While T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T (not to mention prepaid operators like Boost Mobile p Metro by T-Mobile) have been pretty aggressively advertising cheaper and cheaper 5G smartphones for the last couple of years or so, affordable tablets supporting the latest cellular technologies remain a rare sight on US carriers.
Although not exactly dirt-cheap by entry-level 5G handset standards given that Magenta normally charges as little as $258 for the pen-wielding TCL Stylus 5G, for instance, the TCL Tab 10 5G is significantly more affordable than something like it Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G.
In fact (and in completely unsurprising fashion), this thing is by far T-Mo’s cheapest 5G-enabled tablet right now, even undercutting Apple’s 4G LTE-only iPad 10.2 (2021) while costing just 100 bucks more than Samsung’s own 4G LTE-limited Galaxy Tab A7 Lite.
Rivaled by Verizon’s $299.99 Orbic Tab 8 5G in terms of affordability, the TCL Tab 10 5G is obviously larger, not to mention sharper, with its generous (by low-cost tablet standards) 10.1-inch display delivering a decent (by any standards) resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels.
Powered by a little-known octa-core MediaTek Kompanio 800T processor, the budget-friendly mid-ranger is definitely not a screamer, even though TCL boldly touts a “spectacular entertainment experience” as a key selling point.
We don’t know about “spectacular”, but the aforementioned Full HD screen and a nice-sounding pair of speakers should be able to keep you relatively satisfied during your Netflix binge-watching sessions, which can go on for about as long as you thanks to a hefty 8,000mAh battery.
The TCL Tab 10 5G will impressively include a fast 18W charger in its standard retail box when it launches on T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile this Friday, August 26, while running Android 12 on the software side of things, which is also pretty cool.
The 4GB RAM count, 32 gigs of internal storage space, 8MP rear-facing camera, and 5MP selfie shooter are admittedly not so cool, but naturally, you can’t have it all at only three Benjamins.