Samsung Announces The Galaxy Tab S4 - iPad and Surface Competitor

[suicidalfranco]

49 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

So, iOS on the iPad?

 

Also with the Snapdragon 835, you won’t be doing much multitasking to begin with. 

don't think 2 apps side by side is the same as up to 20 but, Kay, whatever you say.

Doesn't seem like Engadget had issues with multitasking, but again, whatever you say man 

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, suicidalfranco said:

don't think 2 apps side by side is the same as up to 20 but

iPads are not limited to side by side apps only

They have spaces, which are basically like multiple desktops, which hold side by side apps as well as slide over apps. On top of that you can PIP video to throw on top of all that. 

 

Also iPads hocked up to keyboards can cmd+tab just like in macOS. 

 

So rather than just spurting everything out on one desktop, you actually get some organization. 

[vanished]

iPad competitor not surface.  This doesn't run Windows - big difference.

[Sniperfox47]

15 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

iPads are not limited to side by side apps only

They have spaces, which are basically like multiple desktops, which hold side by side apps as well as slide over apps. On top of that you can PIP video to throw on top of all that. 

 

Also iPads hocked up to keyboards can cmd+tab just like in macOS. 

 

So rather than just spurting everything out on one desktop, you actually get some organization. 

The point though is you can still only have a 2 way split (plus a slide over if you really want to count that) on screen being worked with at any given time. Maybe fine on a 10" display. But when you hook up to a 32" 4K monitor?

[DrMacintosh]

8 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Maybe fine on a 10" display. But when you hook up to a 32" 4K monitor?

Neither the Tab S4 or the iPad Pros, or any other tablet for that matter, are designed around the idea that user would ever hook up to a 4K monitor/TV for doing work on it. Neither device even supports a type of clamshell mode and both only support screen mirroring. 

 

Specifically since the iPad can only output 1080p video and we don't know what the Tab S4 can output. For the iPad, you could get a higher video output if you used AirPlay. 

 

Now I'm sure the size of the display was more of what you were talking about rather than the resolution, but the point still stands that neither of these devices are intended to be used that way for work.

[Sniperfox47]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

Neither the Tab S4 or the iPad Pros, or any other tablet for that matter, are designed around the idea that user would ever hook up to a 4K monitor/TV for doing work on it. Neither device even supports a type of clamshell mode and both only support screen mirroring. 

 

Specifically since the iPad can only output 1080p video and we don't know what the Tab S4 can output. For the iPad, you could get a higher video output if you used AirPlay. 

 

Now I'm sure the size of the display was more of what you were talking about rather than the resolution, but the point still stands that neither of these devices are intended to be used that way for work.

Umm what are you ever talking about?

 

The Tab S4 *absolutely* is designed around being able to do that. That was the original point of DEX and is still a big selling point on the Tab S4... and it support multi-monitor layouts...

 

It supports up to 2 FHD displays, that's already been verified by Samsung. What we don't yet know is if that's 2 FHD displays plus the tablet display, or if the tablet display deactivates when in Dex mode with 2 displays.

 

And it should work just fine with a single 4k display if the implimentation is similar to the S9. It can't do 2 4k displays because DisplayPort 1.2 alt-mode doesnt carry enough lanes for that.

[bimmerman]

Interesting. I've been looking heavily at the 12.9" iPad lately for musician use (i.e. forScore sheet music reader/annotater, on-screen piano keyboard size, etc).

 

The Tab S4 might be worth a look if the app ecosystem specifically for musicians is comparable to the ipad's. I'm not a fan of iOS but there's a lot to be said for having the same apps that everyone else is using. The 10.5" size is definitely smaller than I'd like-- one major point in favor of the 12.9" iPad is the display is nearly the same size as an A4 music sheet.

 

Time to go research android music apps.....

[Sniperfox47]

3 minutes ago, bimmerman said:

Interesting. I've been looking heavily at the 12.9" iPad lately for musician use (i.e. forScore sheet music reader/annotater, on-screen piano keyboard size, etc).

 

The Tab S4 might be worth a look if the app ecosystem specifically for musicians is comparable to the ipad's. I'm not a fan of iOS but there's a lot to be said for having the same apps that everyone else is using. The 10.5" size is definitely smaller than I'd like-- one major point in favor of the 12.9" iPad is the display is nearly the same size as an A4 music sheet.

 

Time to go research android music apps.....

Nah for music stuff you're best off sticking on the iOS side for now. The low level OS work has been done in terms of getting audio latency down, improving low level hardware APIs, etc but because of the substantially smaller percieved user base music apps still primarily target iOS and the few that do target Android don't tend to leverage those low level APIs very well.

 

While pretty much anything other than Windows will work for serious audio work, the iOS app ecosystem is a lot stronger around it.

[bimmerman]

2 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Nah for music stuff you're best off sticking on the iOS side for now. The low level OS work has been done in terms of getting audio latency down, improving low level hardware APIs, etc but because of the substantially smaller percieved user base music apps still primarily target iOS and the few that do target Android don't tend to leverage those low level APIs very well.

 

While pretty much anything other than Windows will work for serious audio work, the iOS app ecosystem is a lot stronger around it.

Agreed entirely. I'm most likely going to get the ipad and learn how to live with iOS. There are some music apps for Android, and the audio latency isn't a huge concern (I'm a trombonist, so won't be 'producing' music on it), but they don't seem nearly as polished as the iPad suite. Plus, if everyone else is using iOS, you're on your own if it craps out on a gig.

 

For what it's worth to the greater thread topic, I'm one of those weirdos who bought the original Asus Transformer, which was promptly abandoned with Android Honeycomb. I'm very wary of any Android tablet being supported long-term, or of apps being really optimized/oriented for the tablet size. The music apps I've been shown for iOS are primarily optimized for the 12.9" iPad, not iPhone use....most android apps I'm aware of aren't differentiated that way.

 

If I wasn't concerned with the musician aspect....and if there were some killer Android Tablet-first apps, I'd be pretty interested in the Tab S4. It seems to be going for what the Transformer tried (and failed) to do.

[Sniperfox47]

5 minutes ago, bimmerman said:

If I wasn't concerned with the musician aspect....and if there were some killer Android Tablet-first apps, I'd be pretty interested in the Tab S4. It seems to be going for what the Transformer tried (and failed) to do.

Yeah as ironic as this seems the death of Android tablets may have been the best thing that could happen to them from an app standpoint. Apps being redesigned for Chromebook use tend to have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better tablet experiences. I hope it's a trend that continues. For now though, were stuck with most apps not giving a crap about tablet users.

[suicidalfranco]

1 hour ago, DrMacintosh said:

iPads are not limited to side by side apps only

They have spaces, which are basically like multiple desktops, which hold side by side apps as well as slide over apps. On top of that you can PIP video to throw on top of all that. 

 

Also iPads hocked up to keyboards can cmd+tab just like in macOS. 

 

So rather than just spurting everything out on one desktop, you actually get some organization. 

So split view, a floating app and pip is similar to 4, 5, 6 [...] and 20 apps being capable of running simultanously in heir own window as you would on a traditional desktop environment?

Plus Samsung's Dex technology that allows it to support multiple monitors aaaaaaaaaaand friendly reminder that you could alt+tab on android as far back as honeycomb

 

[EPENEX]

Android is only useful if you root it. Hopefully there is a dev version or something.

[Sniperfox47]

15 minutes ago, suicidalfranco said:

So split view, a floating app and pip is similar to 4, 5, 6 [...] and 20 apps being capable of running simultanously in heir own window as you would on a traditional desktop environment?

Plus Samsung's Dex technology that allows it to support multiple monitors aaaaaaaaaaand friendly reminder that you could alt+tab on android as far back as honeycomb

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but it's not something unique to Dex that allows multiple displays. Android as a whole supports it natively since Android 7.1 (public availability 8.0) and Dex leverages that. In fact your apps can actually request specific displays to start on and Android supports dragging windows between displays.

 

Also to note cross-app drag and drop is part of Android's freeform window support. Samsung just set their apps up to leverage it. And right click context menus which they claim as a Dex feature are also part of the Android OS, just few 3rd party apps make use of them unless they're trying to target Chromebooks.

 

Dex is, for all intents and purposes, just a device-specific equivalent of Sentio Desktop, with some tweaks in the systemUI and first party apps to better support it. Even the video output is just DisplayPort alt-mode plus an authentication chip to say "Hey! I'm a Dex dock!" (Fun fact first party Dex docks and the Nintendo switch dock were actually cross-compatible.)

[suicidalfranco]

6 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Sorry to burst your bubble but it's not something unique to Dex that allows multiple displays.

what bubble?

"Plus Samsung's Dex technology that allows it to support multiple monitors"

nevermind, misread it

[Sniperfox47]

Just now, suicidalfranco said:

what bubble?

"Plus Samsung's Dex technology that allows it to support multiple monitors"

Yeah my point is that Samsungs Dex *isnt* what "allows it to support multiple monitors". Supporting multiple monitors is just part of Android.

[suicidalfranco]

2 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Yeah my point is that Samsungs Dex *isnt* what "allows it to support multiple monitors". Supporting multiple monitors is just part of Android.

i understand, that, refresh the page, corrected myself the second after i posted the reply 

[Commodus]

21 minutes ago, EPENEX said:

Android is only useful if you root it. Hopefully there is a dev version or something.

There won't be, and you don't need to root.  I don't like intentionally weakening the security of my tablet just so I can have a bit more flexibility, thanks.

[mr moose]

So  a company brings out a tablet and some people want to shit on it because it's not a ipad and some want to shit on it because its a tablet????

 

Not sure what that adds to the discussion, the only thing I have to say about it is I am glad it's a bit thicker and heavier,  hopefully that means a little more robust with a longer battery life.  I don't think the serious tablet user cares about 0.5mm or 100grams if it does the job better.

[bimmerman]

• 24 minutes ago, mr moose said:

So  a company brings out a tablet and some people want to shit on it because it's not a ipad and some want to shit on it because its a tablet????

 

Not sure what that adds to the discussion, the only thing I have to say about it is I am glad it's a bit thicker and heavier,  hopefully that means a little more robust with a longer battery life.  I don't think the serious tablet user cares about 0.5mm or 100grams if it does the job better.

I think the issue is more that it is in an awkward position market wise. It's not clear what or who would benefit from a dockable android tablet.

 

1. There are many apps for iPads that are tablet optimized-- not so much with Android (so far, this might change that).
2. Both Android and iOS tablets pale in terms of productivity tasks compared to a Surface or similar Windows-based tabputer.
3. There are cheaper android and iOS tablets for pure media consumption.
4. Docking a tablet to use android ports of productivity applications seems....like trying to imitate the Surface, but android-ier
5. It's priced along with the top tier iPads, but doesn't (yet) seem to have the ecosystem and user base to justify that kind of device.

 

I'm reading reviews and researching musician apps for it to compare against the 12.9 iPad, so I'm not shitting on it. I'm just not convinced it's the one to get.

 

The "Because Android and Because NOT iOS" of it isn't enough to sway me if it's the inferior device for my needs. Jury hasn't yet decided on that.

[mr moose]

7 minutes ago, bimmerman said:

I think the issue is more that it is in an awkward position market wise. It's not clear what or who would benefit from a dockable android tablet.

It may not make any sense to you because you are not in the demographic Samsung looked at when designing it.

 

7 minutes ago, bimmerman said:

1. There are many apps for iPads that are tablet optimized-- not so much with Android (so far, this might change that).
2. Both Android and iOS tablets pale in terms of productivity tasks compared to a Surface or similar Windows-based tabputer.
3. There are cheaper android and iOS tablets for pure media consumption.
4. Docking a tablet to use android ports of productivity applications seems....like trying to imitate the Surface, but android-ier
5. It's priced along with the top tier iPads, but doesn't (yet) seem to have the ecosystem and user base to justify that kind of device.

 

I'm reading reviews and researching musician apps for it to compare against the 12.9 iPad, so I'm not shitting on it. I'm just not convinced it's the one to get.

 

The "Because Android and Because NOT iOS" of it isn't enough to sway me if it's the inferior device for my needs. Jury hasn't yet decided on that.

Again that is just personal opinion,  just becasue you have a specific need and this device doesn't make you feel warm inside doesn't mean it is a shit product or that it doesn't have a place in the market.

 

Some of the arguments I am reading are just so irrelevant,  I won't buy an iphone for multiple personal reasons, that doesn't make them a shit product nor does it make android phones intrinsically better ( in fact I hate android at the moment).  The market is bigger than one persons opinions.

[Nowak]

Ehhhh, for $650 I'd rather go for the Surface Go, honestly. That is, of course, assuming I'm looking at buying a new tablet.

[GoodBytes]

Ouch

 

[mrchow19910319]

 

Edited August 9, 2018 by GoodBytes
Scaled images smaller

[DrMacintosh]

3 hours ago, mrchow19910319 said:

 

Aww  

[DrMacintosh]

16 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

Ouch

 

Well that was a pretty brutal analysis of Dex