Apple rolled out a new round of iPads on Tuesday, upgrading the iPad Pro to the more powerful M2 chip and introducing a new 10.9-inch iPad that hews closely to the existing iPad Air, which launched this past March. While the new 10.9-inch iPad particularly complicates the latter's value, those who were already thinking of treating themselves to a tablet upgrade should still note the 64GB version of the fifth-gen Air is currently down to $519 at Amazon. 

Outside of a one-day drop to $479 in August, that's the lowest price we've tracked for this SKU of the tablet, and it matches the deal we saw during Amazon's Prime Early Access sale last week. In total, the deal is $40 off the typical street price we've seen online in recent months and $80 off Apple's MSRP.

When we reviewed the new Air earlier this year, we broadly considered it to be the best Apple tablet for most people, what with its still-powerful M1 chip and significant design upgrades over the base 10.2-inch iPad, which Apple says will remain on sale going forward. 

Compared to the forthcoming 10.9-inch iPad, however, the differences look to be more marginal. We'll have to get our hands on the device to confirm, but the new iPad starts at $449 and appears to follow the Air's design almost exactly, with the same 2,360 x 1,640 resolution, slim bezels, USB-C port, WiFi 6 support, Touch ID button, 12-megapixel front camera, and the like. With the new iPad, that front camera is also located along the right-side bezel, making it more suitable for taking video in landscape mode.

This new iPad utilizes Apple's A14 Bionic chip, which is the same silicon that powered the fourth-gen iPad Air and the iPhone 12 lineup. This SoC should be plenty powerful for media consumption and most of the other tablet things most people do with an iPad. Our review did find the Air's M1 chip to be noticeably faster across the board, however, and the M1 should be a bit more futureproof with games and more involved productivity tasks down the road, while also remaining overkill for lighter work, web browsing, and streaming.

Unlike the Air, the new iPad also lacks support for Apple's second-generation Pencil stylus. That means creative types will need to use a USB-C dongle to charge the first-gen Pencil and omit the newer model's magnetic charging and quicker settings-change features. The new iPad does support a new $249 Magic Keyboard Folio, however, which appears similar to the Magic Keyboard supported by the Air and iPad Pro, just without that model's "floating" design. This accessory also adds a row of function keys.

It's also worth noting that Apple doesn't list the new iPad's display as fully laminated, which means it will still have an air gap between its display and the glass itself, and thus can feel slightly more like you're interacting with an image below the glass, rather than the screen itself, which many find irritating. Apple also doesn't list this panel as having an antireflective coating. In terms of size, brightness, and resolution, though, it should be the same.

Beyond that, while the cost difference between the new 11-inch iPad Pro and the iPad Air is prohibitive for many—the former will start at $799—those who can afford the upgrade will still get twice as much default storage (a more robust 128GB), better built-in speakers, a more advanced camera system, a brighter display that supports a faster 120 Hz refresh rate, WiFi 6E support, and now an even more powerful chip. For most, the Air should remain a better value, but in a vacuum, the Pro is a better tablet.

All told, if the added horsepower of the M1, the laminated display, or second-gen Pencil support aren't worth an extra $70 to you, it's likely worth waiting to see how the new iPad stacks up. And if all you want is access to the iPadOS ecosystem for as little as possible, the 10.2-inch iPad is still a solid little tablet overall, and it's still at an all-time low of $269 itself. 

If you do need the M1's power gains or improved stylus, though, or if you're looking to upgrade from an entry-level iPad or a pre-2020 iPad Air, though, this deal still represents a good value for those who want a tablet upgrade without totally breaking the bank.

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After some stops and starts, Google is returning to tablets, but with a smart home twist. The company first teased the upcoming Pixel Tablet at I/O this year, saying the device would be launching in 2023. Though that date is still at least months away, Google was eager to share more details at its hardware launch event today.

Google’s vice president of product management Rose Yao said during the keynote that the company thinks of the tablet as part of its Pixel portfolio of products, and that it didn’t feel complete without a “large screen device”. That might be confusing if you recall the ill-fated Pixel Slate and Pixelbook, which were “large screen” Pixel-branded devices.

Like other Pixel gadgets, the tablet will be a canvas for Google’s own expression of Android. And as the company already hinted at its developer conference this year, the tablet will be powered by the same Tensor G2 chip that’s in the flagship phones. Since this is still just a tease, the company is still keeping details like screen size, resolution, RAM and more under wraps.

Google is ready, however, to share more about the Pixel Tablet’s design. It looks similar to older phones like the Pixel 3, with a rounded rectangle shape and a matte-ish glass back. In fact, Yao said the company developed a new “nano-ceramic coating” that she said is inspired by “the feel of porcelain.”

In an interview with Engadget, Yao said the best way to think about this finish is to imagine the coating on a Le Creuset dutch oven. She said that the Pixel Tablet’s coating should feel similarly durable and premium, and that it’s basically embedding tiny pieces of ceramic onto the device’s frame, which is made of recycled aluminum. This creates what she said is a “soft matte finish” with a “grippy feel” that should alleviate what her team believed was a pain point of tablets: “They’re really big devices that are kind of slippery.”

The Pixel Tablet will also run Android, complete with Material You personalization and big screen-friendly features like split screen and stylus support. When I asked for more information about stylus support, Yao said “We'll talk about the more next year,” though she added that “you can use a third-party stylus.”

The fact that the Pixel Tablet is powered by Tensor, which Yao said is the first time Google is bringing its own processor to a different type of product than a phone, enables a few different things.

“I have so many stories I want to share about what that means,” Yao said. But she can’t at the moment, besides alluding to speech recognition, video calls, photo editing and image processing as areas to look out for.

She also shouted out the Assistant, which will be able to “work seamlessly between a tablet and the phone” thanks to Tensor. But not just that, Google wants you to think of its tablet as a place for an always-listening Assistant, much like you would with a Nest speaker. Yao said that her team observed how people used tablets and learned that “tablets are homebodies.” According to her, most tablets are home 80 percent of the time and are only active for a small portion of the time.

Another thing Yao said was that though tablets tended to remain in people’s homes, they “don’t really have a home at home.” They’re often left in drawers or by charging outlets, and can either be forgotten or get in the way. To make a tablet that’s “truly useful 24-7” and that would “bring together the best of Pixel and home,” Yao said her team made a charging speaker dock.

The base doesn’t just charge the device, Yao said it also “unlocks a ton of new experiences and makes the tablet helpful all the time.” Her favorite feature is the photo frame, which is similar to that on the Nest Hub smart display. But the Pixel Tablet also has front and rear cameras, making it useful for video calls.

Yao said the angle “is just really perfect for me,” though based on the pictures Google has shown so far it appears the camera might shoot at an unflattering upwards angle. She also confirmed that the base won’t allow for adjustable angles, so if you don’t like the position you likely won’t be able to change it.

“I really think it's one of the most versatile tablets on the market,” Yao said, adding “We'll talk more next year.” While Google still hasn’t shared information like screen size and pricing, we’ll likely find out more closer to launch.

Follow all of the news from Google's Pixel 7 event right here!

Amazon appears to be kicking off its fall Prime Day event a little early. Hot on the heels of announcing a new generation of gadgets, the company is holding a sale on Echo smart displays, Fire TV devices and, it seems, Fire tablets. Highlights include the Fire 10 HD, which is back down to $75, a price we last saw during Amazon's Prime Day event in July. Meanwhile, the new Fire 7 tablet has been discounted to $45.

While the Fire HD 10 is the older of the two devices, the deal on that tablet is still the highlight here. For the money, you get a 10.1-inch display with full HD resolution, an eight-core 2GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, 12 hours of rated battery life and up to 64GB of internal storage (expandable to as much a 1TB via a microSD card). 

As for the Fire 7, we need to caution you that it earned a lackluster score from us when we reviewed it last summer. Although we acknowledged the then-$60 tablet got some basics right, including battery life, USB-C charging and, well, the affordable price, we dinged it for its unimpressive display quality and sluggish performance. If we were to review it fresh today with a $45 list price, perhaps we'd be a little more generous in our rating.

It's unclear when Amazon will refresh either its 10- or 7-inch tablet line. At its hardware launch last month, Amazon only mentioned a new $100 8-inch model, which promises 30 percent faster performance, slightly improved 13-hour battery life and a new Tap to Alexa feature that allows you to summon the voice assistant without speaking. 

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It doesn't get much better than Apple's iPad mini if you're keen on a more compact tablet. We consider it to be the best small slab out there, and the company made a lot of much-needed upgrades to the latest model that came out nearly one year ago. Now, you can pick up the 2021 iPad mini for $400, or $100 less than usual and the best price we've seen it. That's how much you'll spend on the 64GB WiFi models, but you can get the same $100 discount on the 256GB versions too, so you can get one for $550.

The 6th-gen iPad mini is an upgrade in nearly every way from the previous iteration. Apple revamped its design so it looks more like a small iPad Air, complete with slimmer bezels, a Touch ID-toting power button and a USB-C port for charging. It has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display that supports input from the second-generation Apple Pencil, so it could be your main device for capturing digital notes, sketches and more. Its A15 Bionic chip performed well and handled everything we threw at it, and we were pleased with the tablet's nearly 12-hour battery life.

Apple also added 5G support to the iPad mini, which will be handy if you spring for an LTE-capable model, along with Center Stage cameras that keep you in the center of the frame when you're on FaceTime calls. Ultimately, our biggest gripes with the mini are the fact that it has no headphone jack and that many people may quickly fill up the base model's 64GB of storage. Plus, it's more expensive than the previous-gen mini, but Amazon's latest sale makes up for that. It's also worth noting that we don't expect Apple to announce a new iPad mini at this week's iPhone event, so the model that's on sale will likely remain the latest and greatest mini for some time.

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Apple's 10.2-inch iPad is now on sale for the lowest price we've seen to date. While it's been available for $300 on a few occasions, you can now snap up a 64GB version of the 2021 iPad for $280 on Amazon. That's $49 off the regular price. Both the silver and space grey variants have been discounted.

This iPad has a A13 Bionic chip with Neural Engine, rather than Apple's M1 chipset. It features an 8MP wide-lens camera on the rear and a 12MP ultra-wide selfie camera that supports Center Stage. The idea of the machine learning-powered feature is to keep your face close to the center of the frame even as you move around. Elsewhere, this WiFi-only model has stereo speakers, Touch ID and support for Apple Pencil. Apple says you'll get up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge too.

We gave this iPad a score of 86 in our review, lauding it for the already-solid price as well as the improved front-facing camera and upgraded storage capacity. We felt the performance was better than the 2020 iPad and that the battery life was solid. On the downside, the screen is not Apple's best, while the design felt somewhat dated, particularly compared with other iPads.

You'll be able to upgrade this tablet to iPadOS 16.1 when Apple releases the update sometime this fall. Meanwhile, the company is set to hold an event on September 7th. It's a certainty that we'll see new iPhones then, though Apple may have a new iPad or two to show off as well.

Apple's base iPad is the most cost-effective way to get an iOS device, and now you can pick one up for even less than usual. In a rare sale, most models are down to record-low prices at Amazon right now. Key among them are the 256GB iPad for $399, which is $80 less than usual, and the base, 64GB version remains on sale for $299 as well. As for cellular models, you can pick up the 64GB tablet for $400 thanks to an extra $30 coupon that's automatically applied at checkout, or the 256GB version for $550.

It may not look as slick as the iPad Air or the latest iPad Pros, but it's hard to argue the utility of Apple's most affordable tablet. We gave it a score of 86 when the latest model came out last year, and we consider it to be the best budget tablet you can get. It has solid performance and an excellent, 14-hour battery life, and since Apple upped the base amount of storage to 64GB from 32GB, you'll have a good amount of space even if you pick the cheapest option. That's important for those who download tons of apps and games, or those who plan on using the iPad to hold all of their personal, work or school documents. While we think some of the more advanced iPads make better laptop replacements, the base tablet would make a good on-the-go device if you pair it with accessories like the Smart Keyboard or the first-generation Apple Pencil.

The most dated things about the iPad are its chunkier bezels and the physical Home button that supports TouchID, although some may prefer the latter to FaceID. Otherwise, the slab has a 2,160 x 1,620 resolution Retina display with True Tone, an 8-megapixel rear camera and an updated 12MP front-facing camera with support for Center Stage, which will come in handy if you FaceTime a lot with friends and family. While it doesn't have many of the extra features you'll find on the iPad Air, those are fair trade-offs considering its low starting price.

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If you missed last month's sale on the base iPad, you have another opportunity to pick up the tablet for less right now. Amazon knocked $30 off the 64GB, WiFi-only iPad, bringing it back down to a near record low of $300. At the time of writing this, both the silver and space gray models have this discount and you can even save on the 256GB model, too, if you want the extra space. The higher-capacity iPad is $50 off and down to an all-time low of $429.

We gave the base iPad a score of 86 when it came out last year and have since dubbed it the best budget slab you can get right now. It runs on Apple's A13 Bionic chip and the company raised the base amount of storage from 32GB to 64GB when it updated the tablet last year. That means you'll have more space for apps, photos, documents and the like by default, which will be important if you plan on using the tablet for work or for the upcoming school year. Speaking of school, the 10.2-inch iPad works with the first-generation Apple Pencil as well as the company's Smart Keyboard, so it could act as your main digital notebook, too.

While it doesn't have as slick of a design as some of the more expensive iPads, the entry-level model still has a lot going for it. Aside from solid performance, it has a 2,160 x 1,620 resolution Retina touchscreen with True Tone technology, a physical Home button with TouchID, an 8-megapixel rear camera and an updated 12MP front-facing camera with Center Stage, which will keep you in the middle of the frame when you're on FaceTime calls. We also appreciate the iPad's solid battery life — while apple promises up to 10 hours of life, we were able to eek roughly 14 hours out of it in our testing.

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If you want a tablet just for browsing the internet, watching videos and playing games, you won’t need anything fancy. Amazon’s Fire tablets are exactly that. Most of them are under $200, and the Fire 7, which has been updated for 2022, starts at just $60 ($75 if you don’t want ads on the lock screen). It offers upgraded internals, as well as Amazon’s Fire OS 8, which adds minor improvements like a dark mode. Yet, it still suffers from many of the same limitations that plagued older models, like the lack of Google apps.

Updated hardware

The 2022 Fire 7 tablet has 2GB of RAM (double that of previous generation) and is powered by the same quad-core 2.0GHz processor as the Fire HD 8. Amazon also promises longer battery life and, importantly, now uses a USB-C port instead of micro-USB. That alone makes this worth the upgrade, since USB-C is fast becoming the new charging standard.

Aside from that, the overall look and feel of the Fire 7 is unchanged. It’s made out of plastic, with thick bezels surrounding its 7-inch display. Yet, it does feel durable. I also didn’t mind the bezels, as they gave me room to grip the tablet without accidentally launching apps.

The screen is one of the bigger disappointments with the Fire 7, though. Its 1,024 by 600 resolution just looks terribly dull, with fuzzy images and muddy colors. Even for a budget tablet – and granted, there aren’t that many in this price range – a display that’s less than full HD in this day and age seems outdated.

The rest of the Fire 7’s hardware is the same as its predecessor. It has 2-megapixel cameras on the front and rear, 16 or 32GB of built-in storage (expandable up to 1TB with microSD card) and a 3.5mm headphone jack. As expected, the camera quality isn’t impressive, but it’ll work for a quick video chat. Just don’t expect to use it for actual photography, unless you’re really into super grainy, washed out images.

Engadget

Meh performance, but solid battery life

Though the new Fire 7 has more RAM and a quad-core 2.0GHz processor, don’t expect lightning-fast performance. Navigating the Fire OS interface feels smooth for the most part, but it’s still sluggish at times. I experienced some lag when switching apps and scrolling through Instagram, for example. It can handle basic tasks like checking email, but the Fire 7 won’t be as fast as modern smartphones.

My favorite thing about the new Fire 7 is its long battery life. Amazon says it should last up to 10 hours on a charge, but of course that depends on how you use it. In the usual battery test we run for Android devices (where we play a locally stored video on loop), the Fire 7 lasted for close to 15 hours. I mostly used it to watch Prime videos, read books on the Kindle app, check Instagram and Twitter, and play a few rounds of Candy Crush Saga. After several days of occasional use (an hour or so a day for a week), the Fire 7 still has around 48 percent battery. I should note, however, that the Fire 7 doesn’t offer wireless or fast-charging. It comes with a 5W charger, which took around four hours to top up the battery. 

New software, but same ol issues

The Fire 7 comes with Fire OS 8, which adds Android 11 features like a system-wide dark theme. Yet, the interface looks the same. Like all other Fire tablets, it runs Amazon’s proprietary skin that forced me to use Amazon-approved apps rather than ones from the Google Play Store. As someone who relies a lot on Google apps, I was frustrated by this. Instead of the native version of Gmail or YouTube, for example, I had to use inferior third-party apps that just didn’t look or feel as intuitive.

If you’re an Amazon die-hard, however, you’ll benefit from Fire OS. As soon as I logged in, all of my favorite Amazon content showed up on the home screen, like TV shows on Prime Video, personalized recommendations on Kindle Unlimited, suggested Audible books based on my purchases and more.

Of course, the caveat is that you won’t be able to delete Amazon-related apps like Kindle, Goodreads and Prime Video. Plus, you won’t see recommendations for shows and content that’s not on Amazon – no Netflix suggestions, for example. It makes sense that Amazon would push its own services, but it’s still annoying.

Like other Amazon products, the Fire 7 features hands-free Alexa, which makes controlling my smart home devices easier. It’s also helpful for getting the weather forecast, the latest sports scores or answers to random trivia questions.

Amazon

Wrap-up

The thing you should know about Fire tablets is that they aren’t typical Android devices – you’ll need to sideload the Google Play Store, for example, if you want to use Google apps. Amazon’s proprietary interface prioritizes its own apps like Prime Video and Kindle over others. But if you already heavily rely on Amazon services, I can see how the Fire 7 might be tempting – it delivers an Amazon-curated experience for cheap.

Unfortunately, if you want a tablet in the $60 price range, you don’t have many non-Amazon options. Two of the more affordable non-Amazon tablets at this time appear to be the Lenovo Tab M7 (starting at $96) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (starting at $100). We haven’t reviewed them just yet, but both at least let you use Google apps without resorting to third-party options.

If you’re dead set on a budget Fire tablet, I actually recommend the Fire HD 8 instead. It has a superior HD display, longer battery life and wireless charging. It also supports Show Mode, which basically turns it into a portable Echo Show. At $90 (with ads), it’s $30 more than the Fire 7, but I think it’s well worth the extra cost.

If you've been holding out for a good deal on the latest iPad mini with cellular connectivity, you're in luck. Amazon has dropped the prices of all color options for the 64GB iPad mini with LTE, bringing them all down to $550. That's nearly $100 off their usual rate, not to mention the cheapest we've seen these models. It's hard to get your hands on the iPad mini right now if you're going through Amazon — most WiFi-only models are sold out, and very few WiFi + Cellular models are in stock. But if this configuration fits your needs, you can save a good sum of money if you pick it up right now.

Apple gave the iPad mini a much-needed facelift last year, and it only made the small tablet better than it was before. It now looks like a smaller version of the iPad Air, with a nearly edge-to-edge, 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, flat edges, a TouchID power button and a USB-C port for charging. It also has Apple's latest camera array that features Center Stage, making the tablet even better for FaceTime calls.

Overall, the iPad mini is a slick little device that should not be underestimated purely because of its size. Powered by the A15 Bionic chip, the iPad mini handled everything we threw at it well. We also like that it works with the second-generation Apple Pencil, allowing you to treat the tablet almost like a digital notebook. Battery life is solid, too: we were able to get around 12 hours before needing to recharge the device.

The iPad mini now supports 5G, too, so you'll get faster data speeds if you're in an area of 5G coverage. Would we recommend using the iPad mini as your daily driver when you're out and about? Not necessarily, but only because most people prefer larger screens. The iPad Air may be better if you're looking for a true laptop replacement, but it's hard to beat the iPad mini if you want something as lightweight as possible to use when you're on the go.

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Amazon's Fire tablets make great couch devices or gadgets to give to your kids when you don't want them messing with your more expensive tech. They're usually pretty affordable, but Amazon Prime Day brings the opportunity to grab any of Amazon's tablets at all-time-low prices. Both the Fire HD 10 and Fire HD 8 tablets are half off and down to $75 and $45, respectively, while the 2019 Fire 7 tablet is only $30 for Prime Day. On top of that, all of the Kids Pro versions of the slabs are also on sale, so you can pick one up for as low as $50.

You'll get the best bang for your buck if you spring for the Fire HD 10. It's the most powerful of Amazon's tablets, running on a 2.0 GHz oct-core processor, 3GB of RAM and at least 32GB of storage. It has a 10.1-inch 1080p display, Dolby Atmos support and a USB-C port for charging. Amazon estimates you'll get up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge, and it takes roughly four hours to charge the device up from nothing. The Fire HD 10 also supports Show Mode, which essentially lets you turn the thing into a makeshift Echo Show smart display. If you have a stand or case that props the tablet up, you could use it in Show Mode to display information like the weather, calendar events, news stories and more.

But the best option under $50 this Prime Day is the Fire HD 8. We gave the tablet a score of 81 for its refined design, decent performance, hands-free Alexa capabilities and good battery life. While the display isn't as high quality as the HD 10's, and it won't feel as zippy as the larger slab, the Fire HD 8 is a solid option if you just want a basic tablet at a great price.

If you're thinking about buying a Fire tablet for your kids, maybe as a first device of theirs, consider getting one of the Fire Kids Pro devices. They're basically the same as the standard Fire tablets, but they come with additional parental controls, a customizable home screen theme, a two-year warranty, a protective case and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+. The latter is the company's service that provides child-friendly, ad-free games, books, videos and other content that kids can access from their tablets.

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