EE Jay review – a compact 4G tablet on a budget

EE apps & Android 5.1

Another minor irritation is that the Jay isn’t running the latest version of Android. Instead, it runs vanilla Android 5.1 Lollipop, which means you’ll be lacking some of Android’s newer features like Now on Tap and the energy-saving Doze mode. It’s not a huge deal breaker, but now that Marshmallow’s been out for some time and the even newer Android Nougat is almost here as well, it seems odd that EE hasn’t given it a more up to date operating system.

Still, at least it runs vanilla Lollipop, giving you a simple, clean interface to get to grips with, and pre-installed apps are kept to a minimum. There’s also the My EE app on hand to help you manage your data and pay bills.

Camera

On the back you’ll find a 5-megapixel rear camera, but given the quality of my test photos, you’d be better off using your smartphone for taking any family snaps. Colours were muddy across the board and it really struggled in low-light conditions. Switching on HDR did help to brighten up my shots, but I still wouldn’t recommend using this for anything other than quick social media uploads.

Conclusion

The EE Jay is a big step down from its iOS lookalike, then, but it’s still a good-looking, budget tablet that lets you surf the web and stream online when you’re out and about. It’s definitely one of the cheaper 4G-enabled tablets you’ll find today, but if you’re just looking for a regular Wi-Fi tablet, there are much better choices available to you.

The Nvidia Shield Tablet K1, for example, costs just £150 and is far more powerful than the EE Jay. It also comes with a higher resolution screen as well as the latest version of Android, making it better value for money overall if you don’t need mobile data.

Buy the EE Jay now from EE