So I don’t know about you guys, but I can now officially say I’ve owned my share of tablets.
It all started with a Samsung Galaxy Tab maybe five or six years ago (sold it), then a Surface RT (traded it in for credit for something else), a 7″ Samsung Galaxy Tab (sold it to a coworker who now only uses it as a remote, it’s not good for much else), a Google Nexus 7, and an Amazon Fire HD 8.
But now, as my first iOS device ever, I bought a refurbished 2017 9.7″ iPad directly from the Apple Store. Since I was having issues with the two other tablets that I still have (the Nexus and the Fire), I wanted to get an iPad so I could see what the fuss was all about.
And I hate to sound like an Apple sycophant here, but damn, all I keep thinking since I got it is, “Where have you been all my life?”
Now, I know the iPad, when it was first released, probably had humble roots, much like the original iPhone kind of seems ancient compared to the current crop of iPhones. But the experience as it stands now, just blows me away. Everything about the tablet is such high quality … the build, the OS, the performance, the ecosystem. I’m an amateur musician, and I’m very excited about trying out the various music production apps that are available, which is something that was lacking on my Android tablets.
Some of the other tablets I’ve owned I liked … my first Samsung Galaxy Tab was okay, the Surface RT was … okay, but the platform fizzled, as you all know … the Nexus 7, was a very nice Android tablet.
And even the Amazon Fire … for the *money*, it’s pretty good, especially if you’re heavily invested in the Amazon world. And I sideloaded the Google Play store onto it, which was a nice bonus.
But man … I just couldn’t put up with the problems any more. Especially poor Bluetooth performance with my wireless headphones. And the almost constant pausing of video and/or music playback. My iPad suffers from none of that.
So I guess I now understand why the iPad is kind of considered King of the Hill as far as tablets are concerned.
Now only that, but the refurb I got was $100 less than the current price of the new model that replaced it, which only differs (I think) in a slightly newer processor and pencil support. I think that’s a pretty good deal for an Apple product. It was even packaged as if it was a new product, in the traditional elegant Apple way.
Do you guys agree/disagree? Think iPad is the best, or does it have any serious competition? I’m interested in your thoughts.
PeterC
<p>I absolutely agree. Like you my “ device graveyard list” covers most sizes and OS’s. Before last Xmas with the demise of win 10m I had to confront the family devices situation covering parental controls, music tv streaming etc. Compared to win10m, Android is a needy petulant kid on the longest car journey from hell with some dire personal data privacy issues thrown in. I can choose to ignore data privacy issues but as a parent I won’t for my children. I’m sure they can do that themselves at some point!</p><p><br></p><p>Anyways IOS it was for phones and tablets and darn expensive too. But, and I whisper this, I’m no longer the families IT support helpline. I simply haven’t had to spend hours in my dressing gown on a Sunday morning fixing everyone’s gadgets. </p><p><br></p><p>Windows/office/Surface remains my desktop and work platform. IOS covers the rest and dare I say it, they work absolutely fine together and I’ve stopped spending hours endlessly customising Android for no purpose apart from you can. </p>
innitrichie
<p>The 2017 iPad and 2018 iPad are incredible bargains really when you consider Apple's typical pricing strategy. The 2018 even has pencil support now which was previously reserved for the pricey iPads Pros. I agree in tablet form, iPad is the best option unfortunately and nothing really comes close in terms of rival products or competing platforms.</p><p><br></p><p>Having switched to Android on the phone, I've found no Android tablet that comes close to what iPad offers. The one that gets the best reviews the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 costs way more than the budget iPads, rarely gets any software updates, and of course suffers from the usual problems with Samsung layering lots of their crap on top.</p><p><br></p><p>I think I'd quite like to see a OnePlus tablet but it's never going to happen, and this wouldn't solve the fact Android has very little tablet optimized software – whereas iPad has substantial developer support.</p>
Bats
<p>That's funny, but I've had a Galaxy Note Pro 12", Nexus 7's, and even a two HP Spectre 12", I have never had a problem with any of them, especially with regards to bluetooth connection. I think the problem may be your wireless bluetooth headphones and that the iPad just supports it better (or whatever). </p><p><br></p><p>I, for one, will never get an iPad, because I have no use for it. I'd rather get a Windows 2in1 machine or even a Android/Chromebook tablet because my "everything" ecosystem is centered around Google services and the iPad would be considered a third party. </p>