Predictions on the best tablet deals in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale, including iPads
Tablets are the tech companion of choice for many people’s browsing, streaming and news-reading needs. They fit the gap between smartphone and laptop, particularly for those who don’t feel the need to splash their cash on the latest and greatest upgrades, and have become increasingly powerful in recent years.
Last year more than 173.8 million tablets were sold globally, and the great news? They’ve also become increasingly affordable. In fact, you can now buy tablets at their lowest-ever price.
Come November 29, we’ll be inundated with Black Friday tablet deals and, if this year’s sales are a patch on last year’s, you won’t want to miss out.
What should I look for in a tablet?
The best tablet deals won’t necessarily be the cheapest one you find. You’ll want to keep an eye out for a deal which affords you a tablet equipped for your personal needs.
For some, this will be a rugged and parental-locked device to leave in the hands of young ones. For others, it might be a tablet with a super-fast processor perfect for editing videos.
Figure out your primary tablet needs and start from there, looking at each tablet’s processor storage capacity (especially for photos/videos), weight (to avoid discomfort during extended periods of reading/watching), and general features to ensure it’s a good fit.
If you anticipate typing or emailing regularly with it, it’s worth paying a little extra for a two-in-one tablet; most come with a detachable keyboard and stand.
Of course, most tablets are simply used to make YouTube and Netflix binges that little bit more comfortable. If this is your primary concern, you really only need to ensure your tablet supports your favourite apps and that the picture quality is high-definition (HD). Lenovo Tabs and Apple iPads are crowd favourites, in this case.
How do I choose the right operating system?
The four most trusted names in the world of tablets are Apple, Android, Windows and Amazon.
As the creators of the iPad, Apple have long-been considered the birthplace of great tablet tech but their best models are especially expensive. iOS is a pleasure to use, however, and linking your tablet to an iPhone (if you have one) will no doubt prove useful.
Android is next, with their easy access to a wide range of apps and Google features. Android tablets are generally less expensive than Windows tablets and iPads, but some users feel Android apps aren’t as well developed as those for the iPad.
Amazon’s FireOS is very similar to Android and many of the same apps are available on both. Because Amazon sell some Fire tablets with built-in ads to price them lower they are often the cheapest tablets available for the quality.
Last but not least, we have Windows. Most Windows tablets are a two-in-ones which run on a tablet-friendly version of Windows 10. Some of the apps available on these tablets are also exclusive to Windows and their complimentary clip-on keyboards regularly win consumers over.
Predictions on the best tablet deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019
To build an understanding of what's to come, it's important to look at the best Black Friday tablet deals in recent years. Particularly from Black Friday big-wigs Amazon, Argos, Currys, Very, AO, and eBay – all of whom have a reputation for massive tech discounts.
Amazon is known for its buzz-building tablet offers, particularly on its own-brand tablets. Last year it reduced the Fire HD 10 Tablet from £149.99 to £94.99 during Black Friday, selling the most feature-packed Fire tablet (it was the first of its kind to include hands-free Alexa integration) at its lowest-ever price. Even the Fire 7 Kids Edition (a virtually indestructible family favourite) was reduced to £59.99.
That's not to say Amazon reserves its biggest deals for its own products, though. The ASUS C101PA-FS002 Touchscreen Chromebook Flip was reduced from £349.99 to £199 on Prime Day 2019 to the delight of many in need of a flexible tablet. As one of the world's lightest and most powerful 10-inch Chromebooks (with a 360-degree two-in-one screen), the price couldn't have been better. We expect a similar reduction come Black Friday 2019.
iPad deals tend to be less generous than tablet deals from other brands, but last year's Black Friday sale did see a reduction of £130 on the Apple iPad Pro 10.5-inch (2017) at John Lewis, who has reduced the model from £969 to £839. Generally, however, it's rare to find Black Friday iPad deals taking more than £50 off the tablet's RRP.
Of course, there are plenty of other tablets that will up for grabs during Black Friday 2019. Some retailers are already lowering the price on tablets, including the fantastic ACER Iconia One B3-A50 (reduced from £180 to £149 at Currys) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 (reduced from £525.57 to £459.99 at ebuyer).
To help you sift through the best Black Friday tablet deals as the sales event draws closer, we will be updating this page regularly. Bookmark this page to ensure you don't miss out.
All the products mentioned in this article are selected and reviewed independently by our journalists. The Telegraph makes money by adding affiliate links to some of the products.
