Here’s the thing nobody admits out loud: most of us don’t actually need an iPad Pro. We want one. We admire it from afar. But we need something not to freeze when you open a PDF, not to turn YouTube into a PowerPoint, and not to feel like a toy that a child takes out of his cereal box.
Then the actual question in 2026 is not whether tablets remain relevant or not. It is this: are affordable tablets, the ones that cost circa 200, finally, good enough?
Let us see what the money that you spend on the things you buy in the amount of €200 means. No marketing fluff. None of the influencer unboxing videos shot with studio lighting. Just real life.
The Ghost of Bad Tablets Past
You, too, probably have emotional scars in case you possessed a low-cost tablet five or six years ago.
Lag.
Random reboots.
Screens which looked as though smeared with Vaseline.
Budget tablets were the technological version of instant coffee: technically operating, but extremely bad. They were there to be ticked rather than savored.
Take it to the present, and something has changed. Quietly. Almost suspiciously.
What €200 Actually Gets You in 2026
At this price point, you’re no longer buying “a screen with hope.” You’re getting a surprisingly competent device.
Most €200 tablets today offer:
- A Full HD or near-Full HD display
- 6–8 GB of RAM (yes, really)
- Decent mid-range processors
- Solid battery life (8–10 hours is common)
Will it replace your laptop? No.
Will it compete with a €1,200 flagship tablet? Also no.
But for everyday life—streaming, browsing, reading, casual gaming, emails, video calls—it’s… fine. And sometimes more than fine.
That’s the uncomfortable truth.
The Screen: Not Amazing, But No Longer Awful
This is where budget tablets used to fall apart. Today? The gap has narrowed.
You won’t get OLED blacks that swallow your soul. You won’t get buttery 120Hz scrolling. But you will get sharp text, decent colors, and brightness that doesn’t collapse the moment sunlight enters the room.
For Netflix, YouTube, news articles, and late-night doomscrolling? Perfectly acceptable. Which is dangerous, because once something becomes “perfectly acceptable,” it tends to stick around.
Performance: Lower Your Expectations (Just a Bit)
Let’s be clear: a €200 tablet is not a speed demon.
But it’s also not the laggy mess you expect.
Apps open. Tabs switch. Multitasking works—within reason. You can have Spotify playing, Chrome open, and a messaging app running without the system panicking.
Casual games? No problem.
Heavy 3D games? Playable, but don’t expect miracles.
This is the era of good-enough performance, and honestly, most people live comfortably right there.
Why People Are Actually Buying These Tablets
Here’s where things get interesting. Budget tablets aren’t trying to be everything. They’ve found their lane.
They’re used for:
- Couch browsing
- Kitchen recipes
- Kids’ homework (and YouTube, let’s be honest)
- Travel entertainment
- Second screens for work or side projects
And yes—this is where habits like quick online sessions come into play. Whether it’s checking sports odds, reading stats, or logging into platforms like 22Bet, tablets hit a sweet spot. Bigger than a phone. Less commitment than a laptop.
Right around the middle of this price bracket, you’ll find users casually opening a browser, typing 22Bet login, and placing a bet while watching a match on the same screen. No fuss. No overheating. No drama. That kind of everyday usability is exactly what budget tablets are unexpectedly good at now.
The Compromises (Because There Are Always Compromises)
Let’s not pretend €200 buys perfection.
You’ll sacrifice:
- Camera quality (grainy video calls are a thing)
- Premium materials (plastic is king here)
- Long-term updates (software support can be hit or miss)
These tablets aren’t designed to age gracefully for five years. They’re designed to be useful now.
And for many people, that’s enough.
The Real Shift: Expectations Have Changed
The biggest reason budget tablets feel better isn’t just hardware. It’s us.
We’ve learned what we actually use tablets for. We’re no longer trying to edit films or replace workstations. We want comfort devices. Companion screens. Something that doesn’t demand attention.
In that role, €200 tablets are thriving.
They’re the quiet overachievers of modern tech—never exciting, rarely disappointing, and increasingly hard to dismiss.
So… Are Budget Tablets Finally Good Enough?
Annoyingly, yes.
Not for power users.
Not for creatives who live in Adobe apps.
But for everyone else? The vast majority?
A €200 tablet in 2026 is no longer a regret purchase. It’s a rational one. And in a tech world obsessed with excess, that might be the most surprising upgrade of all.You don’t need the best tablet.
You just need one that works.
And finally, budget tablets do.