Walmart's Cheap Tablets Take On iPad: Here's What You Should Know

Walmart has launched a line of budget tablets under its Onn brand, priced around $99. These devices run Android—the same operating system found on many phones—and they compete directly with Apple's more expensive iPads. The newer Onn models include a USB-C charging port, the same kind you might use for a smartphone charger, and they work with Google's app store rather than being locked into a special Walmart version.

What Makes These Tablets Different

The Onn tablets run standard Android with Google Play, which means they can access the same apps as most Android phones. This is important because some budget tablets run a modified version of Android that limits what you can install. Ars Technica has reviewed these devices and found they're designed mainly for holding upright—good for watching videos, scrolling social media, and reading, but less suited for typing or office work.

The pro versions offer faster processors and USB-C charging, addressing two common complaints about cheap tablets: they're slow and they use outdated charging cables.

Who Is Competing Here

Amazon's Fire tablets have long dominated the budget tablet space. They're cheaper because Amazon can afford to lose money on the hardware, betting you'll buy movies, books, and other content through their ecosystem instead. Walmart's approach is different. It's offering tablets that use Google's standard Android experience, which appeals to people who want access to all the same apps available on any Android phone, without Amazon's layer on top.

For years, budget tablets meant you had to accept lower build quality, slower speeds, and less support. Walmart is trying to show that you can get a decent device with modern features like USB-C without paying iPad prices.

How Walmart Has an Advantage

Walmart can sell these tablets in thousands of physical stores across the country. You can pick one up and test it before you buy—something you can't do with online-only tablet brands. That matters when you're spending less than $100 and trust is a question. Walmart also has existing relationships with the manufacturers who build these devices, which lets them keep costs down without sacrificing too much quality.

The Onn brand extends beyond tablets. Walmart sells Onn TVs, speakers, and cables. This is similar to what Amazon does with its own brands, but Walmart's advantage is its massive store network rather than relying on streaming services to drive sales.

Why This Approach Makes Sense

Walmart chose to include standard Google Play and regular Android rather than creating a custom version. That might sound like a small detail, but it matters. Custom versions give a company more control and potential revenue, but they require ongoing work to maintain and limit the apps available. Standard Android means less hassle and more apps for customers.

The fact that these tablets are optimized for vertical use—like holding a phone in portrait mode—tells us what Walmart thinks people actually use budget tablets for: watching TikTok and YouTube, reading, streaming Netflix. Not spreadsheets or video editing.

USB-C is also practical. Older budget tablets used micro-USB cables, which were already outdated by the time those tablets shipped. USB-C aligns with what most people use on their phones and works with faster charging technology.

What This Means for the Tablet Market

The broader context here is worth considering. Walmart is betting that price-conscious shoppers want a second device for media and entertainment, or their first and only computing device if they can't afford a laptop or iPad. That's a real market. The past few years have pushed tablet demand upward—people working from home, kids learning online, and the general shift toward owning multiple devices.

By offering tablets with unmodified Google Android, Walmart could help keep the Android tablet ecosystem healthy. Amazon's Fire tablets use a customized version, which means app developers have less incentive to optimize for Android tablets. More people using standard Android tablets means more reason for companies to build and maintain good apps for the format.

The real test will be whether Walmart can maintain decent build quality and software support at this price point. Budget tablets have a history of problems—sluggish performance that gets worse over time, cracks and button failures, little to no software updates after a few months. If Walmart can avoid these pitfalls, the Onn brand could become a genuine alternative. If it stumbles on the basics, it will end up forgotten like other retailer tablet attempts before it.