The iPad Pro has long been my go-to tablet, so what would happen when I left it for the Google Pixel Tablet? It changed my opinion about Android tablets.
As a current university student, I see a lot of iPads and Surface tablets in my classes. They have essentially replaced traditional laptops in any specialties that isn’t computer science adjacent.
You can handwrite notes straight your textbooks/slides or type with an external keyboard without having to carry around a textbook+notebook+laptop. It’s very convenient.
The only 2 reason I can think of is price and size. Even if someone needs to draw something that can’t be easily done with kbm, there are touchscreen laptops that can take care of that. But those do cost more than a cheap tablet and if you don’t need any other features that needs more power then tablet would be a cheaper alternative. I don’t get your second point of carrying textbook, notebook and a laptop tho, a laptop can already do all of that just like a tablet or even better. The only time someone asked me for tablet recommendations was when they needed something small to read on bed.
I have a Samsung Galaxy Book2 360 convertible because it can do the laptop stuff and the tablet stuff. With the Windows Subsystem for Android I even have that covered. Works pretty neat.
You just answered your own question about the notebook and textbook when you said someone wanted their tablet for an ereader. Tablets are easier to read on than a laptop, and you are able to scrawl in the margins. And in school we have it beaten into our heads that you learn better from writing things down than typing, so a lot of students have shifted to digital handwritten note taking.
I don’t think you have used a tablet for a while if you think they’re not as powerful as laptops nowadays. I specifically mentioned the Surface and iPads because the Surface pro is marketed by Microsoft as a equivalent to a laptop (and mine runs Linux really well). The iPad Pros run on the same M1/M2 chips as their Macbooks do, and honestly nothing comes closest to the pen and paper equivalent than the iPad+pencil (not even my Surface). I don’t see any other brands or Android tablets around, except for one guy in my human anatomy class that has a modded Nexus 7 and that thing is sick.
A lot of people don’t need more power than that in university or their work.
That was my first point mate, size. I don’t see the feature wise difference but I only tried the iPad pencil for a little bit and didn’t like it that much but could see people liking it.
Oop, when you said “size” I wasn’t sure if you meant screen size or the dimensions of the actual device, my b.
I actually talked to a few of my classmates since our conversation here made me curious. Many of them actually DO own laptops, but as their home PC setup, with dual monitors and external keyboards for gaming and as media centres. So it seems like laptops are the desktop replacements here, and tablets are the laptop replacement.
Again this is for a specific university demographic that primarily live in student apartment.
If you’re a digital artist or someone looking to get into digital art, an IPad Air with an Apple Pencil is the cheapest entry-point that doesn’t require a computer and doesn’t absolutely suck.
Being in a highly technical field I agree with you in wondering the point of tablets, but I am observing a couple of people -in a local transport medium, use it as a replacement for pen-paper with an added advantage of collaboration on a document with multiple people.
I’m not bothered to check, but tablets might be cheaper than 2-in-1 or otherwise touchscreen PC laptops.
With a 6,6" phone I don’t need a tablet for everyday carry because the screen is just big enough. Back in the day of 5" screens I always had a need for a tablet. Nevertheless, tablets are great for certain professional tasks.
Like taking inventories, putting together orders and other warehouse tasks where I need to work with spreadsheets on the go but a laptop is just too unwieldy.
Tablets are also absolutely great for live mixing with digital boards—you can walk around in the audience and adjust the sound on the spot. Same for adjusting the system settings while doing installations. And for small gigs, the mixing board can be tucked away in a stage corner and not clutter the floor.
Pilots use tablets as digital kneeboards for checklists and other necessities.
Tablets also make great POS devices and there are many specialised models for just that task.
Tablets are simply fantastic for wallmounted or desktop control panels for smarthomes. You can even use the front camera for motion detection so the screen comes automagically on when you approach it. I use WallPanel, but Fully Kiosk Browser is also very popular.
A 6.6" 20:9 screen isnt’t that big. You’re just getting the top and bottom bezels of the older 5.5" 16:9 phone basically. So a tablet will still have a bigger screen.
Agree with your other points about use cases for tablets. They’re pretty versatile, I don’t know why this community likes to poo-poo them.
I agree, a 6,6" screen isn’t that big, but it sure is and feels bigger than the 5" screen of my old phone. As I said, just big enough to not feel like trying to use apps through a keyhole.
I don’t really see the use at home either, but for notetaking at school it is an absolute godsent. No more forgetting stuff at home or carrying around a heavy folder
Having a lightweight computer that you can in your hand with a large enough screen. Typing this reply to you on my Galaxy Tab S6 Lite now; nicer to use than my phone.
In the case of the iPad, cash for apple. Otherwise, a very bad hybrid between portability and workflow. And I mean that on iBads too. The workflow on those is much worse than on Android, especially if files or multiple apps are involved. You know what else has the size of a tablet, built in keyboard, does not need an external monitor to produce a Desktop (in Androids case) and costs 1.3k and not 3k? A Laptop! Case closed. Bonus points with Waydroid if you need your apps that hard.
Who the fuck would pay 3.000€ for an iPad? I had to buy one because Apple somehow managed to get an exclusivity contract with the schools of my city but that ‘only’ costed 400€ with the additional option to get financial support if your family can’t pay this much money. If possible I would have used a laptop or at least something other than an iPad but now I have to use it and hate it with my entire being although their glorified Bluetooth was quite nice before they gimped it.
Handwriting but digital. I used to use a 2in1 laptop (Fujitsu T935, the weird mechanism is a great conversation starter) for that before I eventually stopped handwriting altogether, but I can see how a tablet is more convenient because you don’t have to deal with windows BS or make linux work well with a touchscreen. An ARM SoC also helps a lot with weight and battery life at the cost of not having a full computer.
At home. 10 years ago I had a phone with a 4.3" screen. I bought a Nexus 7" 2013 (I still have it) and was using it at home for web, games, videos, etc.
When the first iPad came out I wondered wtf was the point of a tablet, and I’m still wondering
Heh, reminds me of this ancient meme from when the iPad first came out
As a current university student, I see a lot of iPads and Surface tablets in my classes. They have essentially replaced traditional laptops in any specialties that isn’t computer science adjacent.
You can handwrite notes straight your textbooks/slides or type with an external keyboard without having to carry around a textbook+notebook+laptop. It’s very convenient.
The only 2 reason I can think of is price and size. Even if someone needs to draw something that can’t be easily done with kbm, there are touchscreen laptops that can take care of that. But those do cost more than a cheap tablet and if you don’t need any other features that needs more power then tablet would be a cheaper alternative. I don’t get your second point of carrying textbook, notebook and a laptop tho, a laptop can already do all of that just like a tablet or even better. The only time someone asked me for tablet recommendations was when they needed something small to read on bed.
A touchscreen laptop is no where near the fidelity you get with the Apple pencil or a Samsung s-pen.
Lenovo has a stylus that’s about as good as those, plus Samsung sells laptops that work with the s-pen and there’s the Surface Laptop as well.
I have a Samsung Galaxy Book2 360 convertible because it can do the laptop stuff and the tablet stuff. With the Windows Subsystem for Android I even have that covered. Works pretty neat.
You just answered your own question about the notebook and textbook when you said someone wanted their tablet for an ereader. Tablets are easier to read on than a laptop, and you are able to scrawl in the margins. And in school we have it beaten into our heads that you learn better from writing things down than typing, so a lot of students have shifted to digital handwritten note taking.
I don’t think you have used a tablet for a while if you think they’re not as powerful as laptops nowadays. I specifically mentioned the Surface and iPads because the Surface pro is marketed by Microsoft as a equivalent to a laptop (and mine runs Linux really well). The iPad Pros run on the same M1/M2 chips as their Macbooks do, and honestly nothing comes closest to the pen and paper equivalent than the iPad+pencil (not even my Surface). I don’t see any other brands or Android tablets around, except for one guy in my human anatomy class that has a modded Nexus 7 and that thing is sick.
A lot of people don’t need more power than that in university or their work.
That was my first point mate, size. I don’t see the feature wise difference but I only tried the iPad pencil for a little bit and didn’t like it that much but could see people liking it.
Oop, when you said “size” I wasn’t sure if you meant screen size or the dimensions of the actual device, my b.
I actually talked to a few of my classmates since our conversation here made me curious. Many of them actually DO own laptops, but as their home PC setup, with dual monitors and external keyboards for gaming and as media centres. So it seems like laptops are the desktop replacements here, and tablets are the laptop replacement.
Again this is for a specific university demographic that primarily live in student apartment.
i bought a lenovo flex5 the one that you can 360 the keyboard and it becomes a tablet. the pen works pretty good in linux
Reading comics.
Yup. Everything else is just bonus
If you’re a digital artist or someone looking to get into digital art, an IPad Air with an Apple Pencil is the cheapest entry-point that doesn’t require a computer and doesn’t absolutely suck.
My kid has a Galaxy Tab FE with the stylus and does amazing stuff in Krita on it, and that was pretty cheap.
A lot of digital artists use the iPad because of Procreate. It’s a nice alternative to having to use a separate laptop + pen display.
For many people, a tablet is a decent alternative to a laptop. Not everyone needs the capabilities of a laptop.
Being in a highly technical field I agree with you in wondering the point of tablets, but I am observing a couple of people -in a local transport medium, use it as a replacement for pen-paper with an added advantage of collaboration on a document with multiple people.
I’m not bothered to check, but tablets might be cheaper than 2-in-1 or otherwise touchscreen PC laptops.
Comic book and sheet music reader for me.
With a 6,6" phone I don’t need a tablet for everyday carry because the screen is just big enough. Back in the day of 5" screens I always had a need for a tablet. Nevertheless, tablets are great for certain professional tasks.
Like taking inventories, putting together orders and other warehouse tasks where I need to work with spreadsheets on the go but a laptop is just too unwieldy.
Tablets are also absolutely great for live mixing with digital boards—you can walk around in the audience and adjust the sound on the spot. Same for adjusting the system settings while doing installations. And for small gigs, the mixing board can be tucked away in a stage corner and not clutter the floor.
Pilots use tablets as digital kneeboards for checklists and other necessities.
Tablets also make great POS devices and there are many specialised models for just that task.
Tablets are simply fantastic for wallmounted or desktop control panels for smarthomes. You can even use the front camera for motion detection so the screen comes automagically on when you approach it. I use WallPanel, but Fully Kiosk Browser is also very popular.
A 6.6" 20:9 screen isnt’t that big. You’re just getting the top and bottom bezels of the older 5.5" 16:9 phone basically. So a tablet will still have a bigger screen.
Agree with your other points about use cases for tablets. They’re pretty versatile, I don’t know why this community likes to poo-poo them.
I agree, a 6,6" screen isn’t that big, but it sure is and feels bigger than the 5" screen of my old phone. As I said, just big enough to not feel like trying to use apps through a keyhole.
I don’t really see the use at home either, but for notetaking at school it is an absolute godsent. No more forgetting stuff at home or carrying around a heavy folder
Digital Comics. They’re the best device for them.
Having a lightweight computer that you can in your hand with a large enough screen. Typing this reply to you on my Galaxy Tab S6 Lite now; nicer to use than my phone.
In the case of the iPad, cash for apple. Otherwise, a very bad hybrid between portability and workflow. And I mean that on iBads too. The workflow on those is much worse than on Android, especially if files or multiple apps are involved. You know what else has the size of a tablet, built in keyboard, does not need an external monitor to produce a Desktop (in Androids case) and costs 1.3k and not 3k? A Laptop! Case closed. Bonus points with Waydroid if you need your apps that hard.
Who the fuck would pay 3.000€ for an iPad? I had to buy one because Apple somehow managed to get an exclusivity contract with the schools of my city but that ‘only’ costed 400€ with the additional option to get financial support if your family can’t pay this much money. If possible I would have used a laptop or at least something other than an iPad but now I have to use it and hate it with my entire being although their glorified Bluetooth was quite nice before they gimped it.
Handwriting but digital. I used to use a 2in1 laptop (Fujitsu T935, the weird mechanism is a great conversation starter) for that before I eventually stopped handwriting altogether, but I can see how a tablet is more convenient because you don’t have to deal with windows BS or make linux work well with a touchscreen. An ARM SoC also helps a lot with weight and battery life at the cost of not having a full computer.
Reading on the train
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At home. 10 years ago I had a phone with a 4.3" screen. I bought a Nexus 7" 2013 (I still have it) and was using it at home for web, games, videos, etc.
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. Mostly use it to take handwritten notes and read books/papers.