Best Overall
Amazon Fire HD 10
Key details
- Battery
- Up to 13 hours video playback
- Display
- 10.1 in, 1080p Full HD
- Storage
- 32 GB
- Condition
- Certified refurbished, Like-New
Ten inches of glass is a lot of surface to stretch 1280 by 800 pixels across, and the Fire HD 10 is the only tablet here that doesn't try. Its 10.1-inch panel is 1080p, and the payoff lands in unglamorous places: subtitles stay sharp from across a room, a magazine page doesn't dissolve when you pinch in, and nobody has to squint at a settings menu. We have watched video on all of these, and the difference isn't a spec-sheet nicety — it is the thing you notice every time you pick one up.
The rest of the package holds up. Amazon rates the battery at 13 hours of video playback, which covers a couple of long flights, and the body is light enough to hold one-handed in bed. One condition detail before you order: this is the certified Like-New listing, a refurbished unit that arrives with the same limited warranty as a new device. That is how it lands below every other pick on this page, and for a tablet that mostly lives on a couch, we don't think it's a compromise worth paying to avoid.
The app library is the real fork in the road. This runs Amazon's Appstore rather than Google Play, so check the three or four apps you actually live in before you buy — some streaming and productivity titles simply aren't there, and sideloading Google's services is a weekend project rather than a setup step. If your tablet life is Netflix, Kindle, a browser, and email, you will never hit the wall. If it runs through Google, read the URAO entry next.
Pros
- Only 1080p screen in this group
- 13 hours of video playback
- Light enough to hold one-handed
- Refurbished with a new-device warranty
Cons
- Amazon Appstore instead of Google Play
- 32GB of storage is tight for downloads
Our default for a 10-inch tablet: the only 1080p screen in this group, 13 hours of video, and a refurbished unit carrying the same warranty as a new one.