The best Android tablets

Amazon's Fire HD 8 may be incredibly cheap, but it's a good Android tablet for anyone on a budget.

Amazon makes lots of cheap Android tablets. Some are low-powered, low-resolution slates, but others, like the newly updated Fire HD 8, are actually great bang for your buck based on our testing.

Since it's a budget tablet, the new Fire HD 8 isn't top-of-the-line, but it offers just enough quality tech to make it a great deal. The 8-inch screen has an HD 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution, which is sharp enough to make watching videos on it a good experience. It's just the right size for reading, and the grippy plastic body is comfortable to hold.

Amazon offers some fun colors, too, making this a great tablet for anyone who's bored with metallic tones and plain black budget devices. It should be relatively durable, though it isn't water-resistant, so don't go dunking it in the bath or pool.

The new Fire HD 8 offers decent performance, and Amazon's custom version of Android, Fire OS, runs smoothly. You can choose between 16 or 32GB of storage, but no matter how much you pick, you can expand it via a microSD card slot up to 256GB. We recommend that you do so, and you can check out the best microSD cards you can buy here.

You'll have access to the Alexa voice assistant and thousands of apps. However, although Fire OS is built on Android, it is not true Android. That means you won't have access to the Google Play store, where there are a ton more apps to choose from. Fire OS is very much a tailored experience envisioned by Amazon and it's a bit restrictive, but you can download most of the popular apps, including Netflix and Hulu. There's still no official YouTube app, but that's coming.

If you're a Prime member, you can watch Prive Video, read dozens of ebooks, stream music, and access shopping quickly on Fire OS. Prime buyers have the option of getting the tablet with special offers, which are ads on the lockscreen and elsewhere. The price will be lower, but ads may be annoying to some.

It's a very good deal for people who want a cheap Android tablet, especially if they aren't married to iOS or Android. If you have a young kid who would also love a cheap tablet, read all about the Amazon Fire Kids Edition tablet below.

Pros: Super cheap, cute color options, decent HD screen, Alexa, and sturdy build quality

Cons: Not the sharpest screen or the best processor

The Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition is just right for young kids and their parents, thanks to kid-friendly content, a tough design, and parental control software.

Amazon makes kid-friendly versions of its tablets that include parental software and a guarantee that if your little ones break it, Amazon will replace it. For that reason (and a few more we'll get into), the Fire 7 Kids Edition tablet is a great deal for parents with young kids.

The 7-inch screen may have a lower resolution than the Fire HD 8 tablet we recommended above, but it's more than enough for young kids. If your kid is old enough (eight and up) and responsible enough to handle a better tablet without breaking it, the Fire HD 8 might be a better choice. Amazon also makes a Kids Edition of the HD 8 tablet and a 10-inch Kids tablet so you have those options as well.

The two versions are very similar, except for size, storage, and screen resolution: The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition has an 8-inch, 1,280 x 800-pixel screen and 32GB of storage, while the Fire 7 Kids Edition has a 7-inch, 1,024 x 600- pixel screen and 16GB of storage. Regardless of which one you get, the storage is expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card. We recommend that you pick one up: check out the best microSD cards you can buy.

The Kids Edition comes in a bright kid-proof case, which you can get in a number of colors, including blue, green, and pink. The rugged case — combined with Amazon's promise to replace the tablet, should it break during the first two years of its life — make the Fire Kids Edition a great buy for parents with little ones.

Amazon includes a year of its FreeTime Unlimited service, which gives kids access to tens of thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games. If you're worried that it's too much content for your kid, you can also set usage limits, control access to content, and set goals.

Pros: Cheap, cute colors, two-year protection, one year of FreeTime Unlimited content, and parental control software

Cons: Non-HD screen and not the best processor

The best tablets

Tablets are ideal for kids, travelers, and professionals — it just depends on which one you buy.

We've picked the best tablets you can buy in several different categories, including ones that are best for kids, professionals, and travelers. We've tested all but one of these tablets personally, so you can trust our recommendations. If you need more guidance before you choose, read the last slide for everything you should know about buying a tablet.

The best iPads

The iPad is the best tablet for most people's needs, so we've broken down which iPad is best for each person's budget and needs. Whether you want a small tablet that's portable, one that doubles as a laptop, or something a bit cheaper, there's an iPad for you.