Which tablet is better?
Neither and both.
With the recent buzz around Apple’s recent announcements, which devices ARE better?
Well, what is our measurement criteria? How are we measuring?
I frequently review product commentaries, and realize that I am relying on data supplied by people that don’t necessarily share the same usage patterns or requirements. For example, recently, I have been working with a student, and identified their requirements were focused on battery life, screen size, application availability, note taking, speed/performance and accessories (external keyboard). I had a different client who was focused on using their device as a “tablet” for displaying marketing materials, and email processing. I had yet another client state requirements for field and mobile usage – but only required a handful of “specific” applications and email.
Each person and team has a slightly different set of needs.
So what to do?
Best thing to do is-
- Determine what you will do with a device. Will you read eBooks or play games? Take notes or watch videos?
- Read reviews, but only pay attention to the items that are important to you. For example an ecosystem for games or battery life or device expansion may not be important. Don’t get caught up in rhetoric and opinions, but try to pay close attention to facts that are important to you. One time, I read a review, where the author was more focused on packaging issues than the actual device itself. I discarded the review instantly.
- Don’t be afraid to go to a brick and mortar store and touch a device. Test sensitivity to your touch and your comfort. Weight, thickness, position of buttons (or lack of them), etc. There is nothing worse that purchasing a product for an intended purpose, and then finding out it is much to small/large or too heavy. Very frustrating.
- Before entering your credit card number or finalize payment, make sure you know your rights around returns. Open box fees or store credit only? Maybe you can test it, and if dissatisfied, return for a full refund?
- Sometimes during final purchase processing, the “insurance” question will come up. Again, this is a personal question, but it does depend upon your intended use case, and purchase price.
So, which should I buy?
My use case is heavy note taking, reading, email, internet browsing, podcasts, and some video playback – all on wireless. Bluetooth is disabled.
Personally, I found that my Apple iPad has served me beyond my expectations. For my use cases, my battery life is pretty good. Usage of a few hours per day – requires approximately a full charge 1x a week. The downside to the full charge is that it could take ~1-2 hours to complete.
Over the life of the device, it has been responsive, and upgrades have been painless, because Apple products are supported for awhile (4-5 years from issue).
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250596052
A positive feature of the Apple ecosystem, is the uniformity of the interfaces. Also, worth noting is Apple’s attempt to keep you in their family by allowing trade-ins towards the purchase of a newer/upgraded product. This solves an environmental dilemma, but, also keeps you in the family.
Historically, any of the Samsung devices would have sufficed, but of recent, this is no longer the case. Apple’s device costs have dropped, while Android based solutions have increased. As of this writing, cost is a minimal factor. As for expansion requirements, this could still be a concern, and the win would go towards Android devices. The Android market is flooded with choices. The Android application store is better organized and comparable to Apple. Basically putting both product categories in direct competition and on even footing.
In my experience, many Android products will only have a serviceable life of 3-4 years. This does not mean that you won’t have a better experience, it’s purely based on my experiences. This is not dependent on the quality of the product, but more dependent on the hardware manufacturers life cycle for support. After a period of time the hardware may work fine, but manufacturers will choose to “age out” older gear. This is specifically true in the case of cellular carriers. Basically the carriers have too many permutations in their test cases. This is mainly the case in OS upgrades. From a hardware perspective, batteries will begin to degrade, based on use and charge/discharge cycles, along with the usual wear and tear.
Ultimately, either device type is going to provide positive results, and bring the user many hours of happiness, and hopefully, minimal disappointment.
In my opinion, the Apple product had an edge, but today, both Apple and Android platforms are on relatively equal footing. Again, both Apple and Android enthusiasts can argue multiple points with validity, but, ultimately, the “right fit” for any one person depends on THEIR use cases, history, budget, application compatibility, as well as additional factors which are individual.
As for “Fleet” selections, my partial “win” goes to Apple, based on longevity – but with a caveat – “application compatibility and efficiency” is CRUCIAL when making fleet or individual purchases. One of my clients needed a very specific functionality and a specific application – which was NOT published in the Apple store. Clearly, they had to create a “carve out” for these devices in their fleet using Android devices. This marginally impacted their MDM platform policies, but ultimately, it worked out.
One size does not ALWAYS fit all – even though we like to think it might.
Always check your requirements – don’t skimp!