in a colour Apple calls starlight, which is really a sort of soft champagne-gold, with a black display bezel. Features include a touch ID fingerprint sensor on the power button, 12MP cameras on the front and rear, and, on this particular model, 5G connectivity. Our reviewer said: “In terms of a slick, capable tablet that you can take anywhere, the new iPad mini has the lot.”

Buy now

For the latest offers on tablets and other tech, try the links below:

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Looking for more insight? Read our guide to the best tablets you can buy