My trepidation wasn’t because Onn is one of Walmart’s veritably untested tech brands, nor did it have anything to do with the fact that the tablet only costs $64. No, the reason I didn’t have high expectations is because most tablets that aren’t made by big tech companies suck. Sure there’s an outlier or two, but nine times out of ten a tablet under $70 is going to be a piece of crap. This one isn’t. And Onn was smart enough to know that trying to take on Apple, Microsoft, and Google in the gadgets department probably wasn’t going to get it very far.
Display: 2.5D touchscreen 8″ IPS panel at 800 x 1280 resolution Processor: 1.3GHz quad core RAM: 2GB RAM Storage 16GB Operating system: Android 9 Front-facing camera: 0.3 megapixel Rear-facing camera: 2 megapixel
These are humble specs compared to flagship tablets, but the price matches. Using the Onn tablet doesn’t require a lot of concessions. You can do everything on it that you can do on most mid-tier phones. This includes playing games – I spent about an hour of my work day playing Stardew Valley on it without any problem. Its internal speaker is fine for casual use and it has Bluetooth support and a headphone jack for people who want better sound. The screen isn’t gorgeous, but if you’re used to watching a 1080p HD TV you’ll probably think it looks great. Finally, the cameras are passable. This isn’t a device you’ll use to record brilliant videos and photography, but you can definitely video chat with it and the pictures will do just fine for grandma on Facebook. In the looks and build department I’d give it high marks. This tablet looks very generic, but in the best way. Rather than try and make its mark by being different, it’s like Onn designers came up with a prototype for “typical 21st century consumer tablet” and then whittled away everything unnecessary. You get a power/lock button, a volume rocker, a USB port for charging, an SD card slot, and a headphone jack. On the back of the device you’ll find the company logo printed discreetly in gray on blue. To call this device understated would be an understatement. More importantly though, is the build. This thing is tight and solid, it feels like it could take a bit of a beating. That’s not to say it’s built for punishment, but Walmart knows parents are going to buy this for kids. As a tech dad with a toddler, I approve. It’s neither flashy nor fancy, but it gets the job done if you’re just looking for a slab to watch YouTube, check Facebook, and play Angry Birds on.
