My 2019 10" Fire HD tablet was becoming increasingly difficult to use: it would become sluggish to the point of freezing up under regular web browsing and I couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to start looking for a good one to replace it that wasn't going to cost me a lot of money.
Cut to several weeks later and I landed on this Samsung Galaxy S6 Tab Lite, which I purchased refurbished. While I've had it for a few weeks now, after just a few days I was already happier with it than my old Fire tablet. It's responsive, hasn't frozen up or lagged under what I would consider to be normal use (web browsing, watching videos, reading books), already comes with Play Store included whereas I had to sideload it on the other tablet, and it gets good support in terms of updates.
The display is really good, with smaller bezels than the Fire so it feels like you're getting a larger tablet even though it's the same screen size. The body feels like metal vs cheap plastic (the Fire creaked and felt like it wasn't nearly as well-constructed), and my version has plenty of storage at 64GB with a micro SD slot for expansion. While it doesn't adopt SD cards as additional internal storage like the Fire, which could essentially view it as all the same rather than separate drives, the 64GB is plenty generous for all but the heaviest of use cases.
The speakers are great, plenty clear and loud, and my Bluetooth earbuds connect quickly and reliably, again in contrast to my previous experience. The cameras are good; no one takes photos with their tablet (ok, *most people* don't), but these are good for things like Google Meet and Zoom as well as the average rear-facing picture. The rear camera does have a slight raised bezel that isn't a huge deal, but it's noticeable when you put it on a table.
It also has a standard USB-C port for charging and data; one small issue, my refurbed unit came with a generic USB wall plug and an Apple Lightning cable rather than a C-style cable. It wasn't anything to complain to the seller about as I've got tons of USB-C cables and chargers, it was just kind of funny to see it in the package.
Even brand new at regular price it would feel like a great deal, but with a few bucks knocked off and without any obvious defects at the 'Excellent' refurbished level it's an even better bargain. If you're in the market for a tablet of this size and don't want to spend a fortune while still getting a very useable and quality order of equipment, look no further.
| Standing screen display size | 10.4 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 Pixels |
| Processor | 2.3 GHz |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Hard Drive | 64 GB |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Mali-G72 MP3 |
| Chipset Brand | Samsung |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 13 Hours |
