iPad 9.7 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5: which is the best budget tablet?

If you’re in the market for a tablet, but don’t want to splash out too much, there are two main brands you’re going to be looking at – iPads and Samsung Galaxy Tabs.

Apple’s most basic iPad range, most recently the iPad 9.7 (2018), brings Apple’s iOS operating system from iPhones to slates, and is affordable by Apple standards.

Samsung Galaxy Tabs come in various models, but the cheapest is the Tab A range, and the last entry in that line was the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018). It runs on an Android operating system, so presents quite a different experience than the iPad 9.7.

So which entry-level tablet should you spend your money on? We’ll run through the main differences between the slates to help guide your decision.

iPad 9.7 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5: price

The first major difference between the iPad 9.7 (2018) and Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018) is the price – although both are meant to be entry-level slates aimed at a more affordable price point, one is quite a bit more pricey than the other.

You can pick up the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 for $329 / £249 (roughly AU$470), or $419 / £299 (roughly AU$600) if you want a version that can connect to LTE…