The limitations of Apple’s iPad are making Android tablets even more compelling

Ask anyone on the street for a tablet recommendation and they’ll almost instinctively suggest an iPad. It’s hard to be upset about this, even as an Android user. Practically since its debut, the iPad has been THE The default choice of tablets, while their Google counterparts were often unable to merit a mention.

But the tables have turned, and Android tablets are better than ever right now. Not only have they caught up with iPads, but they’ve beaten Apple’s tablets in many ways that matter. The argument that iPads are generally better tablets than Android ones no longer holds water.

What is a tablet?

Apple should actually ask this

Remember a few years ago when Apple asked in a nice commercial for the iPad: what is a computer? While Apple may not have an answer to this question, it should instead start asking what it thinks a tablet is. Ever since it introduced its M-series chips in the iPad Pro and Air, we’ve been wondering how exactly it should harness that Mac-like power, a task befitting that Pro moniker. But we don’t have anything meaningful to talk about so far, other than Final Cut Pro for iPad, which is more suited to an edge use case.

When the M4 iPad Pro debuted before WWDC, it felt like a strong indication that big changes were coming to iPadOS at Apple’s developer conference. We hoped that iPadOS would finally shed its iOS heritage and move closer to the Mac. Some even wanted Apple to let them run macOS on the iPad Pro, which shouldn’t be impossible, but all we got was a great (albeit quite impressive) calculator app for the iPad.

It’s starting to become a cycle that we get overpowered iPad Pro and Air models, but only a few apps capable of adequately utilizing this feature. Meanwhile, people are left waiting for an OS more capable of using the hardware, one that at least has “real” PC-like file management and all. But no, it’s the way we have to live Apple.

Shrinking gap

Android tablets are just as good as iPads

iPads still have a massive advantage due to their exclusive apps that haven’t been ported to Android yet, but other than that, there’s not much that makes them significantly better than Android tablets. And after some recent steps Google took to make Android more suitable for a tablet’s big screen, Android tabs no longer look like blown-up phones.

Pick up the Galaxy Tab S9 or even the older Tab S8 series tablet from Samsung and you’ll see how far Android tablets have come. These have always featured their OLED panels, which the iPad Pro just got, and we don’t need to remind you how good Samsung’s screens are. In addition, Samsung bundles a decent stylus with its tablets, saving you from having to spend more money.

However, what really makes Samsung tablets stand out is DeX mode, which turns your tablet into a computer – something iPad users have been desperately asking for from Apple. Considering that more advanced users are likely to use their tablets for productivity rather than professional video editing, the Galaxy Tab series makes a strong case for itself.

Beyond that, Android has another ace up its sleeve that Apple doesn’t: foldables. All major Android phone manufacturers have at least one foldable phone, including Samsung and Google. If you open the inner screen of your foldable device, it instantly transforms into a small tablet, just like the iPad Mini, making it suitable for consuming media on the go and even taking notes with a stylus (Galaxy (Z Fold 5 can do this).

Additionally, many common apps are optimized to use this larger tablet screen, including Gmail, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn, so the general complaint that Android doesn’t have tablet-optimized apps is also a thing of the past. .

When good enough is not a bad thing

Ask yourself, what do you usually do with a tablet?

For many of us, a tablet is primarily a large, portable screen used to watch movies or browse the web, so why even consider something like an M4 iPad Pro? I, too, fall into that category—all I use my tablet for is watching shows and movies while I’m lounging in bed—and my budget OnePlus Pad Go is more than fine for that. It has a nice display and a quad speaker array, making it a mid-range media machine.

While Samsung offers perhaps the best experience on the Android side, there are plenty of higher-end Android tablets with their own unique features. OnePlus tablets, for example, sit very well in the OnePlus ecosystem and offer some related features like sharing notifications if you have a recent OnePlus phone.

Additionally, Amazon’s Fire tablets are a great budget option if you want to give your kids a tablet to play with. This wide variety of options to choose from still makes Android a more versatile operating system where you decide which functional combination you prefer instead of a single brand dictating it.

The differences between Android and iPadOS are now more about their distinct personalities than their capabilities.

When 99% of people only use their tablets for media consumption or similar light things, I don’t understand why many people dismiss Android tablets anymore. And not just regular apps, the software advancements Android has made for tablets over the past year or two have put it on par with iPads.

Of course, there are differences between the two platforms, but those are now more about their distinct personalities than their capabilities. It’s time to stop giving Android tablets a hard time and a bad rep, because they certainly don’t deserve it anymore.