The Best Tablets to Buy under £600 in 2022 – UPDATE

If you are thinking about buying a tablet that will provide you with enough performance, quality design and plenty of useful features the following list of the best android tablets under £600 might be just the right for you. 

The tablets that might not only be used for home entertainment such as watching videos, playing games or browsing the internet but also to get some work stuff done or use them in school are usually the ones starting in the med-range of at least £400. 

When it comes to performance, there are specific things to keep an eye on, especially when we are getting to higher prices. 

The most important specs of your new tablet to look for are at least 4GB of RAM for seamless multitasking and quick loading, at least 64GB of internal storage, preferably with an option to extend it via the microSD and at least full HD (1080p) resolution. Sure, there are also other deal-breaking details that matter such as whether the tablet supports mobile networks in 4G/5G, battery life, USB-C connectivity or pen support. These are, however, more to the individual’s preferences.

Today, we have selected and put together the best Android tablets on par with the best Apple tablets under £600 you can buy this year. 

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 12.4-inch
• 2022 iPad Air (5th Gen) 10.9-inch
• 2021 Apple iPad 10.2-inch
• 2021 Apple iPad mini 8.3-inch
• Lenovo Tab P11 Pro 11.5-inch

See also: The Best Android Tablets under £200 you can buy this year

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE is the new mid-range tablet, which brings the best of the flagship Tab S7 series while keeping the price down, mostly thanks to less powerful chipset than the high range tablets have, while still maintaining great overall performance. 

It is a great option for those who do not wish to spend as much money on a tablet which would not be their main home entertainment device.

Samsung’s Tab S7 FE gives you the full Galaxy Tab experience, as well as including DeX, Samsung’s proprietary feature that gives you a desktop-like experience

📱 Same as the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, the FE model offers a large 12.4-inch screen with 1600 x 2560 resolution (running at 60Hz) which will certainly please those who like multitasking with a  split-screen, artwork, productivity tasks or using the tablet for multimedia. The big screen, which has by the way amazingly vibrant colours, good viewing angles and good touch responsiveness wouldn’t reach its biggest potential if it wouldn’t support a stylus. 

🖊 The S Pen is also supported and included in the box. 

⚙ The Tab’s S7 FE performance is handled by a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset, accompanied by either 4GB or 6GB RAM for a seamless experience. The chipset can handle standard, less advanced games easily, although should you be looking for a gaming tablet able to handle higher performance 3D / MMO games, Lenovo’s Tab P11 Pro (listed below) might be a bit better option here.

🔋 The modern slim design also hides a large 10,900mAh battery, that will ensure hours and hours of entertainment on the go. 

The tablet can be charged (supports up to 45W fast-charging – only standard 15W charger is included) and paired with another device via a USB-C connector as well it features a built-in microSD card slot to possibly extend its 128GB storage. 

📶 Specific models of the Samsung S7 FE supports mobile networks thanks to its SIM card slot, as well as (all models) support standardized Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

💰 You can buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE for £589 for 5G/64GB model or £529 for Wi-Fi/128GB model. Other configurations with lower/higher prices are also available.

2022 Apple iPad Air (5th Generation)

At the beginning of the year 2022, we get to reveal the newly introduced Apple iPad Air, which falls into our category of best tablets under £600.

The new iPad Air is coming with a major upgrade, compared to its predecessor. It has been equipped with a new Apple’s M1 chip that we can currently find in its current iPad Pro. This gives the new iPad Air much more performance and some other functionality such as 5G (in case of purchasing a cellular variant that costs £719), better camera, fast 20W+ charging or better power efficiency.

📱 As mentioned in the specs above, the new iPad Air has a so-called Liquid Retina display that is 10.9-inch diagonal with LED‑backlit Multi‑Touch IPS technology. The display boasts of fine 2360×1640-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi). The True Tone display reaches a brightness of 500 nits and it is covered with both fingerprint-resistant oleophobic and anti-reflective coating. It also supports the Apple Pencil of the 2nd generation.

⚙ The new iPad Air is powered by Apple’s newest M1 chip that includes an 8-core CPU, 8-core graphics and 8GB RAM with Apple’s Neural Engine. This makes it as powerful as Apple’s iPad Pro introduced a half year ago in 2021.

📷 In the new iPad Air, you’ll find a 12MP Wide camera with ƒ/1.8 aperture with up to 5x digital zoom and Smart HDR3 that is capable of recording up to 4K video at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps. The camera setup also has Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps as well as provides a Cinematic video stabilisation at 4K, 1080p and 720p.

For Facetime/video calls, there is a 12MP Ultra Wide front camera, 122° field of view ƒ/2.4 aperture in front with auto image stabilisation.

📶 All models have a digital compass, Wi‑Fi 6 (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and iBeacon micro-location, wherewith Cellular model, you’ll also get Built‑in GPS/GNSS and obviously Mobile data. The battery can be recharged via USB-C. The 20W power adapter and 1-metre charge cable are included in the box.

The iPad Air also supports connecting one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz to it via USB-C or via VGA, HDMI and DVI using Apple’s adapter (sold separately). You can also use Video mirroring at up to 4K resolution or Apple TV (2nd Gen or later) or AirPlay 2–enabled smart TV.

You can buy the new 2022 iPad Air for £569 for the 64GB Wi-Fi variant in 5 different colours (Space Grey, Pink, Purple, Blue and White Starlight).

Shall you need bigger storage, a 256GB storage variant is available for £719. The same price applies to the 64GB model with a Cellular module. The highest variant of the Apple iPad Air you can buy is then 256GB Wi-Fi+Cellular that costs £869.

2021 Apple iPad (9th Gen)

With the Apple Pencil (1st generation) and Smart Keyboard (both sold separately), the iPad can be easily used as a laptop alternative. The iPad 2021 comes with the latest version of Apple’s OS for tablets – iPadOS 15 featuring multitasking features, and support for literally thousands of apps and games you can find in the App Store.

📱 For good viewing angles and vibrant colours, Apple has implemented a 10.2-inch Retina screen with 2160 x 1620 pixels resolution at 60 Hz frequency and True Tone technology that adjusts colours depending on the light conditions around you.

⚙ The Apple iPad 2021 comes in two variants with either 64GB or 256GB internal storage (twice more than the previous model). The 2021 iPad is powered by Apple’s custom 2.65 GHz chipset A13 and has an 8526 mAh battery which has enough power to last over 10 hours. The battery can be charged via a lightning cable (USB-C-to-Lightning cable) and 20W charger, with both being included in the box.

📷 For video calls or selfies, the new iPad features a 12MP ultra-wide front-facing camera with a Center Stage feature (a feature that helps to keep your face in frame during your video calls).

📶 As for connectivity, the iPad supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as LTE cellular networks thanks to its built SIM card slot. For those not needing this feature, Apple also sells a model with only Wi-Fi support.

Although its design doesn’t show significant progress from previous models, it is certainly a powerful tablet that has got a lot in it.

The iPad 2021 10.2-inch (9th Gen) can be bought from £319 for Wi-Fi/64GB variant up to £559.97 for 256GB/Wi-Fi+LTE model.

2021 Apple iPad mini – 8.3-inch

Should you be looking for something powerful, yet light and portable, the new 2021 Apple iPad mini could be the right tablet for you. 

Despite its small size, the iPad mini (2021) is a powerful device, leaving us very impressed with its performance.

📱 The 8.3-inch crisp Liquid Retina display has a high 2266 x 1488 resolution with a good 326 pixel per inch density and 60Hz refresh rate.

⚙ The iPad Mini 2021 is powered by Apple’s powerful A15 Bionic chipset giving in all the power you may need for this device. The iPad Mini comes in two different storage settings of either 64 or 128 GB.

📷 For selfie lovers or for video call purposes, you will find a good quality 12MP camera at the front of the iPad with the same Center Stage feature as the 2021 iPad (above) has.

📶 To use the multimedia tablet to the max, it also has a 5G connectivity to be online at all times.

The iPad mini comes with an iPadOS15 operating system out of the box optimized for the smoothest experience.

🔋 The little iPad Mini lasts around 10 hours watching videos over Wi-Fi and is rechargeable via a USB-C 20W fast charging.

Size is the defining characteristic of the iPad mini. It is an excellent choice if you need a tablet you can slip into a bag or pocket in your coat, or if you just prefer a smaller, yet powerful device in your hand. Its size to performance ratio is certainly one of the top reasons to be on our list of the best tablets under £600 you can actually buy.

You can buy either the WiFi / 256GB or WiFi+LTE / 64GB models for just under £600, or WiFi+LTE / 256GB for £759. The cheapest option here offers iPad Mini 2021 in WiFi/64GB variant for just under £470.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro 11.5

Despite Apple’s iPads, Samsung Galaxy Tabs or Amazon Kindles being currently the biggest players in the tablet field, Lenovo does not stay behind.

Perhaps playing to the business consumers who worship its venerable ThinkPad line of computers, the P11 Pro also comes with Lenovo’s Precision Pen and a very smart-looking keyboard case with a kickstand (P11 can be bought separately or as a bundle with accessories).

📱 The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro will give you the utmost experience of watching movies or playing games thanks to its bespoke 11-inch 2560 x 1600 AMOLED screen with up to 500 nits brightness which certainly helps if being outdoors in strong sunlight.

🔈 It features quad-speakers to put on a good show too. Although the 3.5mm jack is missing here, Bluetooth wireless headphones can be easily paired with the Lenovo Tab in very few steps. 

🔋 The large 8,600mAh battery will last up to 15 hours of constant use on Wi-Fi. The tablet can be recharged via a fast 18W USB-C. There is also an LTE model available for just over £600.

⚙ The Lenovo Tab P11 offers good performance as well thanks to its Snapdragon 730G supported with 6GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage with the ability to expand it with a microSD card.

Powered by Lenovo’s big battery, the Tab P11 Pro keeps going for as long as you need, making it an ideal choice for trips and any other time when a charger isn’t at hand. With a fantastic display and good speakers, this tablet will make an excellent living room companion. The good price and outstanding display make it one of the best mid-range tablets.

You can buy the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro 11.5 in a bundle with Keyboard Pack and Precision Pen from £499.99.