What's a good mid-level Android tablet for gaming and videos? Under $300 budget

[Waxfruit]

I currently have a cheap Amazon fire 10 tablet that I got last year during the black friday sales for my mom (she didn't want it so I kept it rather than return it), and now I'm looking to upgrade. It's fine for email, browsing, reading ebooks, and low end games, but it often chugs if I try to watch anything on youtube and will choke and die on video ads in games. Any time I watch a video ad in whatever game it will crash, presumably because it only has 2 GB ram and can't handle running the game itself plus the video.

I'm looking for something that has a 10+ inch screen, at least 3-4GB ram, can handle most games (though not necessarily on max settings), and won't give me any problems with youtube. Preferably something that is likely to last me the next few years before I need to upgrade again.

I was kinda considering the Galaxy Tab A7 since it's under $200 on Amazon, but I'm not totally sure if 3 GB ram is going to be good enough. I was also looking at the Galaxy Tab S6 lite since it's got a bit better specs and 4 GB ram, but any ideas or advice would be welcome since I'm a PC person and this is really my first foray into the android scene.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Lenovo tablets are decent -- check out the Tab P11 (or, if you're willing to spend a little more, the P11 Pro). The main disadvantage is support -- Lenovo is much worse than Samsung when it comes to system updates.

I wish I could comment on the Tab A7 vs Tab S6 lite, but I don't have either. Does it have to be a new device? You could probably find a Tab S6 (the full one, not lite) for around $300 used or refurbished.

 

[Waxfruit]

Welcome to Android Central! Lenovo tablets are decent -- check out the Tab P11 (or, if you're willing to spend a little more, the P11 Pro). The main disadvantage is support -- Lenovo is much worse than Samsung when it comes to system updates.

I wish I could comment on the Tab A7 vs Tab S6 lite, but I don't have either. Does it have to be a new device? You could probably find a Tab S6 (the full one, not lite) for around $300 used or refurbished.

I have no problem with a refurb as long as it's got a warranty of some kind, I make it a point to look for refurb or open box PC components when I need to upgrade or replace something. I looked at the S6 too but I couldn't find anything for under $400, and that's way outside my budget.

I'm open to other brands as long as they're comparable in performance and reliability to samsung, but I don't know enough about anything else to be able to tell.

 

[B. Diddy]

I have a couple of Lenovo tablets (the Tab M8 FHD and the older Tab 4 8"), and they've been decent, although a little sluggish due to the mediocre specs. The P11 and P11 Pro have much better specs, and all of the reviews I've seen have been pretty positive. Lenovo doesn't add much bloatware, which is an advantage over Samsung.

 

[mustang7757]

Welcome to AC !

[I moved this to buyers guide forums]

 

[Waxfruit]

I almost think I'm crazy for considering this, but I've been looking for tablets comparable in performance to the S6 lite and the 2021 Fire HD10 plus keeps showing up in comparisons. It's another Amazon device so I can trade in my 2019 model and it would end up being around $75 for the new tablet plus one of those nice silicone cases. I know Amazon tablets are loaded with bloatware, but the fire toolbox helps with that.

The main reasons I'm even thinking about it is it has longer battery life, a removable battery, 4 GB ram, and a slightly faster processor than the S6 according to the comparisons. I know it's not as good quality but I'm not really looking to run anything that would max it out.

Would that be a bad choice or is it actually a good value?

 

[B. Diddy]

Amazon tablets are always going to beat other good Android tablets in terms of price, and if you're willing to put up with the limitations of their forked Android version and the Amazon Appstore (or to go through the rigmarole of adding Google services to it), then they're a decent value.

Here's a listing for the Lenovo P11, in case you're interested, for $180: https://slickdeals.net/f/15426781-lenovo-tab-p11-4-64-for-179-80-off-179-99?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1.

BTW, where did you see that the Fire HD10 Plus has a removable battery? I only see a non-removable battery mentioned. (I don't think I've ever seen a tablet with a removable one.) Or did you mean an SD card slot?

 

[Waxfruit]

Amazon tablets are always going to beat other good Android tablets in terms of price, and if you're willing to put up with the limitations of their forked Android version and the Amazon Appstore (or to go through the rigmarole of adding Google services to it), then they're a decent value.

Here's a listing for the Lenovo P11, in case you're interested, for $180: https://slickdeals.net/f/15426781-lenovo-tab-p11-4-64-for-179-80-off-179-99?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1.

BTW, where did you see that the Fire HD10 Plus has a removable battery? I only see a non-removable battery mentioned. (I don't think I've ever seen a tablet with a removable one.) Or did you mean an SD card slot?

That's not bad for $180, I saw a few on amazon but they were all over $200.

If it's as easy to add google services to the 2021 model as it was to add it to the 2019 that wouldn't be a problem.
This comparison site has it listed with a removable battery.
https://versus.com/en/amazon-fire-hd-10-plus-2021-vs-samsung-galaxy-tab-s6-lite-wi-fi

The only thing really bothering me about upgrading to a new tablet is being able to transfer everything over, mostly concerned about my offline singleplayer games that have no cloud backup for the saves. Losing all that would suck.

 

[B. Diddy]

Versus must be mistaken: https://www.gsmarena.com/amazon_fire_hd_10_plus_(2021)-10882.php