In a separate post we talked about smartphone deals, here we will focus on tablets. These will be mainly Android, as Apple isn’t really participating in the Black Friday sale, but there are a few Windows tablets here too.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ recently launched with the Dimensity 9300+ chipset, which was pretty much the only upgrade. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+ is $150 cheaper and while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 isn’t as fast as the Dimensity, it’s hardly slow. And you get the same 12.4-inch 120Hz OLED display with S Pen and IP68 rating.
The Tab S10 series stops at 12.4″ and doesn’t go any lower, but the Galaxy Tab S9 is still there if you prefer an 11″ tablet. This one also has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and note that these have slate microSD slots, unlike their Galaxy S cousins.
Another 11” option, well, 10.9”, is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE. It’s a mid-range tablet with an Exynos 1380 and a QHD+ 90Hz LCD, but you still get S Pen support and an IP68 rating. DeX too, but without support for external displays due to the USB-C 2.0 port.
This is also available in a 12.4” format, still with a 90Hz LCD, the Galaxy Tab S9+ FE.
Alternatively, Google’s Pixel Tablet costs under $300. The Tensor G2 chip is also more of a mid-range offering at this point, but it does beat the Exynos 1380, especially in graphics. The display is a 10.95-inch IPS LCD screen with only 60 Hz.
Samsung has two tablets in the $200 range: the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) and the Galaxy Tab A9+. Both are about the same size, with 10.4″ and 11″ LCD (60Hz and 90Hz) respectively. The performance is about the same (Exynos 1280 and Snapdragon 695, but the Tab S6 Lite has DeX (only on its own screen, there is no video output). On the other hand, the A series is cheaper – you can get a pretty big get microSD card because of the price difference.
The 11-inch LCD offering continues with Amazon’s Fire Max 11. This costs about the same as the Tab A9+ and has essentially the same pixel density (212ppi vs. 206ppi), but the screens are different. The Amazon slate has an IPS panel with a 15:9 aspect ratio, while the Samsung has a 16:10 display. Both are great for streaming, but keep in mind that with the Fire tablets you’ll need to use Amazon’s app store or install the Google Play Store yourself.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 is cheap enough to be a stocking stuffer, at just $75 for the 3/32GB variant (note that this is with ads). It’s not a powerful tablet, but the 10.1″ FHD+ screen (16:10) is a good quality panel and you get stereo speakers.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 is also available in a Kids Pro variant. This one is more expensive at $110, but this removes the lockscreen ads and includes a thin protective case. If your little one does manage to break it, you can take advantage of the 2-year worry-free warranty – just send it back to Amazon.
If kids can make do with a smaller 8-inch tablet, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro also comes with a case and 2-year worry-free warranty for $75. Both tablets also include a free annual subscription to Kids+ – essentially curated kid-friendly content on tap. There are games and educational apps, books and videos and more.
Okay, now we’re going to stretch the definition of “tablet” a bit. The first is pretty standard: the Microsoft Surface Pro (2024) is an ARM-powered slate that runs Windows 11 and comes with Copilot+ AI features. You can choose the Snapdragon X Plus variant (10-core CPU), which has an LCD display. The Snapdragon X Elite version (12-core CPU) uses an OLED panel instead, both are 13 inches in size.
The Asus Zenbook Duo is technically a laptop, but it has a clamshell design with two 14-inch OLED touchscreens (and a wireless QWERTY keyboard that fits inside). It’s not a foldable screen like the Zenbook Fold, but this means the displays are protected by glass and there are no creases. This is another Windows machine with the Intel Core 7-155H Ultra (the Core 9 Ultra is also an option).
Is the Razer Edge a tablet? Something like that, but in smartphone size with its 6.8” 144Hz FHD+ OLED screen. It runs Android on the Snapdragon G3X Gen 1 (with a cooling fan) and has Wi-Fi connectivity only. The Kishi V2 Pro controllers are detachable – you can use these for game streaming or some native Android games.
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