Walmart tipped to be building budget Android tablets of its own

If you're in the market for an affordable Android tablet that covers the basics, Walmart might have something of interest: the US retail giant is reportedly prepping a budget Android tablet to take on the iPad.

Bloomberg describes the upcoming tablet as "an inexpensive, kid-friendly" device that's going to carry the ONN store brand that Walmart uses for other products.

According to product filings registered with the US Federal Communications Commission, the tablets will be manufactured in China and come with Google's mobile operating system on board – though perhaps with a Walmart twist.

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A Walmart spokesperson did confirm to Bloomberg that such devices were indeed on the way, but we don't have any other details like a price, a launch date or international availability information as yet.

Take the tablets

Another source says the upcoming slate will feature an 8-inch screen, a MediaTek MT8163 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of expandable storage, and is going to come with Android 9 Pie on board.

The choice isn't a huge one for anyone interested in picking up a tablet that isn't made by Apple. Amazon sells some very cheap Fire tablets with its own version of Android on board, while Samsung still offers a few more premium alternatives.

Google itself seems to be moving towards using Chrome OS on tablets, with a side serving of Android apps – as it did with the recent Pixel Slate.

It sounds as though the Walmart ONN Android tablet will be designed along similar lines to the now discontinued Tesco Hudl tablet: something cheap enough to tempt you into an impulse purchase as you browse the store.