I Replaced My Ipad With This $100 Android Tablet For A Month, And It Had No Problem Keeping Up

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Celero5G Tab is disposable for arsenic debased arsenic $100 for existing customers, pinch a information statement costing $20 a month.
• This is simply a simple, no-frills Android tablet that you tin return anyplace pinch you for ray activity and entertainment, whether there's Wi-Fi aliases not.
• The Celero5G Tab is network-exclusive pinch Boost Mobile, and it has very constricted representation and capacity, truthful I wouldn't urge it for demanding activity sessions.

Good, affordable tablets are fewer and difficult to travel by, but I've been fortunate capable to trial aggregate that person thoroughly impressed me. These see nan $300 iPad 11, $239 TCL Nxtpaper 10, and nan midrange Honor Pad V9. After weeks of testing, I tin confidently adhd nan Celero5G Tab to that list.

Also: Why I urge this Lenovo tablet complete competing models that costs doubly nan price

This budget-friendly tablet is simply a Boost Mobile network-exclusive device, truthful it's disposable only done nan bearer and is meant to beryllium utilized pinch a Boost Mobile information plan. Existing customers pinch plans tin get nan Celero5G Tab for only $100, which is rather affordable for an intermezo tablet.

Inexpensive tablets are cleanable for intermezo because you don't person to break nan slope to get a bully instrumentality that tin spell pinch you wherever you go. As personification who takes my tablet pinch maine almost anywhere, I for illustration being capable to whip retired my Kindle app to publication while I hold for my kids to decorativeness an extracurricular activity. I tin watercourse content, play games, browse, and drawback up pinch activity emails and messages. 

The Celero5G Tab is simply a 10.9-inch afloat HD tablet pinch a 90Hz refresh rate. It has a beautiful bully 7,500mAh artillery and 128GB of soul storage. The tablet has 2 main cameras, 13MP and 2MP, and a 5MP front-facing camera. 

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This tablet features BoostMax Audio, which enhances nan audio acquisition erstwhile listening to thing connected nan tablet's dual stereo speakers. The quality erstwhile you move BoostMax Audio connected aliases disconnected is remarkable, truthful this is simply a mounting I'd urge utilizing erstwhile streaming videos. The tablet besides has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which isn't each that communal successful tablets anymore, but is convenient for galore users.

Also: Why I urge this Lenovo tablet complete competing models that costs doubly nan price

The Boost Mobile web is besides amazingly reliable, which makes nan $20/month information scheme a convenient addition. Without a information plan, I've ever utilized my phone's hotspot to link my tablet. But I besides for illustration having inexpensive mobile plans, truthful utilizing my hotspot drains my data. Having nan inexpensive Boost Mobile scheme intends I tin watercourse contented without worrying astir my monthly information limit, and still beryllium capable to trust connected nan web to nonstop emails and messages.

Because this is an affordable, entry-level tablet, you tin expect it to beryllium a spot slower than different celebrated ones. This is why I only urge this tablet for ray activity and entertainment.

The Celero5G Tab isn't successful nan aforesaid class arsenic nan latest iPad guidelines model, truthful these Geekbench scores are only for reference.

In my tests, nan Celero5G Tab performed good connected mundane tasks, but it wasn't very snappy. This tablet is awesome for basal use, but dense gaming and video editing connected it will beryllium to beryllium frustrating. Comparing nan benchmark scores for older guidelines exemplary iPads pinch it showed that nan Celero5G Tab has a 3rd of nan processing powerfulness of nan 2020 iPad 8th procreation and astir an eighth of nan GPU capacity of nan iPad 11th generation.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The bloatware that nan Celero5G Tab comes pinch besides influences its performance. The first setup prompts you to work together to immoderate Boost Mobile position and gives app recommendations that you tin diminution aliases accept. The recommendations person respective apps selected by default, truthful if you want to walk connected installing them, you must guarantee they're not selected.

Also: This ultraportable Android tablet has group a caller barroom for maine - and it's not a Samsung aliases Google

I near nan recommendations arsenic they were to trial nan tablet, but that resulted successful 66 apps installed correct disconnected nan bat. Some apps collapsed while watching YouTube and browsing nan web, truthful I decided to delete astatine slightest 20 of these games and intermezo apps. Thankfully, deleting a 3rd of nan apps made a marked quality successful performance.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Celero5G Tab is simply a coagulated affordable tablet for ray activity and entertainment. Many inexpensive tablets are traditionally considered a bully prime for younger and older users, whether a kid utilizing it to play aliases a elder big utilizing it for streaming. 

But nan Celero5G Tab is really a awesome action for anyone. It is tin of handling activity emails and messages, penning documents, and transitioning smoothly into a intends of entertainment. The value is surely an charismatic characteristic connected its own. 

However, if you're looking for a tablet that tin grip much demanding tasks beyond web browsing and streaming, you'll apt use from upgrading to an iPad 11th-generation aliases a Lenovo Tab Plus.

This article was primitively published connected May 23, 2025, and was updated connected July 15, 2025.