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Nov 02, 2023

Best tablet for kids in 2023

Tablets have many uses — here are the best ones for kids Technology is

Tablets have many uses — here are the best ones for kids

Technology is everywhere, and it's not unusual to see kids holding tablets these days. They could be enjoying their favorite cartoons, playing their favorite apps, or even learning and doing schoolwork. With plenty of reasons to get your child a tablet, it begs the question of which are the best for kids.

Well, plenty of options out there balance cost with the features your kids will actually use, making them an excellent tool to have in your arsenal. Our top choice is the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids because it's made explicitly with kids in mind, makes an excellent media-viewing tablet, and has a pretty affordable price point.

Built with kids in mind

If you're looking for something sturdy and dependable for your kids, it's hard to beat the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids. It's wrapped in a very spongy case that's easy for your child to hold and will protect the tablet from damage. Add in a free year of an Amazon Kids+ subscription and Amazon's bevy of child-friendly content at your fingertips, and it's a tablet you'll be happy to hand over to your child.

When handing a tablet over to a kid, one of your first thoughts is likely imagining just how many ways it can break. Sure, you can always buy a tablet and protect it in a nice heavy-duty case, but the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids tablet has an awesome soft-to-the-touch and easy-for-your-kids-to-hold build, all while remaining tough enough to handle a little bit of punishment. Plus, Amazon actually offers a stellar two-year warranty which will see them replace the tablet if it breaks. How's that for peace of mind?

Armed with the same 3GB of RAM and an Octa-core 2GHz processor of the standard Amazon Fire HD 10, this version will definitely feel a bit sluggish if you're trying to do too much on it; however, it's perfect for running simple apps our watching kid-friendly content on your favorite streaming services. FireOS may not be as robust when it comes to app support as Android, but Amazon sweetens the deal with a free 12-month Amazon Kids+ subscription giving you access to a ton of kid-friendly content right out of the box.

The best budget Android tablet

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is one of our favorite budget Android tablets due to its ability to run Android 13, reasonably affordable price tag, and big 10.5-inch display. It's not much of a workhorse, but it's a perfect fit for streaming videos, surfing the web, or doing some light gaming.

Sometimes the best kids' tablet is just a great tablet. That's the case with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, which currently holds our top spot for the best cheap Android tablets. Unlike some tablets at this price point, the Galaxy Tab A8 is constructed well and felt really sturdy when we tested it out, so it should be able to survive a little bit of roughness. The bezels around the entire sides of the nice and big 10.5-inch LCD will give your kids the ability to hold on to the tablet without blocking the screen. Its sturdy construction does make it weigh a tad more than some other kid-friendly tablets (about 1.12 pounds), so just make sure you keep that in mind if you're handing it over to a young child.

The Galaxy Tab A8 really provides value by offering a tablet that's compatible with Android 13, giving you access to a whole slew of Android-compatible apps. Watching Netflix or other streaming platforms, playing some casual games, or even taking the odd video call is all pretty easily handled by the Unisoc Tiger T618 powering the device.

However, the Tab A8 isn't meant to be powerful, so don't be surprised if it feels a bit sluggish even with basic tasks. If you want to mitigate this a little bit, there is the option to spend a bit more and get a version with 4GB of RAM, which should help things feel a tad smoother.

Stylus included — great for doodling

If you have a kid who likes to draw, sketch, scribble, or doodle, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite comes with the S Pen, a stylus that is one of the stand-out features of this tablet. The Snapdragon 720G inside gives you a little more power, so basic tasks should be no problem. Excellent for young students or to have around the house when your kids aren't using it.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2022) sits right in that sweet spot, below the costly, high-end tablets that lack helpful features like headphone jacks and above the sluggish entry-level tablets best for casual use like the Tab A8. Its big claim to fame is to include S Pen, a stylus that can do helpful stuff like jot down notes and make lists, or some awesome creative tasks like drawing. Plus, its 10.4-inch LCD is perfect for viewing content, making it a win for all types of kids.

While more expensive than some other options on the list, the S6 Lite offers more power thanks to the Snapdragon 720G chipset, and its battery life is outstanding. If you're using the tablet with a standard mix usage, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to make it to the night of your kids' day before you need a charge. The 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage in the base model is a step up from the Tab A8, too, so you can enjoy more space for your kid's app or favorite content and have a smoother experience moving around the Android software.

Big screen with a big battery

For having a large 10.6-inch screen, it's impressive that the Lenovo M10 Plus (3rd gen) can get up to 14 hours of battery life — that' screen on time, which is very impressive. Besides that, the M10 Plus offers excellent value by providing some decent performance (with the model with 4GB of RAM) and very reasonable prices.

The third generation of the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus really impressed us when we reviewed it, thanks to its premium build quality, which becomes quickly apparent the moment you pick it up. It's mostly made of metal, but a portion of the back is soft-touch plastic, which feels nice and improves signal reception. Not to mention, the gorgeous 10.6-inch display. Sure, it only has a 60Hz refresh rate (like most tablets at this price), but a 2000 x 1200 resolution is perfect for watching content.

Surprisingly, that big screen makes the battery life suffer too much, as you can actually eke out about 14 hours of battery life surfing the web or around 12 hours of video streaming. But, if you take into account more average use with some idle time thrown in the mix, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to make it a full day without charging the 7,700mAh battery. Thanks to high-efficiency (if slightly underpowered) components, it manages to eke out 14 hours of battery life under the right conditions, which is a lot better than most of the competition. We aren't a fan of the annoying bloatware, and if you want Android to run a bit more smoothly, we'd suggest looking into the model with 4GB of RAM, but at this price, the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus (3rd gen) is a great option for kids.

Fine for streaming, but not much else

As the cheapest option on our list, the Amazon Fire HD 8 is best for watching content via YouTube, Netflix, or another service. When you try to get it to do anything else, you'll be severely limited by its low-powered hardware. Still, its often sub $100 price point with sales makes it a compelling choice as a tablet you can hand off to your kids when it's time to watch their favorite shows.

Sometimes the best tablet for your kids is something cheap that they just need to play their favorite cartoons, shows, and other content when it's time for them to have some downtime. That's where the Amazon Fire HD 8 (2022) does its best work, thanks to its compact size and 8-inch screen. It should be relatively light and easy for kids to hold due to its smaller size, making it a great e-reader as well.

The downside to Fire HD 8 is its limited hardware. With only 2GB of RAM (or 3GB if you opt for the Plus model), FireOS doesn't run very well, and you'll have no real power to do anything other than the most basic tasks. Still, if all you need is a streaming device for your kids, it's hard to ignore the $100 price tag, especially when it's often on sale for even lower.

If you want a tablet that can do work

Best suited for older kids, the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus offers some serious power that makes it a compelling choice for completing tasks and schoolwork. Its 11-inch screen and keyboard make it feel almost like a laptop, and with 4GB or 6GB of RAM, it will smoothly move through Android.

While we aren't suggesting you pick up a Lenovo Tab P11 Plus for your toddler, it does make an excellent tablet for older kids going through school. Thanks to its included keyboard, large 11-inch display, and up to 6GB of RAM available if you want to upgrade over the base model, the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus is a very capable tablet. Its 2K display is great for watching content, so your teenager will have no problem watching their favorite material after finishing their work.

Much like the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro, this tablet is built well and sturdy, meaning you may only need a case if you want to be extra careful that your kids don't break it. For everything included with the tablet, its price is pretty reasonable, but since it costs at least $300, there are better options if you only need something basic.

Great parental control software

We would be remiss not to mention the iPad (2022) in our list because if you have another Apple device, it works so seamlessly together. The screen is large and beautiful, it has a ton of power to get all your tasks done, and you can set up some fantastic parental controls to ensure your kids don't access anything they shouldn't.

Like it or not, Apple has been dominating the table space for a long time, and the colorful iPad (2022) is a perfect, albeit pricey, option if you're looking for robust parental controls, or if you already have some device in the Apple ecosystem. Its gorgeous 10.9-inch screen may not be laminated, but boy, does it look amazing for watching your favorite videos. Plus, whether it's your kids or you using the tablet, the A14 Bionic that powers the entire device is incredibly fast and able to handle anything you throw at it.

The iPad (2022) can also be made extremely kid-friendly when you start setting up the proper parental controls or restrictions, which are highly customizable and easy to change, interact with, or track your kids' activity if you happen to have another Apple device handy. Apple's biggest strength in the tablet market is all the app support it receives, meaning you'll almost always have apps that are optimized for use on tablets, which is something Android can't really compete with. This is no cheap product, and if you want to keep it safe, you'll also need a case to go along with it. Not to mention if you want a keyboard, or to use the Apple Pencil, that's all at an extra cost as well.

As you can see, there is a wide range of tablets available to best suit you and your kids at many different price points. Our best advice is to make sure you get the tablet that's within your budget and that will do what you intend to use it for; no sense in getting a tablet that only does half of what you want.

Since the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids is built with kids in mind, it's an easy recommendation for any parent looking for a basic tablet for their kids. With a ton of kid-friendly content right out of the box, a nice 10-inch screen to watch movies, cartoons, or TV shows, and the rugged design of the device, you can rest easy knowing it's not going to break right away.

If you prefer something just a little more useful, and you want to spend a little less money, we really like the value the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 provides. It has Android 13 instead of FireOS, which means better app support and a bit more versatility, and its 10.5-inch full HD is awesome for watching content. Plus, while it may not be as rugged as our top pick, it's still built really well, so you shouldn't have to baby it too much.

Built with kids in mind

If you're looking for something sturdy and dependable for your kids, it's hard to beat the Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids. Wrapped in a very spongy case that's easy for your child to hold and will protect the tablet from damage. Add in a free year of an Amazon Kids+ subscription and Amazon's bevy of child-friendly content at your fingertips, and it's a tablet you'll be happy to hand over to your child.

Luke FIlipowicz has been writing about tech for the better part of a decade and has been obsessed with smartphones since he first picked up an iPhone when he was 18. While it all started with an iPhone, Luke has also dived into the world of Android, trying out any sort of phone he can get his hands on. Plus, testing out all sorts of technology, including speakers, headphones, keyboards, apps, games, and more. Luke's love of technology isn't just limited to mobile tech; you will often find him tinkering with cameras, microphones, and lights in his off time. Photography and video editing are two passions left over from his college days, where he got his Creative Communications Diploma from Red River College Polytechnic in 2015.