Android Tablets

[Pogre]

I've been using the same model of tablet for the last... 7 or 8 years? It's a great tablet but getting outdated. Some apps won't update anymore and Clash of Clans, my favorite mobile game, does not load up correctly probably 75% of the time. Graphics are displayed all wonky and I have to reboot the game several times sometimes before it loads up correctly. I haven't shopped for a tablet in forever and don't know what to look for as far as processing and graphics go.

I found what I think are the relevant specs for my current tab, a Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 model SM-P900.

Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 SM-P900 Support & Manual | Samsung Business

Check out our support resources for your Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 SM-P900 to find manuals, specs, features, and FAQs. You can also register your product to gain access to Samsung's world-class customer support.

www.samsung.com

Below are the models I'm looking at right now.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/compare?skus=6464698,6464712,6474273

Hopefully that link works. It's a comparison of 3 different models. I'm not sure the difference between them (aside from storage) or if any of them would be an upgrade over what I have now. I will be doing some gaming, watching videos and surfing the net. Gaming is a fairly big deal. Mainly Clash Of Clans, which is a resource hog, slows everything down and does put a drain on the battery.

Of the 3 models in the comparo are the more expensive ones worth the extra cheddar? Are either of them an upgrade/update over what I have now? Are there better tablets out there in the same price range?

 

[NINaudio]

Those are all the same model, just with differing amounts of internal storage and RAM. With the price range you're looking at, any of the new processors will be faster than your current tablet. I'd aim for at least the middle one of the three you picked, with the 6gb of ram, if you want it to be viable longer, go the 8gb ram model. Tablets and phones tend to seriously slow down when they don't have enough RAM and/or when their internal storage gets close to full.

 

[Pogre]

Those are all the same model, just with differing amounts of internal storage and RAM. With the price range you're looking at, any of the new processors will be faster than your current tablet. I'd aim for at least the middle one of the three you picked, with the 6gb of ram, if you want it to be viable longer, go the 8gb ram model. Tablets and phones tend to seriously slow down when they don't have enough RAM and/or when their internal storage gets close to full.

Yeah it looks like my current model is only 3g of ram, right? Of the new ones the middle model is the one I'm leaning toward, but the top one isn't out of the question. That said I picked Samsung models to look at because it's what I'm familiar with. Are there any new (or old) kids on the block with better models in roughly the same price range?

My main issue right now is the gaming side of things. Clash of Clans doesn't like to run very well on my current tablet. Wonky graphics, makes my tablet run hot, drains the battery, slow and laggy response to screen touches and just overall poor performance for gaming. Sometimes I have to reboot the game 6, 7 or 8 times in a row, or even reboot the whole tablet before it displays and plays right. It's gotten worse over time and with new updates. I also have several apps that won't update anymore because my tablet's an older model.

 

[Pogre]

Right now Clash drains my battery so fast that it loses charge when plugged in and charging! It takes a while, but it slowly drains even while charging. If I don't have it plugged in it drains super fast. Mainly only when gaming tho. Regular activities like web surfing and video watching don't put nearly the strain on it that games do.

 

[Pogre]

Here's an example of what I mean by wonky graphics. The top image is what it's supposed to look like and the bottom image is what happens to the graphics when it doesn't load right.

Missing wall sections and graphics for my defenses, invisible troops and sometimes even the background is just a glitchy mess. It never happens with my phone.

 

[KenM10759]

I have had a 10" Asus tablet for 8 years, then a got a 10" Lenovo TB-606F to replace it. Love the speed, graphics and especially the complete lack of "bloatware" that the Lenovo has.

Then there came a need for a cheap tablet to have in our guest room just to run the Bluesound Pulse Mini speaker for entertainment. In a brief moment of utter stupidity I ordered an Amazon Fire HD 10". What big mistake that was. I refuse to incorporate Alexa or even Google Home voice control into my home, and this Fire tablet really wants your Amazon info. The apps available with Amazon aren't nearly the same as Google, but the most frustrating thing is that is constantly detects "moisture" at the charging port and WON'T charge.

The decision was to retire that POS and get a second Lenovo. I love it. Long battery life, only the apps I want, and it's wicked fast. Less than HALF the cost of bloated Samsung crap.

Amazon.com : Lenovo Tab M10 Plus, 10.3" FHD Android Tablet, Octa-Core Processor, 64GB Storage, 4GB RAM, Iron Grey, ZA5T0382US : Electronics

 

[NINaudio]

Yeah it looks like my current model is only 3g of ram, right? Of the new ones the middle model is the one I'm leaning toward, but the top one isn't out of the question. That said I picked Samsung models to look at because it's what I'm familiar with. Are there any new (or old) kids on the block with better models in roughly the same price range?

My main issue right now is the gaming side of things. Clash of Clans doesn't like to run very well on my current tablet. Wonky graphics, makes my tablet run hot, drains the battery, slow and laggy response to screen touches and just overall poor performance for gaming. Sometimes I have to reboot the game 6, 7 or 8 times in a row, or even reboot the whole tablet before it displays and plays right. It's gotten worse over time and with new updates. I also have several apps that won't update anymore because my tablet's an older model.

I have and like a lower end Lenovo tablet (M8 FHD), but their resolution isn't up to the same as what the Samsung's are in the size you're looking at. I've always been interested in the Microsoft tabs, but I haven't looked into how they handle android apps. That battery issue could also just be the battery showing it's age. After several years of use they just won't hold a charge like they used to.

 

[Danzilla31]

Anybody know of a good tablet I could use for home theater I hate using my big laptop for everything

 

[Trell]

Hasn’t the Android tablet market been quite poor for a long time?

 

[Danzilla31]

Hasn’t the Android tablet market been quite poor for a long time?

Tablets just aren't relevant like they used to be. I'd like to find a good one I could program as a remote maybe even use for REW and other things audio if possible I hate lugging my laptop around its big and clumsy

 

[Trell]

Tablets just aren't relevant like they used to be. I'd like to find a good one I could program as a remote maybe even use for REW and other things audio if possible I hate lugging my laptop around its big and clumsy

Using a tablet (Android or iPad) for REW would be handy, but REW does not run on that, sadly. Perhaps on a Windows tablet, but that is even harder to find, at least with good performance.

REW room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software

REW is free software for room acoustic measurement, loudspeaker measurement and audio device measurement

www.roomeqwizard.com

 

[Danzilla31]

Using a tablet (Android or iPad) for REW would be handy, but REW does not run on that, sadly. Perhaps on a Windows tablet, but that is even harder to find, at least with good performance.

REW room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software

REW is free software for room acoustic measurement, loudspeaker measurement and audio device measurement

www.roomeqwizard.com

Yeah that's what I was afraid of thanks for the input tho

 

[lovinthehd]

I finally got a tablet this year, just wanted to use other than the phone (I particularly like the larger screen for playing Words With Friends ). I do have some music and apps on it and thats another main use. I have no other pad experience fwiw. A 12" pad sounds huge, I was surprised how big/heavy 10" was. I got this one

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I have to say that Google largely gave up Android Tablets in general and the only viable player is still Samsung.
Galaxy Tab S7+ is the only thing worth considering. BUT with Samsung's 2 years of SLOW software support and heavy-handed customizations on Android, including forced inclusion of many crappy and uninstallable apps, I recommend looking elsewhere. iPad Pros are even more expensive, but if you consider their 6-7 years of support and usage of better materials, not to mention the processor which is BOTH more power-efficient and MUCH faster than anything from Qualcomm, it may start to make more sense. My 2014 iPad Air 2 is running the latest IOS and running perfectly fine, unlike basically any of the MANY android devices I had over the last 12 years, starting from the original Motorola Droid.

p.s:
Google is RUMORED to come back to tablets soon, but now it's vaporware at best.

Google Pixel Tablet: News, Price, Release Date, Specs, and More

The Google Pixel Tablet arrived in June 2023. Here's everything you need to know about the tablet's price, features, and more.

www.lifewire.com

 

[Pogre]

I really like my current tablet and it works great for most stuff. If Clash of Clans ran smoothly and all my apps would update I'd just keep using it. The display and resolution are pretty equal to my wife's iPad. I've been running with the same model for almost ten years now. Not a bad run for a tablet if I may say.

I used to be a laptop only person but really love the smaller size and portability of my tablet. I don't even use the laptop anymore 'cept when I use REW or ratbuddyssey.

Using a tablet (Android or iPad) for REW would be handy, but REW does not run on that, sadly. Perhaps on a Windows tablet, but that is even harder to find, at least with good performance.

REW room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software

REW is free software for room acoustic measurement, loudspeaker measurement and audio device measurement

www.roomeqwizard.com

Which would be wonderful!

 

[lovinthehd]

I still use a laptop quite a bit, but the pad is much easier to handle when taking a crap....

 

[Pogre]

I still use a laptop quite a bit, but the pad is much easier to handle when taking a crap....

Exactly! Ha ha!

 

[panteragstk]

I've had quite a few tablets over the years and haven't really used one to any extent. I don't really game on them, but I do play angry birds 2 during #2 and that's about it.

This is how I'd break down the tablet market:

Google/Android:

Tons of manufacturers make them, but most are very low end or very out of date or both. Samsung makes a higher end tablet, but is very much in the planned obsolescence scene. You'll get no more than 2 years out of one before stuff happens. If you get more, awesome. I haven't had good luck with Samsung Android devices. I'd buy an Asus Android tablet if they still make higher end models. If not, then it's tricky if you need GPU and CPU power. Amazon fire tablets are technically Android too, but they're very low end. If you don't need a fast CPU or GPU, then they can work for you. I use mine for basic web browsing and looking at recipes. It works well as a Home Automation controller too. To be fair, any decent Android tablet will work for what I use it for.

Apple/iPad OS:

Solid support for an extended amount of time. Can have a higher cost of ownership depending on the model and what you need. I still say the iPad Pros should run macOS, but whatever. I don't buy Apple products just because I don't like their approach to things, but as a long time IT consultant that focuses on mobility, they make the easiest to manage devices. You know what you're going to get and the software is pretty solid. Samsung can't say that at all. IMHO, iPads still cost too much, but my use case is very basic.

Microsoft/Windows:

I have a very nice Acer tablet that I got to use while traveling. I love it. It's been 100% solid from day 1 and have never had any reason to replace it. It's basically a Surface clone. People really like the Surface products and don't complain much outside of specific models having bugs. They are expensive though, and REW would work just fine. They are a traditional PC too, so fixing issues or updating them isn't a problem. Don't really have to rely on the manufacturer for OS updates. Especially if you put something other than Windows on one of the tablets.

That's my brief summary, but it can be much more complex than that depending on what all you'd like a tablet to do.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I've used Surface Pro (circa 2017) with i7 Kaby lake dual-core. It's a great little device. I'll give it fast enough, and due to running regular Windows 10, it could run any Windows application. I also like its magnetic pen and display size/quality.
I was not fond of it as much: it's still a bit clumsy when used as a tablet, and with a keyboard, it only really works as a laptop on hard surfaces like a desk. It won't be handy to use it on your lap
I think MS Surface convertibles are nearly the ultimate road-warrior devices, but I'm not yey 100% sure they would be great as tablet devices.

 

[Pogre]

I retired my laptop and have been 100% using the exact same tablet for almost the last 10 years. Right now I have a newer version I bought a few years back when I broke the screen on the original, but it's functionally almost identical. Otherwise this is all I've been using for a really long time, but it's starting to show its age with newer apps and some games.

Long story short, I haven't even so much as looked at any other tablets for a really long time. Sounds like android tablets in general are kind of falling to the wayside?