If you've been putting off buying a tablet because the price tags feel absurd, Walmart just made that excuse a lot harder to hold onto.
The retail giant's in-house Onn brand has launched six new Android tablets, all running Android 16, and five of the six come in under $200 USD. For anyone shopping on a tight budget — whether you're grabbing something for a kid, a road trip, or just a couch companion for streaming — this lineup is worth a look.
The Lineup, Top to Bottom
The most affordable model, the Onn Core 7, starts at just $97. For that price you get a 7-inch IPS LCD display at 1040 x 600 resolution, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage via microSD, and up to 10 hours of claimed battery life. It won't replace a laptop, but for casual browsing, YouTube, or a kids' Netflix binge, it checks the boxes.
Step up to the Core 8.1 at $138 and the screen jumps to 8.1 inches with a noticeably sharper 1524 x 1000 resolution and 6GB of RAM. There's also a larger Core model rounding out that mid-tier.
The Pro and Kids variants round out the lineup, with the Kids models featuring the ruggedized cases and parental controls you'd expect from a device that's going to survive a seven-year-old.
Why This Matters
Budget tablets aren't new, but the combination of Android 16 (the latest version, not a year-old build) and genuinely competitive specs at these prices is notable. Most budget Android tablets ship with older OS versions and don't receive meaningful updates — which is a real concern if you're buying for security reasons or longevity.
Walmart's Onn line has quietly improved over the past few years. The brand doesn't get the hype of Samsung or Apple, but for shoppers who just need a functional device — not a status symbol — the value proposition is hard to argue with.
The Context
This launch lands as iPad prices continue to climb. The current iPad Pro starts at over $1,300 CAD. The entire Onn lineup, all six tablets combined, costs less than that in USD. That's a stark illustration of how bifurcated the tablet market has become: premium glass slabs on one end, bare-bones functional devices on the other.
For Canadians, availability and Canadian pricing haven't been confirmed yet — Walmart.ca tends to carry a subset of Onn products with a slight markup. It's worth checking Walmart Canada's site directly, as these models may arrive within weeks of the US launch.
If you're in the market for something simple and affordable, keep an eye out.
Source: The Verge
