All about tablets... ~$500 budget

[NinJake]

If you had about 500 USD to spend on a tablet, what would you go to first?

 

I know nothing about tablets, despise them yet people look to me for recommendations. Therefore I'll look to you all for recommendations before researching further! This is for business use, not home/personal.

 

Part 2: While I'll be ordering 10 of the above mentioned tablets, I do have a larger budget for 1 single device that would be used for media. (Pictures, videos etc...) So if you had the option, do you think it's worth getting a better grade tablet with a decent rear facing camera, or spend the money on an actual camera? Let's say the max budget for this device is about $1000 USD. The benefit to getting a tablet over a camera is it would allow our users to use apps from the Google Play store or the Apple store to create content on the device rather than requiring the photos/videos to be tweaked on a desktop.

[Darkseth]

See it you can get an iPad Pro 2017 (2nd gen, the first with the 120 Hz display) for 500 Dollar. Either the 10.5", or the 12.9".

Because the new 3rd gen will probably not be available for that price....

 

If you can't, then 300-350~ iPad 2018 (new one will probably come out march/april 2019~)

 

I would not bother about Android, even if the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is a very nice tablet.

 

The Issue is: iOS > Android when it coems to Tablets, by Far. (Smartphones are an entirely different Case).

 

- iPads are supported easy for 5+ years with the latest Sofware. Android Tablets probably only 1-2 years, then it kinda "stops".

- Performance is much better on iPad. Not just faster, but also much more stable performance, that doesn't get "slower" over time, very.. "consistent".

Now the most important part:

- Apple actually does optimize iOS for the Tablet formfactor. iOS looks different, Layout is different. Even a ton of Apps are optimized for Tablets and often have a tablet-version, with a bigger Layout using the additional space.

Android is basicly just a blown up smartphone version, and most Apps even more.

 

There are more high quality Apps on iOS, while it's almost difficult to find really bad "shitty" apps. Android, it's the other way around.

Also, some specific things. Note Taking apps are better on iOS, even productivity Apps (Luma Fusion for video editing, Procreate for drawing, even Photoshop is coming. Affinity Photo as a Photoshop alternative, and Affinity Designer.

 

Google themself have abandoned android, their last one was 3 years ago. This year, they launched a high end Tablet with ChromeOS. That's their future.

Android is "dead" on Android, pretty much, simply because Google does not add ANY optimization for Tabltes at all.

Huawei, Samsung etc do take Android, and make their own "Skin" over it. This Skin can bring some optimizations, but it is limited. And yea, the update situation.. It's possible to buy a brandnew Samsung Tab s4 , and in 2 years you have an outdated Android, without any additional Updates. That sucks kinda  especially for any business use. You probably won't find much apps, that will help you be productive, or make your workflows easier.

 

 

 

So yea, when it comes to Tablets.. i really highly recommend going for an iPad. iPad 2018 if you want a cheaper version, iPad Pro 2017 if you want it more high end (better Display, better speakers, more performance, more Ram, etc etc), also better response with the Apple Pencil.

 

Espeically for business use. There are alot of productivity apps, even for business. Like Trello, the popular Evernote (also for Android, to be fair), todoist, etc etc. Many things that will help for groups to stay organized, also for group Projects etc.

 

 

 

If it's not iOS, and you do want anything.. "more", there is only Tablets with Windows (like MS Surface series, or any similar alternatives). I would prefer that, if you need any x86 Applications for your Business, that basicly require a full Desktop OS.

[NinJake]

I have been eyeing the ~400 dollar 2018 iPad. I just need to know if there's any other opinions on a decent tablet that might even cost half that at around 200 to 300 usd. Thanks for your input! @Darkseth

[DrMacintosh]

I would say get the 2018 iPad for $329 and maybe an Apple Pencil. Alternatively you could get last gens 10.5" iPad Pro which Apple still sells on their website for around $500 

[NinJake]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

I would say get the 2018 iPad for $329 and maybe an Apple Pencil. Alternatively you could get last gens 10.5" iPad Pro which Apple still sells on their website for around $500 

Do you know of differences in the camera from the 2018 iPad compared to last gen iPad Pro? And even further, the differences from the best camera out of those 2 compared to a dedicated camera?

[DrMacintosh]

7 minutes ago, NinJake said:

Do you know of differences in the camera from the 2018 iPad compared to last gen iPad Pro? And even further, the differences from the best camera out of those 2 compared to a dedicated camera?

Pretty much the cameras get better in order of price. As for a Dedicated camera, I don't know about the iPad Pros, but I do know that the iPhone XR (and by extension the XS/Max) all have better dynamic range than most cameras on the market thanks to the amount of signal processing that iPhones do on the fly with capturing exposure data.

 

[NinJake]

5 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Pretty much the cameras get better in order of price. As for a Dedicated camera, I don't know about the iPad Pros, but I do know that the iPhone XR (and by extension the XS/Max all have better dynamic range than most cameras on the market thats to the amount of signal processing that iPhones do on the fly with capturing exposure data.

I doubt we will be looking into buying a phone, but that's also good to know.

[Darkseth]

18 minutes ago, NinJake said:

I have been eyeing the ~400 dollar 2018 iPad. I just need to know if there's any other opinions on a decent tablet that might even cost half that at around 200 to 300 usd. Thanks for your input! @Darkseth

Then no. Cheaper than that, there are only Android Tablets, and those are all Midrange / entry level androids.

They are sometimes even today outdated.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A10.1" for example, came out fall 2017~.

It has Android 7 right now (Android 9 came out this August, Android 8 came out August 2017). Oreo will probably come April~ 2019 - 1,5 years after the OS launched), Android 9 will probably never come).

 

Much slower, even outdated today and will probably never be "up 2 date" (except security patches!), and at best only 2-3 years security patches at best, then nothing anymore.

And if i'm right, below the iPad 2018 there is not a single Android Tablet with a Digitizer / Stylus available.

 

And this is a huge Pro. Beeing able to take handwritten Notes, scetches, even simply signing something you got send without the need to print it and scan it back etc.. not sure how your business works, but i can imagine stuff like this having a hell ton of advantages.

 

 

Maybe watch some youtube Channels, where they use iPads for business areas? i'm sure, there are severeal videos, which might be similar to your usage case.

[Zando_]

3 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

Then no. Cheaper than that, there are only Android Tablets, and those are all Midrange / entry level androids.

They are sometimes even today outdated.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A10.1" for example, came out fall 2017~.

It has Android 7 right now (Android 9 came out this August, Android 8 came out August 2017). Oreo will probably come April~ 2019 - 1,5 years after the OS launched), Android 9 will probably never come).

 

Much slower, even outdated today and will probably never be "up 2 date" (except security patches!), and at best only 2-3 years security patches at best, then nothing anymore.

And if i'm right, below the iPad 2018 there is not a single Android Tablet with a Digitizer / Stylus available.

 

And this is a huge Pro. Beeing able to take handwritten Notes, scetches, even simply signing something you got send without the need to print it and scan it back etc.. not sure how your business works, but i can imagine stuff like this having a hell ton of advantages.

 

 

Maybe watch some youtube Channels, where they use iPads for business areas? i'm sure, there are severeal videos, which might be similar to your usage case.

Plus even the base iPad is blazing fast, we have one at work and it's as snappy as my iPhone X in the UI and basic apps and such (it's boasting an A10, not the A11 that's in my X, but still blazing fast), I assume it'd be a bit slower say, exporting stuff from iMovie, but it's still hella fast. Plus the usual smoothness of iOS and good app support. Other manufacturers seem to have given up on Android tablets, haven't seen anything that can rival Apple's iPads. Especially in longevity, even the original iPad Air gets iOS 12 (any apple device with a 64 bit chip gets one, and everything A7 and up is that).