Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

The Amazon Fire tablet is the only cheap tablet you should buy on Black Friday

Ajay Kumar
By

If you’re looking for the best budget tablet at a discount in the Black Friday deals, the only ones you should be considering are Amazon Fire tablets. There’s a reason Amazon has swallowed up the cheap tablet market, and it’s not just price, though that has a lot to do with it.

One of the biggest reasons is that Amazon has Fire tablet models for pretty much anyone’s needs. The key part here is while most of them aren’t powerhouses in terms of the specs department, they’re all more than capable of handling the basic needs of browsing, streaming, and games. Sure, none of them are as high quality as the iPad, but at a fraction of the $329 price, do they really need to be? For people that use plenty of Amazon services and don’t mind having the company as their main portal to the internet and subscription services, it’s hard to name a set of slates that offer better value.

Amazon has established the Fire tablet series as the ideal affordable family tablets, and all of them are devices that are cheap enough to be an impulse purchase and don’t make you think twice about handing it to a kid. Each of the mainstay Fire tablets also comes with a Kid’s Edition that adds a durable case and built-in parental controls. There are also Pro variants, which are essentially just Plus versions of mainstay Fire tablets that are fully featured and come with a thinner case. Think of them as trainer tablets for growing children.

Related

Perhaps the strongest option for children is the Fire 7 tablet, now on sale for $35. It’s cheap, compact, and the price is low enough that even if your clumsy-fingered offspring manages to break it, you can just buy a new one.

If you want a bigger 8-inch screen and more storage space, the Fire HD 8 will run you just $45 and is more than capable of handling all the basic browsing and streaming you’d like to do. The Fire HD 8 Plus has all of that, plus more RAM and a faster processor at $55, making it a nice option if the base HD 8 is too sluggish for you.

  • Buy Amazon Fire 7
  • Buy Amazon Fire HD 8
  • Buy Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus
Fire 7 Tablet 4

On the higher end, the $75 Fire HD 10 is one of Amazon’s newest releases and the biggest tablet you can get. The 10.1-inch 1080p screen is better geared toward using streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. It also has more RAM, a faster processor, and more storage, making it a good option for both living room use and travel. Once again, you have the option of kicking things up a notch with the Fire HD 10 Plus. For $105, it again beefs up RAM and comes with wireless charging, along with a dock that comes bundled with it and doubles as a stand.

  • Buy Amazon Fire HD 10
  • Buy Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus

What makes the HD 10 slates unique is that you can also get them as a productivity bundle for $145. It’s probably the most expensive option here, but it gives you a 32GB slate, a Bluetooth keyboard case, and a 12-month Microsoft 365 subscription, meaning you can work in Office, Outlook, and OneDrive to get work done. It’s no Chromebook, but if you’re fine with using the Microsoft Office Suite, it compares favorably to a cheap Windows 2-in-1. For those more inclined toward gaming than productivity, there’s also a game bundle that throws in an Amazon Lune Controller for $125, though you’ll need to buy the subscription separately.

Put simply, Amazon in the universe of the cheap tablet market, Amazon is king.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Ajay Kumar
Ajay Kumar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ajay Kumar is the Section Editor, Mobile overseeing Digital Trend's coverage of phones, tablets, wearables, and other mobile…
You won’t believe how cheap this iPad is, thanks to Cyber Monday
apple ipad 10 2 air deals amazon summer sale 2020 inch hero 720x720

Most shoppers who are on the lookout for Cyber Monday tablet deals are likely hoping to take advantage of Cyber Monday iPad deals. If you're one of them, here's an offer that you shouldn't miss -- $59 off for the Wi-Fi, 64GB version of the 2021 Apple iPad, which brings the device's price on Amazon down to a more affordable $270 from its sticker price of $329. You'll have to hurry though because this is your last chance to take advantage of the discount if you missed out on Black Friday. Whenever an iPad's price is slashed, it sells out quickly, like most of the similar offers involving Apple's tablets. There's no other major shopping event this year, so buy the iPad now if you want to receive it ahead of the holiday season.

Why you should buy the 2021 Apple iPad
The 10th-generation Apple iPad was released last month, so the price of the 9th-generation Apple iPad was expected to get slashed in this year's Cyber Monday deals. However, despite the launch of its predecessor, the 2021 iPad shouldn't be considered obsolete, especially if you want to buy Apple's tablet on a tight budget. Between the 2022 iPad and 2021 iPad, last year's model is better suited for light browsing with its larger bezels. This year's model replaces the Lightning port with a USB-C port and moves the selfie camera to above the screen in the landscape orientation -- if neither change excites you, then you're fine with going with the 2021 iPad, especially since both models can run the latest iPadOS 16.

Read more
Best Black Friday tablet deals: Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab
Best Black Friday Tablet Deals

Black Friday is done and dusted for another year, but the sales are far from over. Whether you're looking to buy the latest Apple iPad, checking out a Samsung Galaxy Tab, or thinking about something completely different, there are some fantastic Black Friday deals still available right now. With so many choices out there, we're helping you out by picking out some of the best Black Friday tablet deals around. Read on while we take you through the highlights so you know exactly what you should buy and how much you can save.
Top 5 Black Friday tablet deals
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite -- $170, was $200

Although Samsung's Android tablets don't command quite the same market presence as the Galaxy smartphones, they are still the best Android tablets money can buy. That said, the flagship models are expensive, so if you're looking for a pared-down Galaxy tablet that's easy on the wallet, check out the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite. This one sports an 8.7-inch 1340 x 800 display, so while it's on the slightly smaller side compared to standard tablets (which typically come in at 10 inches or more), it's a good size for regular use while still being small enough to comfortably stow in your bag when you're on the go. It comes loaded with Android 11 pre-installed, too, so if the Amazon Fire tablets aren't to your liking but you don't want to pony up the cash for the more expensive Galaxy Tab models, this is a great -- and cheap -- Android pick and among the best early Black Friday tablet deals we've found.

Read more
Best Fitbit Black Friday deals: Fitbit Versa 4 and Charge 5
Lifestyle photo of the Fitbit Versa 4 and Fitbit Sense 2.

Black Friday may be over, but there are still fantastic savings to be had this weekend. We've got all the best Fitbit Black Friday deals neatly rounded up here for you. Walmart Black Friday deals and Best Buy Black Friday deals are a good place to start but we've scoured everywhere to find you the best Black Friday deals around. These include several Fitbit models, so there's something for every budget and need. That goes for whether you're after a Fitbit smartwatch or an inexpensive fitness tracker instead. Keep on scrolling to check out what's available right now and why you need them in your life.

Read more