Best Tablets in the UK (2026)

On owner volume this is the most popular tablet in the country's largest tablet shop, and the reason is straightforward: a 10.1-inch Full HD screen for a fraction of what the tablets above it cost. For reading, streaming, browsing and video calls it does the job without fuss. The condition is Fire OS. There is no Google Play Store, so Gmail, Google Maps and Chrome have no official versions, and some banking and streaming apps are missing from Amazon's own Appstore. Sideloading works but is unsupported. If that is acceptable — and for a sofa or kitchen tablet it usually is — nothing here comes close on price. If it is not, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ below is the cheapest full-Android alternative.

This is the answer to the Fire tablet's one real weakness. It costs more, and in exchange it runs full Android with the Google Play Store, which means every app a phone has, on an 11-inch screen. Samsung has also put a 90Hz panel in it, which at this price is unusual and makes everyday scrolling feel better than the specification sheet suggests. The A-series is Samsung's budget line, so performance is modest and the build is plastic, but the fundamentals are sound and Samsung's update record on the A-series is better than most budget Android tablets. It ranks below the Fire HD 10 on value and above it on capability, which is exactly the trade it represents.

Lenovo's Smart Tab is an ordinary Android tablet with one extra idea: it works as an Alexa smart display, so in a kitchen or hallway it does the job of a screen you would otherwise buy separately, and picks up as a tablet when you take it away. As a tablet it is unremarkable — a 10.3-inch screen, an octa-core processor and full Google Play access — and it costs more than the Samsung A11+ above while offering a smaller, lower-refresh screen. The smart-display mode is what it is for. It earns its place because it is the only pick here that answers the shared-space question, and it has a reasonable owner record behind it.

What you are buying here is not faster hardware — it is the same Fire HD 10 in a slim protective case, bundled with a year of ad-free children's content and, crucially, a replacement guarantee: if a child breaks it, Amazon replaces it. The Pro edition is aimed at ages six to twelve, so the case is less bulky than the younger Kids version and the parental controls allow more freedom as a child grows. The Fire OS app gap matters less for this buyer than any other on this list, because the content subscription is the point. Check the price against a standard Fire HD 10 before buying: the difference is what the case, the subscription and the guarantee cost, and that is a reasonable way to decide whether you need them.