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Tablets Android tablets are dead

Heat_Fan89 said:
Here's some updated info on the Galaxy Tab S8 line of tablets due next year.
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Me being a Fold user, that OneUI 4.1 has peaked my interested. I'm thinking OneUI 4.1 might be Android 12L, but I could be wrong.

Samsung also seemingly intends to give DeX a significant upgrade with the Tab S8 Ultra and debut DeX Portrait Mode to make it possible to use the desktop experience in landscape orientation.
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Not sure how I feel about this...Dex Portrait Mode, what purpose does that serve? I'm a huge fan of DeX... but I rather them incorporate widgets to the desktop experience, add tweaks to the taskbar (where users can change it left or right) or carry over Good Lock to DeX. I'm still annoyed that icons from the phone doesn't carry over to DeX.
 
Me I'm just happy enjoying my Note 10.1, Tab 2 7.0 and Tab 2 10.1 (2012) doing what they do best--media consumption, quick web searches, and playing classic mobile games, or reading e-books. I'm no fan of what Android 12 is (judging from screenshots, and the user complaints, it's a lot like the response to iOS 7, which I'm also no fan of). My S20 FE got a couple of updates to certain Samsung apps that were total visual downgrades, which I am assuming were conforming to One UI 4 (a shame, as One UI 3 was perfectly fine). Thankfully I know how to downgrade to the version that looked better, and froze updates on that phone, although currently I am using a Galaxy Note II as a daily driver. I can't help it, I still enjoy skeuomorphic UI.
 
nickdalzell1 said:
Me I'm just happy enjoying my Note 10.1, Tab 2 7.0 and Tab 2 10.1 (2012) doing what they do best--media consumption, quick web searches, and playing classic mobile games, or reading e-books. I'm no fan of what Android 12 is (judging from screenshots, and the user complaints, it's a lot like the response to iOS 7, which I'm also no fan of). My S20 FE got a couple of updates to certain Samsung apps that were total visual downgrades, which I am assuming were conforming to One UI 4 (a shame, as One UI 3 was perfectly fine). Thankfully I know how to downgrade to the version that looked better, and froze updates on that phone, although currently I am using a Galaxy Note II as a daily driver. I can't help it, I still enjoy skeuomorphic UI.
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The tab 2 10.1 was the first tablet I ever owned.
 
Now that I own an iPad, Android is not dead on the tablet. The battery lasts longer with my iPad. There are apps I can’t use on my Android tablet. One in particular is terrible on the iPad. It looks like a giant iPhone and the app doesn’t fill the screen. There are more issues (difficulties) with my iPad than any of my Android tablets. My iPad is about a month old. It’s okay, but not better for the price. I got a 2019 refurbished iPad for $209. I’d be very upset had I paid $329.
 
jimimac71 said:
Now that I own an iPad, Android is not dead on the tablet. The battery lasts longer with my iPad. There are apps I can’t use on my Android tablet. One in particular is terrible on the iPad. It looks like a giant iPhone and the app doesn’t fill the screen. There are more issues (difficulties) with my iPad than any of my Android tablets. My iPad is about a month old. It’s okay, but not better for the price. I got a 2019 refurbished iPad for $209. I’d be very upset had I paid $329.
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I think once you experienced $200 Android tablets, you might appreciate the iPad more… 😀
 
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ian87w said:
I think once you experienced $200 Android tablets, you might appreciate the iPad more… 😀
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My Samsung tablet was the most expensive at about $250.
Both my Amazon tablets are sub $200.
My iPad is faster but not superior to suit my needs.
I can use my Android tablets without the need for iTunes or iCloud.
 
jimimac71 said:
My Samsung tablet was the most expensive at about $250.
Both my Amazon tablets are sub $200.
My iPad is faster but not superior to suit my needs.
I can use my Android tablets without the need for iTunes or iCloud.
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Exactly, it all depends what you use it for. I love the Galaxy S7 Plus and it does everything I need it for. The audio is 1st Class.
 
jimimac71 said:
My Samsung tablet was the most expensive at about $250.
Both my Amazon tablets are sub $200.
My iPad is faster but not superior to suit my needs.
I can use my Android tablets without the need for iTunes or iCloud.
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Then looks like you don’t even need an iPad. 😉 Save the money.
 
Heat_Fan89 said:
Exactly, it all depends what you use it for. I love the Galaxy S7 Plus and it does everything I need it for. The audio is 1st Class.
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The S7 Plus is not $200… 😀

At the lower end (eg Samsung Tablet A lineup), pretty much all Android tablets use eMMC and really low end or old SoCs (no performance cores). If you have used them before, you know they can be annoying to use beyond watching YouTube. Even browsing is painful. They are far from comparable to the Samsung S tablet series. Obviously the price also self explanatory.

In contrast with the iPad, Apple’s decision to use nVME on all their lineup really helps the lower end models to work well.
 
Heat_Fan89 said:
It basically was when I bought it. I purchased the 256GB Galaxy Tab S7 Plus and a pair of Galaxy Buds 2 which sell for $199 all for $376 during Samsung's BF Event. 🙂
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I have the blue Tab S7 Plus and love it too. The screen size, colors, performance and color are great. Traded in my iPad Pro 10.5 for a discount from Samsung. It really depends on the usage whether someone should buy an Android tablet or iPad. I found iPadOS a bit limiting after using macOS and Windows for a long time. I like its capabilities, apps and Apple pencil but I never used the apps that they show in ads or social media posts. Just wasn't my usage and the Tab S7 plus is perfect for my needs.
 
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ian87w said:
I think once you experienced $200 Android tablets, you might appreciate the iPad more… 😀
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But there are premium android tablets too. When I created the thread title, I meant android as a tablet os is dead to Google cause they were is focusing on Chrome os for tablets and now we have detachable Chromebooks. Like Lenovo duet 5.
 
Google was never commited to Android tablets. They not only killed Tablet UI in Android 5.0 (Tablet UI is the bottom nav bar, bottom notification bar on my Tab 2 10.1, Note 10.1 tablets, and there were specific tablet UI apps during the Android 4.0-4.4 era mostly in AOSP) but the Nexus 10 and Pixel Tablet were never given proper support (they didn't get the two-years of updates or full updates. The Nexus 10 never got the transparent navbar for example or ART in 5.0)
 
I believe developers are not committed to Android tablets.
Maybe Apple has dominance in the tablet business for a reason.
Until recently iOS was used on the iPad as well as the iPhone.
We seem to live in a smart phone world.
I have the text maxed out as large as possible on my iPad.
Maybe tablets will get the love when all these young people start having vision issues. I do see elderly people using smart phones though.
I just can’t be one of them.
Google is just like Apple, primarily in the phone business.
The Chromebook is probably more important to Google than tablets.
I wonder if the Chromebook has better compatibility with the Play Store than a tablet. I moved to iPad only due to apps that are not compatible with my Android tablet. I have a growing list of apps that don’t work on my Samsung tablet.
 
Heat_Fan89 said:
It basically was when I bought it. I purchased the 256GB Galaxy Tab S7 Plus and a pair of Galaxy Buds 2 which sell for $199 all for $376 during Samsung's BF Event. 🙂
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Okay, cannot compare deals. I can say I get things as a gift so everything is zero dollar. I guess we are going nowhere. I’m out. 🙂
 
macfacts said:
But there are premium android tablets too. When I created the thread title, I meant android as a tablet os is dead to Google cause they were is focusing on Chrome os for tablets and now we have detachable Chromebooks. Like Lenovo duet 5.
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The comment I replied to is within the context of $200 price range.
 
ian87w said:
The comment I replied to is within the context of $200 price range.
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Why lower the bar at $200 when the budget iPad starts out at $329? But i'll play along since I own both Android tablets and iPad's. I can tell you why people still use and prefer Android to iPadOS. For starters Chrome as a web browser is 2x better than Safari, it has better compatibility than Safari. There are still websites that I go to that Safari has issues with where Chrome doesn't. I have used $200 Android tablets and I can have multiple tabs open in Chrome with 1.5GB of Ram and the tabs never reload. Good luck with an iPad unless you have gobs of memory and Chrome has better built in ad blocking where Safari just tends to roll over.

I have had Safari tabs reload on the 2021 budget iPad. People prefer Android to an iPad because they don't have to wait for Chrome or core app updates like you do with iOS or iPadOS where Safari and core updates are bundled with the FW update. It's basically a wash whether one uses Android or iPadOS. Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses.
 
Heat_Fan89 said:
Why lower the bar at $200 when the budget iPad starts out at $329? But i'll play along since I own both Android tablets and iPad's. I can tell you why people still use and prefer Android to iPadOS. For starters Chrome as a web browser is 2x better than Safari, it has better compatibility than Safari. There are still websites that I go to that Safari has issues with where Chrome doesn't. I have used $200 Android tablets and I can have multiple tabs open in Chrome with 1.5GB of Ram and the tabs never reload. Good luck with an iPad unless you have gobs of memory and Chrome has better built in ad blocking where Safari just tends to roll over.

I have had Safari tabs reload on the 2021 budget iPad. People prefer Android to an iPad because they don't have to wait for Chrome or core app updates like you do with iOS or iPadOS where Safari and core updates are bundled with the FW update. It's basically a wash whether one uses Android or iPadOS. Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses.
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Try using one of those Galaxy Tab A tablets. I know because I bought one for my dad, the Galaxy Tab A 8. Just for a YouTube playing machine, it’s fine. Other than that, it’s not a joyful experience. They all use eMMC and old SoCs that don’t even have performance cores. Just updating apps will slow them down to a crawl. Meanwhile, the cheapest iPad already has nVME and a flagship SoC.

You cannot make an argument that browsing experience on a $200 Android tablet is better than an iPad, because it’s factually false. 😀 Either you don’t actually use one, or you pretend that you did.

As for the higher end Android tablets, I have no qualms. Heck, I use the Galaxy Tab S7 FE as my laptop replacement, and it’s working fine and dandy. But don’t try to fool anyone that an Android tablet with just 2GB RAM and quad core A53 SoC can give better browsing experience than an A12 iPad.

Anyway, forgot my own statement. I’m out.
 
ian87w said:
Try using one of those Galaxy Tab A tablets. I know because I bought one for my dad, the Galaxy Tab A 8. Just for a YouTube playing machine, it’s fine. Other than that, it’s not a joyful experience. They all use eMMC and old SoCs that don’t even have performance cores. Just updating apps will slow them down to a crawl. Meanwhile, the cheapest iPad already has nVME and a flagship SoC.

You cannot make an argument that browsing experience on a $200 Android tablet is better than an iPad, because it’s factually false. 😀 Either you don’t actually use one, or you pretend that you did.

As for the higher end Android tablets, I have no qualms. Heck, I use the Galaxy Tab S7 FE as my laptop replacement, and it’s working fine and dandy. But don’t try to fool anyone that an Android tablet with just 2GB RAM and quad core A53 SoC can give better browsing experience than an A12 iPad.

Anyway, forgot my own statement. I’m out.
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I thought you were out the last time? I owned a Galaxy Tab 8” tablet in 2014 that cost me me $179 and the browsing experience to me was better than my OG iPad Air I purchased a few months later. I never encountered page reloads like I did with the iPad Air.

Up until I purchased the S7 Plus, I was using the Galaxy Tab S2 which I used as a trade in and it also did a better job vs the iPad when it came to web browsing. No page reloads. If you are basing user experience on smoothness of the UI then that’s a preference thing based on the user. That’s not a selling point for me.
 
I don't ever update apps or the OS so none of the Galaxy Tab A's I even got (2015 model here!) have slowed down. In fact I was able to make it mimic old TouchWiz and runs mostly Android 2.3 apps so it's blazing fast. I think Android devs have assumed incorrectly that a smartphone can replace a tablet or laptop. I feel sorry for anyone attempting to type up a multi-page document or a spreadsheet on a tablet. It's a lot like writing a novel on a BlackBerry Bold. Sure, it can be done, but very impractical.
 
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There are definitely niche cases that bring value to the $200 Android space. I bought my wife a Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab because she was always trying to follow recipes on her Pixel while in the kitchen. The built-in stand is the biggest benefit for her, and she'll occasionally use it as a couch surfer too, where she always comments on how the speaker/stand makes the perfect handle for holding it. I bought it on sale last year, and for the under-$200 price I paid, it has been well worth the investment.
 
People think I'm crazy to be using my $50 Galaxy Note 10.1 3G/WiFi tablet in 2021, or my $30 Galaxy Note II as well, or heaven forbid, a Galaxy S5 that cost me $200 5 years ago. But look at the money I save doing so (also saving on e-waste). These devices do the exact same thing a modern one does, but with a UI that makes more sense for myself. Tell me one thing your fancy shmancy Tab S7 or S21 Ultra can do that my Note 10.1 or Note II cannot!
 
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nickdalzell1 said:
People think I'm crazy to be using my $50 Galaxy Note 10.1 3G/WiFi tablet in 2021, or my $30 Galaxy Note II as well, or heaven forbid, a Galaxy S5 that cost me $200 5 years ago. But look at the money I save doing so (also saving on e-waste). These devices do the exact same thing a modern one does, but with a UI that makes more sense for myself. Tell me one thing your fancy shmancy Tab S7 or S21 Ultra can do that my Note 10.1 or Note II cannot!
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It's not a matter of what other devices can do that yours can't... but whether or not you need your device to do those things. 😉
 
Being a pro Android as well as decent Linux user, the reality is that any device or any hardware will do what you need it to do so long as you know what you need to do in order for it to do it. I don't believe in obsolescence. Obsolete is a stupid catch-all term these days. A lot of 'obsolete' phones are trashed for the simple reason of 'newer one shiny!! me want!'. Pretty much all phones or computers trashed still work. People just get this consumerist drive that makes no sense to me. Then there's the annoying FUD I hear repeated often where if your software is 'out of date' it's automatically gonna break the internet or make the planet implode. I use my banking apps on my NoteII and they work fine, and no strange transactions have occurred yet! Smart browsing habits always wins over trusting a security update to not break or change something.
 
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