4 ms·

I may be soon in the market for a new Android tablet. Does anybody have suggestions?

c256 8y ago
Wait. As near as I can tell from the outside, there aren’t any good Android tablet options, and the problems are baked into the OS at a fairly deep level — deep enough that OEMs can’t really address them, and Google hasn’t shown any recent signs of being to do so either. (For example, read any review of the Pixel Slate). If you already have a software/app/etc niche you like, I hear the new Samsung tablets are decent (not ‘good’) and not too expensive.
Marsymars 8y ago
I gave up and got an iPad. I have a Fire HD 10 tablet that I use for international travel without personal data, but Fire OS is pretty unpleasant and I was hoping to replace it with a new Pixel laptop from Google. Not sure what I'll being doing about that now. (Also, I expect the number of people cross-shopping Fire tablets and Pixelbooks is vanishingly small.)
surds 8y ago
Have a Nexus and iPad at home. Would recommend the iPad over other Android tablets anytime.
post_break 8y ago
There's really only one game in town that isn't iPad and that's the samsung.
readittwice 8y ago
Google just recently abandoned Android and pushed ChromeOS for tablets. Now this, there is just no continuity with Google. Unless you absolutely need Android for some reason, I would recommend the iPad.
- cbhl 8y ago
  Agree on the iPad recommendation. That said, 2-in-1 x86_64 Chrome OS devices are bearable. Unlike Android; all the drivers are upstream. I really like my Samsung Chromebook Pro, but would recommend looking for something that's on a later Linux kernel (at least 4.4) because not all the new features get backported. (See http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-fo... for a list of all the options.)
- supernovae 8y ago
  I have iPad and Surface Pro 4. iPad is nice if you just want "an app for that" but I find I use my surface much more. iPad was an amazing piece of tech, but it just feels suck in 2012. We got retina and then all the innovation stopped and went to mobile phones. Meanwhile, surface pro just keeps getting better and better and it's cool having steam, linux, vs code and all of that on my SP4
- gst 8y ago
  > Google just recently abandoned Android and pushed ChromeOS for tablets. Now this, there is just no continuity with Google. It's GTalk/Hangouts/Allo/etc. all over again, just this time with Android and ChromeOS. I wouldn't be surprised if they announce that they're going to abandon ChromeOS and that they're going to only use Android instead. How can the different product teams at a company be so completely disconnected from each other?
  - pjmlp 8y ago
    Internal politics. Similar to the whole .NET vs C++ at Microsoft, and how that influenced Longhorn, WinRT and such
morsch 8y ago
Bought a 10 inch Galaxy Tab S2 (T813) mostly because Lineage OS is available. It's fine.
rchaud 8y ago
Samsung and Huawei are pretty much unchallenged in the tablet space since every other major OEM has now abandoned the market. The rule of thumb for me is to buy the device with the highest screen resolution you can afford. Those tend to have the beefiest specs. Common high-res tablets have screens either at 2048 x 1536 (4:3) or 2560 x 1600 (16:10). I prefer 4:3 tablets so on Android, that really only leaves the Galaxy Tab S2 or S3 (the latter having pen functionality). I'm still getting an iPad because the productivity apps are far superior, purpose-built and actively maintained. And that happens because people actually pay for the app. On Android, everything is freemium, so people are incentivized not to pay, and developers are incentivized to jam up the UX with ads and "unlock this with Premium" CTAs. Yes, I can write webdev code on my Android tablet with Droidedit, and connect via SSH to my web server. But it's a hassle to do so, especially when the app in question feels like a scaled up phone app instead of a purpose-built tool.
snazz 8y ago
Anything recent-ish that allows easy installation of an Android distribution that isn’t covered in manufacturer bloatware: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/
Zigurd 8y ago
I'm delaying a decision on an Android tablet: 1. This news plants doubt about whether the ChromeOS/Android hybrid in the Pixel Slate is The New Way or a dead end. 2. Google has botched the evolution of Android's tablet capabilities and tablet support in app frameworks so badly there may not be a future for Android tablets outside of Samsung's proprietary extensions to Android. Let that sink in: Samsung may be, by default, leading the Android tablet future. 3. I don't like what Samsung does to Android. This is a matter of taste. But I know I don't like it.
pjmlp 8y ago
Like others are saying, Samsung or Huawei. However when tablet dies, I will rather go for a Surface like tablet. Eventually iPad Pro as alternative. Getting fed up of Android J++, and a NDK experience that seems like the outcome of a 20% project.

c256 8y ago

Wait. As near as I can tell from the outside, there aren’t any good Android tablet options, and the problems are baked into the OS at a fairly deep level — deep enough that OEMs can’t really address them, and Google hasn’t shown any recent signs of being to do so either. (For example, read any review of the Pixel Slate). If you already have a software/app/etc niche you like, I hear the new Samsung tablets are decent (not ‘good’) and not too expensive.

Marsymars 8y ago

I gave up and got an iPad. I have a Fire HD 10 tablet that I use for international travel without personal data, but Fire OS is pretty unpleasant and I was hoping to replace it with a new Pixel laptop from Google. Not sure what I'll being doing about that now. (Also, I expect the number of people cross-shopping Fire tablets and Pixelbooks is vanishingly small.)

surds 8y ago

Have a Nexus and iPad at home. Would recommend the iPad over other Android tablets anytime.

post_break 8y ago

There's really only one game in town that isn't iPad and that's the samsung.

readittwice 8y ago

Google just recently abandoned Android and pushed ChromeOS for tablets. Now this, there is just no continuity with Google. Unless you absolutely need Android for some reason, I would recommend the iPad.

cbhl 8y ago
Agree on the iPad recommendation. That said, 2-in-1 x86_64 Chrome OS devices are bearable. Unlike Android; all the drivers are upstream. I really like my Samsung Chromebook Pro, but would recommend looking for something that's on a later Linux kernel (at least 4.4) because not all the new features get backported. (See http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-fo... for a list of all the options.)
supernovae 8y ago
I have iPad and Surface Pro 4. iPad is nice if you just want "an app for that" but I find I use my surface much more. iPad was an amazing piece of tech, but it just feels suck in 2012. We got retina and then all the innovation stopped and went to mobile phones. Meanwhile, surface pro just keeps getting better and better and it's cool having steam, linux, vs code and all of that on my SP4
gst 8y ago
> Google just recently abandoned Android and pushed ChromeOS for tablets. Now this, there is just no continuity with Google. It's GTalk/Hangouts/Allo/etc. all over again, just this time with Android and ChromeOS. I wouldn't be surprised if they announce that they're going to abandon ChromeOS and that they're going to only use Android instead. How can the different product teams at a company be so completely disconnected from each other?
- pjmlp 8y ago
  Internal politics. Similar to the whole .NET vs C++ at Microsoft, and how that influenced Longhorn, WinRT and such

morsch 8y ago

Bought a 10 inch Galaxy Tab S2 (T813) mostly because Lineage OS is available. It's fine.

rchaud 8y ago

Samsung and Huawei are pretty much unchallenged in the tablet space since every other major OEM has now abandoned the market. The rule of thumb for me is to buy the device with the highest screen resolution you can afford. Those tend to have the beefiest specs. Common high-res tablets have screens either at 2048 x 1536 (4:3) or 2560 x 1600 (16:10). I prefer 4:3 tablets so on Android, that really only leaves the Galaxy Tab S2 or S3 (the latter having pen functionality). I'm still getting an iPad because the productivity apps are far superior, purpose-built and actively maintained. And that happens because people actually pay for the app. On Android, everything is freemium, so people are incentivized not to pay, and developers are incentivized to jam up the UX with ads and "unlock this with Premium" CTAs. Yes, I can write webdev code on my Android tablet with Droidedit, and connect via SSH to my web server. But it's a hassle to do so, especially when the app in question feels like a scaled up phone app instead of a purpose-built tool.

snazz 8y ago

Anything recent-ish that allows easy installation of an Android distribution that isn’t covered in manufacturer bloatware: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

Zigurd 8y ago

I'm delaying a decision on an Android tablet: 1. This news plants doubt about whether the ChromeOS/Android hybrid in the Pixel Slate is The New Way or a dead end. 2. Google has botched the evolution of Android's tablet capabilities and tablet support in app frameworks so badly there may not be a future for Android tablets outside of Samsung's proprietary extensions to Android. Let that sink in: Samsung may be, by default, leading the Android tablet future. 3. I don't like what Samsung does to Android. This is a matter of taste. But I know I don't like it.

pjmlp 8y ago

Like others are saying, Samsung or Huawei. However when tablet dies, I will rather go for a Surface like tablet. Eventually iPad Pro as alternative. Getting fed up of Android J++, and a NDK experience that seems like the outcome of a 20% project.