Amazon Fire HD, Samsung Tab E Lite, and more

Buying for an older kid or advanced learner? Apple’s newest iPad is more affordable than ever and a versatile option that the whole fam can share. There’s obviously no kid stuff pre-installed, but if you are buying it for a little one, Apple has multiple kid-proofing options that can be set and then lifted as they’re grown out of. It’s not the cheapest, but it is a tablet that can adapt to your child for years to come (unless you drop it without a kid-proof case, that is).
Educational stuff: With general purpose tablets, content is up to the user. has a massive amount of free educational apps and a way more robust selection than most of the kid-specific tablets: Find apps for core skills like math, reading, and science, or hone in on more specific interests with apps for biology, language learning, or test prep. Kids are also guaranteed to be psyched about the iPad’s augmented reality capabilities and AR apps, allowing them to immerse themselves in the world around them (or planets outside their world, or the ocean below their world). There’s even AR frog dissection.
Parental controls: Nothing is built in, so you’ll have to get . In your iPad’s settings in the Restrictions tab, you can put a virtual lock on any app or make functions off-limits (Safari, the App Store, iMessage, and Facebook are a few you may consider hiding). The “Allowed Content” tab has options for films or websites, where you can disable specific URLs or allow only G-rated films to play. (If monitoring kids’ usage more closely is a must, installing parental control software like or is a quick fix for an extra security boost.)
Durability and specs: Basically a mini computer, with technical details and basically blows the others out of the water. It features a bigger 9.7-inch Retina display, a 64-bit architecture (AKA it’s extremely fast), 32 or 128 GB storage, and Wi-Fi and cellular options. As for durability, it doesn’t come with a case at all. If your iPad will be in the hands of little ones, there are tons of cases that you can buy separately. You’ll also want a .Walmart customer writes:

“I bought this to replace my son’s aging ipad mini. He’s 5 now so I thought he deserved the upgrade. He loves it. I immediately bought a very good case with a built in screen protector because these things are very expensive to repair.”

Overall, the new 9.7-inch iPad has a 4.6 out of 5 star rating. Get it in space grey for $320 here. (These may be available for a lower price or different color at depending on the day, so check back frequently.)