I’m sorry for the multiple answers to your question.
Since you’re unfamiliar with smartphones, you may not be too familiar with tablets either. The very good news for you is you only have to add the apps (this is the word for programs for a mobile device, and it’s increasingly being used for computers, too) that you will actually use. In other words, you will create your own system.
It is highly likely that a few preselected apps will come loaded on your tablet. There are ways to hide the apps’ icons so that you never even have to think they’re there. You can configure your home screen so you only see exactly what you want to use.
I understand wanting a simple device to do the most basic functions. I have this tablet. I chose it because I understand quite a bit about how computers work, and I wanted one that would operate very well. I have had 3 Samsung tablets. I like the quality very much. I have never had any type of malfunction with any of them. They work very well. They have a superb screen as well which I like for viewing photographs and videos.
I have been using a tablet for about 5 years. Over the course of that time, the tablet has grown in its importance in the amount of things I use it for. Now, I do almost all my online consumption on the tablet. I only turn on my computer to compose letters since they are longer and it’s easier to type on a computer, and a few other specific needs. I do everything else on the tablet. My bank’s app allows me to do all the functions I need. All my credit cards have apps that work well. I read comic strips with an app. I scroll through Facebook and play on Fluther using the tablet. I read the news on the tablet. I shop online on the tablet.
I have already decided my next tablet will be this one for one simple reason. It has no bloat. Bloat is a word used for the apps preselected by the device’s manufacturer that a user may never need. The manufacturer places the apps on the device hoping the user will use them allowing the manufacturer to gather sellable data. As far as I know, the Pixel tablet is the only one with no bloat.
In closing, buy a name brand for the quality. There are many very inexpensive tablets, but they have low quality.