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New crop of Android tablets

Started Sep 10, 2020 | Discussions
CAcreeks
CAcreeks Forum Pro • Posts: 18,924
New crop of Android tablets

Maybe the Android tablet is not dead after all.

$300 LG G Pad 5, 10.1" 1920x1200 LCD screen, 8200 mAh, Snapdragon 821, WiFi+4G.

$500 Lenovo Tab P11, 11.5" 2560 x1600 OLED, 8600 mAh, Snapdragon 730G, WiFi only.

€160 Lenovo Tab M10 HD Gen2, 10.1" 1280x800 LCD, 5000 mAh, Cortex A53, WiFi only.

$329 Samsung Tab S6 Lite, 10.4" 1200x2000 TFT, 7040 mAh, Cortex A53, WiFi 4G optional.

I wonder if the Lenovo M10 HD Gen2 will better support Netflix? The previous model could play SD content only.

Leica M10
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I2K4
I2K4 Senior Member • Posts: 1,441
Re: New crop of Android tablets

I owned one tablet with a MediaTek processor and returned one after purchase - wouldn't bother trying again.  On the same apparent specs, both Qualcomm and Intel chips were snappier and handled routine loads better.

CAcreeks
OP CAcreeks Forum Pro • Posts: 18,924
Re: New crop of Android tablets

I2K4 wrote:

I owned one tablet with a MediaTek processor and returned one after purchase - wouldn't bother trying again. On the same apparent specs, both Qualcomm and Intel chips were snappier and handled routine loads better.

Does the MediaTek chipset always use ARM Cortext-A73 CPU?

I guess not... The Tab S6 Lite has Exynos 9 Octa 9611 chipset.

https://www.gadgetsnow.com/compare-tablets/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-S6-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-S6-Lite

So you're saying the Lenovo might be slow, again? It has Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22T. One review had a comment saying "overpriced" even at €160.

P.S. The LG G Pad 5 seems the obvious choice at this time. Price has fallen to $200 and the main downside, according to reviews, is weak 4G cellular reception, which is not an issue for WiFi use. Lenovo P11 is not yet available in the US.

sludge21017
sludge21017 Veteran Member • Posts: 3,807
Re: New crop of Android tablets

No love for the Tab S7?

I might get that instead of a Note 20.

CAcreeks
OP CAcreeks Forum Pro • Posts: 18,924
Re: New crop of Android tablets

sludge21017 wrote:

No love for the Tab S7?

I might get that instead of a Note 20.

I don't like Samsung bloatware, but there's no doubt the Tab S7 (non Lite) has the best specs, and highest price, among Android tablets. It's not new, so I didn't list it.

My Samsung 10.1" WQXGA from early 2013 has been delaminating for a year or more. I have glued it three times now. Not happy.

sludge21017
sludge21017 Veteran Member • Posts: 3,807
Re: New crop of Android tablets
1

CAcreeks wrote:

sludge21017 wrote:

No love for the Tab S7?

I might get that instead of a Note 20.

I don't like Samsung bloatware, but there's no doubt the Tab S7 (non Lite) has the best specs, and highest price, among Android tablets. It's not new, so I didn't list it.

My Samsung 10.1" WQXGA from early 2013 has been delaminating for a year or more. I have glued it three times now. Not happy.

Interesting.

My Tab S2 is still going strong, and haven't used my Note 10.1 2014 edition in a long time. Its painfully slow these days.

I did buy some nice cases for both.

mangurian Senior Member • Posts: 1,187
Re: New crop of Android tablets
1

I bought the latest Amazon 10.1.  Good price and snappy performance.  Once I put the Google playstore on it, I love it.

I often use it to shoot remotely with my Canon mirrorless for macros and any tripod shots.  I can also sit in the house, watch the screen, and get good bird shots as they wander buy.

If you want tyo save a few bucks, wait for special sales.  I went for the one without ads, but I also have an 8 inch Amazon with ads and they don't intrude much.

CAcreeks
OP CAcreeks Forum Pro • Posts: 18,924
Re: New crop of Android tablets

mangurian wrote:

I bought the latest Amazon 10.1. Good price and snappy performance. Once I put the Google playstore on it, I love it.

Did you have any of the problems mentioned in the troubleshooting section?

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/07/11/install-play-store-amazon-fire-tablet/

If you want to save a few bucks, wait for special sales. I went for the one without ads, but I also have an 8 inch Amazon with ads and they don't intrude much.

Good advice, thanks.

mangurian Senior Member • Posts: 1,187
Re: New crop of Android tablets

CAcreeks wrote:

mangurian wrote:

I bought the latest Amazon 10.1. Good price and snappy performance. Once I put the Google playstore on it, I love it.

Did you have any of the problems mentioned in the troubleshooting section?

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/07/11/install-play-store-amazon-fire-tablet/

If you want to save a few bucks, wait for special sales. I went for the one without ads, but I also have an 8 inch Amazon with ads and they don't intrude much.

Good advice, thanks.

no problems found

Robert Zanatta Senior Member • Posts: 2,630
Re: New crop of Android tablets

I just got a Tab A 10.1. It was a gift from my bank, so that makes it acceptable.

Display is good. Faster than my Tab S and it also has Android 10 (Tab S only went to v6). External card reads and write much faster than the Tab S. Should be good for basic stuff. Only thing I'd like is a bit faster processor and more RAM.

 Robert Zanatta's gear list:Robert Zanatta's gear list
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CAcreeks
OP CAcreeks Forum Pro • Posts: 18,924
Re: New crop of Android tablets

Robert Zanatta wrote:

I just got a Tab A 10.1. It was a gift from my bank, so that makes it acceptable.

Display is good. Faster than my Tab S and it also has Android 10 (Tab S only went to v6). External card reads and write much faster than the Tab S. Should be good for basic stuff. Only thing I'd like is a bit faster processor and more RAM.

Is the Tab A basically a Tab S without the pen? Hmm, comparing  specs on Amazon, the CPU and memory are less. But basically yeah, $120 for a pen.

Android 6 was a long time ago! Shame on Samsung. I suppose it's difficult to backport all their bloatware customizations to newer Android versions.

For paying my own cash money, I can't see the advantage of Tab A over LG G Pad 5. The G Pad 5's fingerprint reader is a huge win, because tracing a pattern for every use of my Tab S is a pain.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=9952&idPhone3=9582

(unknown member) Senior Member • Posts: 2,057
Re: New crop of Android tablets, bleh, meh

Think I just decided to sell my recently purchased Tab S6 Lite. Facebook doesn't work on it, recent update made it worse but it was already bad. It's a hassle to share full quality Lightroom photos. Probably going back to iPad as I like to share full quality photos on Flickr.

Tab S6 Lite is no better than the Tab A 10.1 2019. It actually seems to run worse despite doing slightly better in benchmark tests. I like the pen, but that was for Lightroom which doesn't allow full quality sharing with other apps like iPads.

An old 1st generation iPad Pro of same value is far superior. Just worse battery.

CAcreeks
OP CAcreeks Forum Pro • Posts: 18,924
Re: New crop of Android tablets, bleh, meh

MatMayer wrote:

Think I just decided to sell my recently purchased Tab S6 Lite. Facebook doesn't work on it, recent update made it worse but it was already bad. It's a hassle to share full quality Lightroom photos. Probably going back to iPad as I like to share full quality photos on Flickr.

Just tried to update Facebook on my old 10.1" Tab 2012. FB was a Beta version or something, and exited immediately after starting, saying I was not authorized to run it.

Over a year ago my wife submitted a rating saying the updated FB version crashed a lot more than before. That's progress!

Tab S6 Lite is no better than the Tab A 10.1 2019. It actually seems to run worse despite doing slightly better in benchmark tests. I like the pen, but that was for Lightroom which doesn't allow full quality sharing with other apps like iPads.

I used the pen for a while, mostly to rewind Netflix, than it became a chore to take it out and put it back.

The mouse was a great invention for human-computer interfaces. Seems like a pen is just going backwards into the last century.

Robert Zanatta Senior Member • Posts: 2,630
Re: New crop of Android tablets

Tab S is about 7 or 8 years old - it was the first Tab S.  The display is excellent, as is the build, but it's really outdated for a mobile device.  There wasn't a pen option for the device.

The latest S version is the S7.  It's much more powerful than the current Tab A (has the Snapdragon 865+ processor and 8GB of RAM), but also costs 3 times as much.

 Robert Zanatta's gear list:Robert Zanatta's gear list
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
(unknown member) Senior Member • Posts: 2,057
Re: New crop of Android tablets, bleh, meh
1

CAcreeks wrote:

MatMayer wrote:

Think I just decided to sell my recently purchased Tab S6 Lite. Facebook doesn't work on it, recent update made it worse but it was already bad. It's a hassle to share full quality Lightroom photos. Probably going back to iPad as I like to share full quality photos on Flickr.

Just tried to update Facebook on my old 10.1" Tab 2012. FB was a Beta version or something, and exited immediately after starting, saying I was not authorized to run it.

Over a year ago my wife submitted a rating saying the updated FB version crashed a lot more than before. That's progress!

Tab S6 Lite is no better than the Tab A 10.1 2019. It actually seems to run worse despite doing slightly better in benchmark tests. I like the pen, but that was for Lightroom which doesn't allow full quality sharing with other apps like iPads.

I used the pen for a while, mostly to rewind Netflix, than it became a chore to take it out and put it back.

The mouse was a great invention for human-computer interfaces. Seems like a pen is just going backwards into the last century.

I love using a pen and the nice glossy screens on iPads and other tablets. So much that I never use Lightroom on my decent Dell XPS laptop with 15 inch non-touch matte screen.

I use the pen instead of my finger for most things. But I especially like it in Lightroom for sliders and any local adjustments. Might have something to do with my main finger being overused on these screens in past with a game.

Even considered switching the laptop for a Surface Book so I have the tablet and pen option for photos. Combined with the benefit of Windows. But they cost a lot.

The first iPad pen seemed too expensive just for Lightroom and I don't like it's size. And I am likely to break it. But I will probably end up getting one now I have access to grey market or used.

I also like having a pen on my phone with the Samsung Note.

(unknown member) Senior Member • Posts: 2,057
Re: New crop of Android tablets

Robert Zanatta wrote:

Tab S is about 7 or 8 years old - it was the first Tab S. The display is excellent, as is the build, but it's really outdated for a mobile device. There wasn't a pen option for the device.

The latest S version is the S7. It's much more powerful than the current Tab A (has the Snapdragon 865+ processor and 8GB of RAM), but also costs 3 times as much.

Let me summarise as I blabber on: Samsung Tab A 2019 excellent ultra cheap tablet to have around the house. But for anyone who wants more than the lowest budget, go with an iPad. Apple make products that last far longer and have much better app support than Android tablets. The biggest app is probably Facebook and it has been terrible on Android tablets all year, and probably before.

.

Regarding the original Tab S 10.5: Yeah, they made them too good. They were still using them behind the counter in Samsung stores years after they should have moved on. Was a great tablet. Unfortunately dropped mine on a bus a few years ago and smashed the glass. But it was good enough to repair despite being many years old and cracked and worn. Too slow to use anymore, but my wife kept it around a while just for watching videos on.

The Tab A has always been the budget line, S premium. The original A tablets were too low resolution for me i.e. I could see the pixels. The 2017 A 10.1 was pretty good with a pen like the Note phones (that went inside). Very basic pen which I broke multiple times, but it got me into using pens.

The Tab S6 is great apparently and the S7 obviously will be even better. They have really lowered the prestige of the line with the Tab S6 Lite being so under powered. And the fact that big apps like Facebook and Lightroom are not as good as the iPad versions highlights to me that no Android tablet is a substitute for any iPad. The Facebook app is horrific,  unuseble at the moment. Lightroom is OK but that little niggle of not being able to share full quality photos straight to Flickr is a deal breaker. The penless Tab A 2019 is a good cheap buy depending on what you use.

Even weak cheap iPads "just work" and don't crash. Their specs don't seem to matter. Apple makes far less GB of RAM work far better than Android. Unlike the original 2014 Samsung 10.5 inch Tab S, their 2015 iPad Pro still works great, ours just has a mediocre battery now.

Robert Zanatta Senior Member • Posts: 2,630
Re: New crop of Android tablets

IPads definitely have a lot of computational power.

I definitely won't be doing any batch or serious editing on a Tab A as it's too slow for that.

As for Facebook, I don't have an account... 

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CAcreeks
OP CAcreeks Forum Pro • Posts: 18,924
Re: New crop of Android tablets

Robert Zanatta wrote:

Tab S is about 7 or 8 years old - it was the first Tab S.

I thought that was a bit too old... actually only 6 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Tab_series#Samsung_Galaxy_Tab_S

My Samsung tablet that is delaminating, and has been glued 3 times, was the 2012 Note 10.1

I can't imagine running Lightroom on a tablet, even an iPad with better software support. To each his/her own.

The Lenovo P11 hasn't reached US markets yet, but the LG G Pad 5 looks good to me. However now that I have a Kindle Paperwhite, there's no need for an Android tablet.

Ken Gosden Veteran Member • Posts: 3,025
Re: New crop of Android tablets
1

MatMayer wrote:

Robert Zanatta wrote:

Tab S is about 7 or 8 years old - it was the first Tab S. The display is excellent, as is the build, but it's really outdated for a mobile device. There wasn't a pen option for the device.

The latest S version is the S7. It's much more powerful than the current Tab A (has the Snapdragon 865+ processor and 8GB of RAM), but also costs 3 times as much.

Let me summarise as I blabber on: Samsung Tab A 2019 excellent ultra cheap tablet to have around the house. But for anyone who wants more than the lowest budget, go with an iPad. Apple make products that last far longer and have much better app support than Android tablets. The biggest app is probably Facebook and it has been terrible on Android tablets all year, and probably before.

.

Regarding the original Tab S 10.5: Yeah, they made them too good. They were still using them behind the counter in Samsung stores years after they should have moved on. Was a great tablet. Unfortunately dropped mine on a bus a few years ago and smashed the glass. But it was good enough to repair despite being many years old and cracked and worn. Too slow to use anymore, but my wife kept it around a while just for watching videos on.

The Tab A has always been the budget line, S premium. The original A tablets were too low resolution for me i.e. I could see the pixels. The 2017 A 10.1 was pretty good with a pen like the Note phones (that went inside). Very basic pen which I broke multiple times, but it got me into using pens.

The Tab S6 is great apparently and the S7 obviously will be even better. They have really lowered the prestige of the line with the Tab S6 Lite being so under powered. And the fact that big apps like Facebook and Lightroom are not as good as the iPad versions highlights to me that no Android tablet is a substitute for any iPad. The Facebook app is horrific, unuseble at the moment. Lightroom is OK but that little niggle of not being able to share full quality photos straight to Flickr is a deal breaker. The penless Tab A 2019 is a good cheap buy depending on what you use.

Even weak cheap iPads "just work" and don't crash. Their specs don't seem to matter. Apple makes far less GB of RAM work far better than Android. Unlike the original 2014 Samsung 10.5 inch Tab S, their 2015 iPad Pro still works great, ours just has a mediocre battery now.

Well to each their own.  I have no problems running Facebook on any of my Samsung tablets from my recently retired 2014 Note 10.1, 12.2 Note pro, 8 inch Tab S2 and my Tab S4. Never tried it on my 2018 11inch iPad Pro. While the iPad pencil is more accurate than the S Pen, I rarely use it.  Cannot stand the way it attaches magnetically as it is always falling off in my bag.  I do not like the lack of tactile feedback of the hard tip on the glass screen.  And you cannot use it to perform the various gestures Apple requires that start off the active display area.  And until the release of iOS 14 this past week there was no built in handwriting recognition. I will say that Scribble seems pretty good so far, although I can't believe that it lacks a way to insert a line feed using the pen.

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Vunite Contributing Member • Posts: 713
Re: New crop of Android tablets

CAcreeks wrote:

Maybe the Android tablet is not dead after all.

$300 LG G Pad 5, 10.1" 1920x1200 LCD screen, 8200 mAh, Snapdragon 821, WiFi+4G.

$500 Lenovo Tab P11, 11.5" 2560 x1600 OLED, 8600 mAh, Snapdragon 730G, WiFi only.

€160 Lenovo Tab M10 HD Gen2, 10.1" 1280x800 LCD, 5000 mAh, Cortex A53, WiFi only.

$329 Samsung Tab S6 Lite, 10.4" 1200x2000 TFT, 7040 mAh, Cortex A53, WiFi 4G optional.

I wonder if the Lenovo M10 HD Gen2 will better support Netflix? The previous model could play SD content only.

I bought myself a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 .. after waiting for a better Tablet I'd want for 6 years It's quite zippy with its Qualcom 865. Didn't go for the Plus, as it seemed to expensive for what I do with it and I already have a Microsoft Surface I I want the small, tablet shaped Windows/PC experience.

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