Android tablets were largely shit, to be fair. Most were too small, and the ones that were larger were underpowered on the battery.

There were exceptions. The Google Nexus 7 2013 and Nexus 9 were at least decent for their time...

Exceptions are exceptions. If Google wasn't going to push themselves or manufacturers to do better, there's no point in trying. 

@James Evens At least the iPad had the ability to do rough work with the overpriced Pencil (it feels terrible capitalizing that) while the majority of the Android had styluses that didn't quite work well. Windows also seems to have some issues with touchscreens and styluses in the way it shows bias when the user writes. It doesn't detect rolling penmanship or pressure sensitivity as well as an iPad or a good Huion (but that's an accessory).

Hard opinion: The iPad completely takes over the 2-in-1 market for me in terms of versatility. 2-in-1 laptops tend to be bulky either way and the performance isn't as good as an iPad's (aside from the minis; those things are shit) and taking a photo or video isn't as simple as with an iPad. 

@ARikozuM Surface Pro 4?

/s

SP4 is about as bad as it gets. iPad pricing with, what was it, 6 hours of battery? 

I would say running those programs are out of the average scope. As a biologist, the iPad does everything most recent grads require. Sketching, writing, voice notes, photos, and video. People who program should obviously stick to stronger laptops, but I don't think they're the majority of students. 

@ARikozuM Most CompSci students don't even know what a CPU core is, from what I've seen at my college XD Can't make that assumption...

@James Evens Why do I even try (as an enthusiast)?

Not like the Pixel Slate is any better...