Samsung Announces The Galaxy Tab S4 - iPad and Surface Competitor

[DrMacintosh]

SnapDragon 835

an OS designed for phones

higher cost

 

No thanks, an iPad is a much better buy than this thing. 

[Sniperfox47]

7 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

an OS designed for phones

As opposed to... iOS? An OS designed for iphones?

 

All of the tablet oriented features that iOS has, Android has too. Android had many of them first. The unwillingness of app developers to take larger screens into account when building apps has nothing to do with the OS design itself. Android is perfectly capable of scaling across devices and form factors from an OS perspective. There's a reason why they're incorporating Android into ChromeOS instead of integrating ChromeOS into Android.

[Froody129]

Last year's chip is not cool when one would typically keep a tablet for longer. I do think 4Gb is plenty though, you're just running bloatware really if you need more

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, Sniperfox47 said:

As opposed to... iOS? An OS designed for iphones?

 

All of the tablet oriented features that iOS has, Android has too. Android had many of them first. The unwillingness of app developers to take larger screens into account when building apps has nothing to do with the OS design itself. Android is perfectly capable of scaling across devices and form factors from an OS perspective. There's a reason why they're incorporating Android into ChromeOS instead of integrating ChromeOS into Android.

Gonna have to give you a solid no on that one. 

iOS on the iPad is a lot more than simply scaled up iOS. 

 

Developers being unwilling to build apps for tablet sized devices is entirely the result of Android tablets being irrelevant for many years at this point. 

[Sniperfox47]

3 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Gonna have to give you a solid no on that one. 

iOS on the iPad is a lot more than simply scaled up iOS. 

 

Developers being unwilling to build apps for tablet sized devices is entirely the result of Android tablets being irrelevant for many years at this point. 

To what end do any of those "features" offer any real differentiation to the OS? Ultimately the OS is still the same between the iPad and iPhone. There may be some tweaks to the iOS equivalent of SystemUI and some changes in the apps but none of that has to do with the OS itself.

 

The number of times in that video of talking about exclusive features where they went "Just like the iPhone 10" was staggering. Things like the adjusted status bar layout and swipe gestures really do nothing to add to a tablet experience.

 

literally over half of that video was talking about changes in specific apps which have nothing to do with the OS itself.

 

The only thing in that video you linked that showed *any* kind of OS based seperation between the iPhone and iPad was the dock. Things like the dock have 0 reason to be baked into the OS on Android because an App can do it just fine. I have a very similar interface on my Pixel C (Taskbar) that I can also see from any screen, can pin apps to or monitor my open windows, and also lets me launch apps as floating windows where I can have 2, 3, 5, 10 as many as I want on screen just like a more traditional laptop using Android's baked in Freeform Multiwindow mode.

 

There's no magic changes to iOS as an operating system that makes it more ideal of an OS for tablets than Android, WIndows 10, Ubuntu touch, or any other touch optimized OS that works well on low power hardware.

[DrMacintosh]

5 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

To what end do any of those "features" offer any real differentiation to the OS? Ultimately the OS is still the same between the iPad and iPhone. There may be some tweaks to the iOS equivalent of SystemUI and some changes in the apps but none of that has to do with the OS itself.

 

The number of times in that video of talking about exclusive features where they went "Just like the iPhone 10" was staggering. Things like the adjusted status bar layout and swipe gestures really do nothing to add to a tablet experience.

 

literally over half of that video was talking about changes in specific apps which have nothing to do with the OS itself.

 

The only thing in that video you linked that showed *any* kind of OS based seperation between the iPhone and iPad was the dock. Things like the dock have 0 reason to be baked into the OS on Android because an App can do it just fine. I have a very similar interface on my Pixel C (Taskbar) that I can also see from any screen, can pin apps to or monitor my open windows, and also lets me launch apps as floating windows where I can have 2, 3, 5, 10 as many as I want on screen just like a more traditional laptop using Android's baked in Freeform Multiwindow mode.

 

There's no magic changes to iOS as an operating system that makes it more ideal of an OS for tablets than Android, WIndows 10, Ubuntu touch, or any other touch optimized OS that works well on low power hardware.

Yes, I’m sure that’s the case. 

 

[Sniperfox47]

2 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Yes, I’m sure that’s the case. 

 

Are you trying to make a point?

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Are you trying to make a point?

Not outside the idea that the Tab S4 is an outdated, overpriced product running an OS not equipped for its form factor. 

[Sniperfox47]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

Not outside the idea that the Tab S4 is an outdated, overpriced product running an OS not equipped for its form factor. 

Again what do you think is so magical about other touch OSes that make them better suited for tablets? There's nothing wrong OS wise with Android in terms of targetting the tablet/tabtop form factor. Apps? Sure depending on what you use. Hardware? Sure. But the OS itself is perfectly solid on a tablet device.

[Drak3]

36 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

Last year's chip is not cool when one would typically keep a tablet for longer. I do think 4Gb is plenty though, you're just running bloatware really if you need more

Most use cases don't benefit from using the 845 over an adequately cooled 820. Unless you have to have the latest and shittiest versions of Android.

[Sniperfox47]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

Most use cases don't benefit from using the 845 over an adequately cooled 820. Unless you have to have the latest and shittiest versions of Android.

The improved GPU heft of the newer chips benefits CAD and video editing software, but it still doesn't perform compared to the GPU in the Tegra X1 or X2.

 

The SD835 has support for Treble though, so getting the latest Android version on it will only be a problem because Samsung.

[Drak3]

2 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

The improved GPU heft of the newer chips benefits CAD and video editing software, but it still doesn't perform compared to the GPU in the Tegra X1 or X2.

Yeah, THAT'S what I'm doing with Android. Not watching porn and YouTube.

 

2 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

The SD835 has support for Treble though, so getting the latest Android version on it will only be a problem because Samsung.

To be honest, still 10,000% fine with my Samsungs not getting the latest Android version for 9 months. I still hold that Android has gotten worse with every release after Kitkat.

[79wjd]

5 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

To be honest, still 10,000% fine with my Samsungs not getting the latest Android version for 9 months. I still hold that Android has gotten worse with every release after Kitkat.

I haven't used Android on my own device since Kit Kat, but I do know that I absolutely hated My Note 8.0 w/ KitKat -- whether that be because of the OS or the device itself (I did like Jelly Bean on my Razr Maxx).

[Drak3]

Just now, djdwosk97 said:

I haven't used Android on my own device since Kit Kat, but I do know that I absolutely hated My Note 8.0 w/ KitKat -- whether that be because of the OS or the device itself (I did like Jelly Bean on my Razr Maxx).

Touchwiz. It's a love it or hate it affair. I love it, you hate it. Simple.

[79wjd]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

Touchwiz. It's a love it or hate it affair. I love it, you hate it. Simple.

I do hate touch wiz, I know that, but I think there was more to it than just that, which made it an awful experience. 

[DildorTheDecent]

Did they ditch the home button and the soft keys that flanked it?

 

Looks much cleaner now.

[Brehohn]

Honestly, Android tablets just aren't worth it anymore. They are typically cheaply built (while I'm sure this one is not), you could just use your phone and iPad's or Surface's are about the only good option in the tablet market.

We need something worth it in the Android space for tablets.

[RedRound2]

13 hours ago, LAwLz said:

If the iPad had a 16:10 display and on-screen buttons I would buy it in a heartbeat. However, the 4:3 aspect ratio is horrible for pretty much everything I use it for. I would end up having like 20% of the screen wasted, just adding unnecessary bulk. 

 

As for the onscreen buttons, I don't like tablets with hardware buttons since I use mine for both landscape and portrait use, and constantly having the buttons move around drives me nuts. 

The newer iPads won't have a home button, so that'll solve one of your gripes.

 

Aspect ratio, I don't know. I also mainly use mine for media consumption, and it really hasn't bothered me too much. Also I read ebooks, so it's quite useful for that. But that's just me.

[D13H4RD]

6 hours ago, Brehohn said:

We need something worth it in the Android space for tablets.

Not going to happen, unfortunately. 

 

Everyone else has pretty much left the game with only the cheapest, crappiest ones still left in the market. 

 

TBH, the last time Google attempted to make a good tablet UI was with Honeycomb. While the tablets sucked, the UI was great and it felt like it was made for a tablet. Nowadays, it's just a bloated smartphone UI. 

[LAwLz]

@DrMacintosh 

When talking about the OSes themselves, Android is just as much of a tablet OS as iOS is a tablet OS.

You can point to specific iOS apps having specific iPad UIs all you want, but that is app features rather than OS features.

Of course, for the users it doesn't matter much which one is to blame, but you are wrong when you try and push this narrative than iOS is a tablet OS and Android isn't.

 

5 hours ago, RedRound2 said:

The newer iPads won't have a home button, so that'll solve one of your gripes.

 

Aspect ratio, I don't know. I also mainly use mine for media consumption, and it really hasn't bothered me too much. Also I read ebooks, so it's quite useful for that. But that's just me.

It bothers me a lot to see 25% of the display being black bars, yes.

Also, I did some counting a while ago and even for books 16:10 is superior than 4:3 (for single pages at least). Especially if your viewer can do automatic cropping of the white space in for example comics.

It really is one of the stupidest design decisions from Apple if you ask me.

Edited August 7, 2018 by airdeano
Remove Questionable Comment

[Morgan Everett]

12 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Not outside the idea that the Tab S4 is an outdated, overpriced product running an OS not equipped for its form factor. 

I think the OLED screen justifies some of that price, but the SoC is an unfortunate choice, and I’ve not heard or experienced good things about Android on tablets. For Apple, the form factor still seems to be a key concern in iOS’s development.

[DrMacintosh]

2 hours ago, Morgan Everett said:

I think the OLED screen justifies some of that price

OLED or not the screen is nowhere near being close to the iPad Pros. The iPads screen runs at 120Hz, having more accurate colors and better touch input is much more important for what the iPad is targeted for, Creators. 

[79wjd]

2 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

OLED or not the screen is nowhere near being close to the iPad Pros. The iPads screen runs at 120Hz, having more accurate colors and better touch input is much more important for what the iPad is targeted for, Creators. 

The OLED screen still likely costs more and both still have their advantages. 

[DrMacintosh]

2 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

The OLED screen still likely costs more

Unfortunately Samsung’s decision to only dip their toes in the water is precisely why Apple is the only successful tablet OEM right now. 

 

They went with a “more expensive display” but have little to show for it. Weak and outdated internals, no “wow” features, and an unimpressive price when the iPad ends up being cheaper.....

[TVwazhere]

14 hours ago, Drak3 said:

Yeah, THAT'S what I'm doing with Android. Not watching porn and YouTube.

@Sniperfox47 As a CAD tech I cant think of a single instance where I'd want to run any CAD software on a tablet, Windows, iOS or Android. ESPECIALLY 3D softwares. If I need a portable CAD workstation I'll use a laptop (as I already do). Your points up till then were good though.