Last Updated on February 26, 2018
Summary
The Tesco Hudl has come as something of a nice surprise. The Hudl’s alluring £119 price tag would mean little if the tablet was just another cheap knock-off clone. Fortunately, the Hudl is a breath of fresh air, offering a surprising sharp display, good build quality, and respectable performance (with the exception of 3D graphics). It even includes expandable memory and micro-HDMI display output which are still omitted from the refreshed Google Nexus 7, arguably the front runner in the 7in Android tablet market. The HDMI output allows you to duplicate the Hudl’s display on a bigger screen.
Whilst the Hudl has a quad-core CPU, its impressive credentials on paper are not always evident in actual usage. The performance deficit is apparent when putting the GPU under any sort of strain, and the less said about the camera and the customizations made by Tesco the better.
We would have preferred Android 4.3, particularly for its Bluetooth low energy support (which could be useful for the next generation of power-friendly smart watches), restricted user profiles, performance and security enhancements. Hopefully, Tesco will offer an update in the near future.
Other tablets worthy of consideration are the Nexus 7 (2013) or the Asus Memo Pad HD 7 but both cost more than the Hudl, with the price differential widened further if you have Tesco Clubcard vouchers. The Hudl is far from being the best 7in device, but it is genuinely desirable despite its minor shortcomings.