Top 10 Best Budget Tablets Under $400

A tablet being the one product that bridged the gap between the limitations of a laptop and a smartphone has found its place in the tech market and doesn’t seem to be getting down from its high ranks that soon. And since, the demand is high the prices too for some of them are extremely high.

But, you might me thinking that, is it possible to buy a premium high-end tablet at a budget price of $400 and get everything you need?

Let us show you some of the best stand-alone tablets and convertible tablets under the budget of $400 which are aimed to provide the best tablet experience to the users and are jam-packed with some serious hardware specifications, surely the best value for money tablets.

In this buying guide, you will find our expert’s most recommended premium tablets under $400 falling between the size category of 8-inch to 12-inch tablets, which are quality tested by our team to reduce your efforts in buying the best tablet for yourself.

If you think that $400 could burn a hole in your pocket, then we recommend you to checkout our best tablets buying guide for:

• $100 tablets
• $200 tablets
• $300 tablets

Now let’s stroll the list of  best tablets under 400 dollars.

The Best Tablets Under $400 – Top Picks

1. Samsung Galaxy Tab A

Samsung Galaxy Tab A is shaking up the tablet scene with an ultra-thin, lightweight design. It’s colorfully brilliant screen blows the competition out of the water.

The 10-incher isn’t the only tablet with a spectacular display but of all of those other costly slates; the Tab S takes the cake. Its pixel-packed IPS LCD screen boasts colors and deep contrast levels, resulting in a visually immersive user experience and HD content that looks better than real life.

The Galaxy Tab A is currently one of the thinnest and lightest tablets available in the market under $400 price range. It rocks a 1.8 GHz Snapdragon 450 Octa-core Processor with 32 GB internal storage and 3 GB RAM memory. It can shoot very decent pictures with its 8MP rear camera with LED Flash + 5MP Front camera. However, unlocking the tablet feels quite sluggish as this tablet misses out the finger-print scanner nor does it have face unlock, meaning you’ll have to rely on the traditional ways i.e. PIN or Password. Overall, the Galaxy Tab A is one of the best 10-inch tablets that offers top-notch specifications and build at an affordable price of $330.

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2. Huawei MediPad M5

Screen quality, performance and price are three of the most important factor to look for in a tablet. There’s no shortage of expensive high-end tablets with high-end chipsets and HD displays, however, affordable options with similarly impressive specs are almost nonexistent. That’s why the Huawei MediaPad M5 is one of best tablets under $400 to look for, as it has 2560 x 1600 resolution screen and Octa-Core chipset.

Though it’s half the price of a typical high-end tablet, the Huawei MediaPad M5 isn’t a tablet to overlook. It’s one of the most affordable options in the whole tablet market. On the flipside, everything about this tablet is remarkable, it’s attractive metal body and performance is robust. The tablet is also capable of capturing detailed and crispy images, thanks to its 13MP sensor and post-processing software. Moreover, the tablet is certified by Harman Kardon to provide the best audio and video experience. For budget tablets under $400, the Huawei MediaPad M3 is the best option coming through for $320.

Huawei MediaPad M5 is one of the best android tablets 2018.

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3. Apple iPad Model 2018

When it comes to the iPad, Apple always comes with a somewhat paradoxical goal: to create a device that’s immensely powerful, yet so thin and light that you almost forget it’s there. A device that helps you do amazing things, without ever getting in your way. Apple’s iPad is all that. With its amazing reformation of the Retina display and as sleek as silver design, this tablet doesn’t even consider itself to be a competition to the slates available elsewhere.

Breaking down the specs, the iPad comes with an Apple iOS 12 and a 9.7-Inch Retina Display. Under the hood, the Apple iPad 2018 Model is powered by A10 Fusion with 64-bit Architecture and PowerVR Series six-core GPU combine to develop the powerful internals. 32 GB Internal storage, 2 GB RAM, 8 MP iSight Camera, FaceTime HD Camera also define the specs pretty well. Life all boosted up together is way more than enough to say that the Apple iPad 2018 is a powerful beast hidden inside the beautiful sleek body of comfort it provides to its users. A perfect blend of power and poise at a  price of $340 is a total winner of best tablets under $400 and has the capacity to relish a buyer’s heart and wallet.

• iPad 2018 also supports Apple Pencil.

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4. iPad Mini 4 (Wi-Fi, 128 GB)

Well, if you observe the iPad Mini 3 and Mini 4 side by side, you won’t notice any major difference as both of them are built on aluminum chassis featuring the same dimensions and colors. The Touch ID on the front and the same 8-MP camera sensor from its predecessors. So, where does it really stand out? Well, the iPad Mini 4 is basically a performance upgrade if you own a Mini 3 and the new Apple A8 chip on the Mini 4 makes it stand out among all the other compact tablets on the market while delivering supreme performance without sacrificing battery life.

As far as battery life is concerned, the iPad Mini 4 can stay juiced up for 10 hours on a single charge. The tablet also comes with a reading mode which filters out the harmful blue light in dark conditions so that bookworms can read for a longer period without facing eye-strain. Moreover, the 8 MP camera on the back is capable of capturing detailed photographs with vibrant colors, however, the front camera is still 1.8 MP which honestly is very awful for selfies. Though the tablet was launched 3 years back, it still runs on the latest iOS 12 flawlessly and with the host of features such as app dock, multi-tasking, better app optimization and revamped App Store in the iOS 12, the iPad Mini 4 is surely one the best compact tablets to buy if you have $400 to spend.

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5. Lenovo Tab 4 Plus

Lenovo is one of those companies which have entered the tech world bringing in a breakthrough in the race of creating best out of best innovations and has reached the top. With its newest launch of the tablet range, Lenovo has also introduced some mind-blowing features that no other tab offers in the market. Lenovo Tab 4 Plus comes with a widescreen high-resolution display for exceptional detail. The Lenovo Tab 4 Plus features a 10.1-inch, 1920 x 1200 resolution screen, so you experience rich graphics, bright colors, and crisp text. The Lenovo Tab 4 Plus also comes with Pro Case (additionally sold), which allows you to have a laptop-like transformation.

Built-in Cameras for Photos and Video Chat Equipped with an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera, the Galaxy Tab 4 lets you take photos and video chat with friends and family members. The Lenovo Tab 4 Plus is comfortable to hold and convenient to take with you wherever you go. The tablet offers 64 GB of onboard memory and includes a microSD card slot that allows you to add up to 128 GB of additional memory, making it easy to store more songs, videos, photos, and games. The tab that comes with a great multi-user mode stands at a seller price in the market at under $400 that definitely is a very pocket-friendly affair to be called worth getting the value for your money.

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6. Samsung Galaxy Tab S2

Samsung is the most trustworthy brand and their tablets are aimed to provide the best user experience to the users. That said, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is the second Samsung tablet in our list and it’s also one of the best tablets under $400 running on Android OS. Talking about its specifications, this $400 tablet is powered by Exynos 5433 Octa-Core chipset and tuned with 3 GB RAM for efficient working and multi-tasking. For gaming purpose, we also have Mali-T760 Graphic processor which provides immersive gaming experience with realistic graphics. On the front, the display of this tablet is lighted up with Super AMOLED panel which brings your movies, games, and videos to life in deep contrast and rich colors. The security of this $400 tablet is enhanced with a fingerprint sensor on the front which unlocks your device quickly with just one tap, and it can be also used for authorizing online payments with your finger in the secure and quick way. All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is the best tablet for the money, offering some unique and useful features.

(To browse alternatives to this tablet, we recommend you to check out our 8-inch tablets buying guide where we have listed some of the best work and portability tablets)

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7. Microsoft Surface Go

The Microsoft Surface Go is the latest offering from Microsoft in the 2-in-1 segment which specifically aims towards budget buyers who are expecting a solid build and performance at a much lower price than the Surface Pro 4. It might not be as good as the Surface Pro 4, but it successfully provides that Surface Pro 4 feel in a compact form-factor at a much lower price. The 10″ PixelSense display is big enough to work on and doesn’t feel like under-sized at all. Featuring a PixelSense display will enable you to write and draw directly on the screen with the stylus, although the stylus is not provided within the box and users will have to buy Microsoft Pen additionally. Same goes for the Mircosoft Type Cover.

Under the hood, the Mircosoft Surface Go is powered by Intel Pentium Gold Processor which is surprisingly very battery efficient and specifically optimized for less power demanding tasks and as far as storage is concerned, the Surface Go comes with two storage options 64 GB and 128 GB. The ports include 1 USB Type-C, a headphone jack, and a MicroSDXC card reader. All in all, the Surface Go is a perfect fit for Students, Travelers, and users who want a secondary device to catch-up everything when away from the daily driver.

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8. ASUS Transformer Mini

A light-weight, razor blade thickness and feather delight hybrid laptop that lets you stay productive and entertained on the go. You can navigate features using the 10.1″ touchscreen in tablet mode or connect the chiclet-style keyboard dock for comfortable, accurate typing in laptop mode. Wireless-AC networking speeds make it easy to check your e-mail, browse the Web and access social media. All of this beautifully combined and jam-packed in a detachable laptop-tablet is what they call the Asus Transformer Mini. This $384 costing tablet comes with an Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8350 Quad-Core processor powered with Windows 10 operating system. The 10.1″ Full HD touchscreen display and built-in HD webcam with array microphone is also available for all those people who love to meet the smart, sophisticated 2-in-1 ultra-slim profile that puts life in your hands, wherever you take it.  Moreover, the security of this machine is enhanced by a Finger-Print sensor on the back which lets you unlock your device with one-tap and it can be also used for online secure payments. All-in-all, the ASUS Transformer Mini is the best convertible tablet for students and businessmen under the price-range of 400 dollars.

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9. Huawei MediaPad M5 10.8″

Huawei MediaPad M5 is a good tablet falling under the category of 10-inch tablets under $400. It a has sleek and stylish design with a powerful set of hardware specifications. Under the hood, it has Hi-Silicon Kirin Octa-Core processor tuned with 4 GB RAM which together provides best-in-class performance for gaming and entertainment. The multitasking and user experience is buttery smooth, thanks to its Octa-Core chipset. The tablet is very well built with metallic finish the back and feels sturdy to hold in hand. The tablet runs on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and it is the queue to receive Android 9.0 Pie.

Moreover, the Huawei MediaPad M5 features quad-stereo speakers which are certified by Harman/Kardon and also support Hi-Fi headphones. So, if you’re an audiophile, look nowhere, this is the perfect tablet. The 10-inch IPS display panel on the front is extremely sharp with 2560 x 1600 pixels and doesn’t feel like dull at all. As far as battery life is concerned, the MediaPad can provide 11 hours of video playback on a single charge which can take approax 2.9 hours to get juiced up again with the Quick Charge Technology. On a simple note, the Huawei MediaPad is a perfect 10-incher for media-consumption which features a large battery, high-resolution screen and Harman-Kardon certified stereo speakers.

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10. HP Envy 8 Note 5002

Given its low price and the amazing note-taking features, HP Envy 8 Note might turn out to be worth the expense for some experimenting. The HP Envy Note 8 is a run-of-the-mill, 8-inch tablet, built with a plastic frame and a 1920 x 1200 resolution display. It’s not as premium as some other slates but what might just save the Envy Note 8 from cracks is a Corning Gorilla Glass III screen. The slate comes outfitted with a 1.44GHz Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8300 processor, plus 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. On the camera front, the slate also has a 5-megapixel rear shooter and 2MP front-facing webcam.

That all said, the HP Envy Note 8 doesn’t feel like a cheap, bargain tablet. You’ll hardly notice it’s made of plastic because the outer shell feels solid and engineered to be as small as possible. Weighing only 0.8 pounds (362g) and measuring 7.7mm for a minuscule thickness, it feels like you’re practically holding nothing. Standing with the brand name of Hewlett-Packard held high, this tab costs its users $369.00, it dedicates itself to be completely capable of beating an iOS with its Windows 10. Surely, one of the best buys under 400 dollars!

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In a market that is bigger than anyone expects it to be, these 10 tablets have successfully set their radars so high in the matters of technology, features and specifications. Call it beauty with the beast or angel in disguise of the evil, these tabs are one of the most pocket-friendly ones in the world.