The Problem with Android Tablets (Premium)

My iPad Air is now over two years old, and I’ll be looking for a replacement later this year. I’d love to go with an Android tablet, but I can’t. And while there are a few reasons for that, one sticks out: there just aren’t enough apps that are optimized for this form factor.

To be clear, this is not Google’s fault. The online giant has aggressively courted developers with the technology and resources they need to make their Android apps work well on large-screen devices, which include not just tablets, but Chromebooks and foldable smartphones. There is no excuse in 2023 for many of the top Android apps, especially those designed for reading and other consumption activities to not be optimized for this. But here we are.

I’ve considered various Android tablets in recent years. Samsung is an obvious choice, though I find their product lineup confusing, and I’m not a fan of Samsung’s software bloat and Android customizations. Amazon, too, though their Fire HD products are cheap and underpowered, and they would be a major step down from my premium iPad.

But there are some newcomers to consider. Naturally, the tablet I’m most interested in is Google’s Pixel Tablet, which the firm will announce this week at Google I/O. There are some stumbling blocks there, price most obviously, and I’ll want to check out the reviews first. But I was also interested to see that OnePlus recently launched its own tablet, the OnePlus Pad, and while I can’t say I seriously considered it, I did at least check out the reviews. And what I saw was both disappointing and not at all unexpected.

Most reviewers hailed the quality of the device as a new high-water mark in Android tablets and many cited its excellent performance and battery life. But most likewise decried the app situation.

“The perennial complaint with Android tablets is that there are so few apps that take advantage of a tablet’s larger screen, which makes them a hard sell compared to the iPad,” the Verge noted. “That doesn’t change with the OnePlus Pad — Google’s apps like Chrome and Gmail and Microsoft’s Office apps work well, but there are still far too many apps that just behave like blown-up phone apps on a large screen. Popular apps I use every day, such as Slack and Pocket, look comical on the Pad’s nearly 12-inch screen and are a far cry from how they work on an iPad.”

“Android is still a work-in-progress on larger-screen devices such as tablets,” the Guardian review reads. “Most third-party apps are simply blown-up phone apps, and some refuse to run in landscape. Google’s various apps at least now work pretty well on the 11.6-inch screen.”

“Many apps stick with a phone layout on the OnePlus Pad, especially when using it in a portrait (vertical) orientation,” 9to5 Google adds. “That’s frustrating. And then there are the apps like Twitter, which just ignore that tablets are a thing entirely – although, in the case of Twitter specifically, there are much bigger fires going on.”

And so on. You get the idea.

You also probably understand that there are other issues hampering Android tablet adoption. For me, it’s about focus. Google’s most recent push with Android and large screens seems to be more about productivity—that is, a person directly interacting with apps, perhaps with a keyboard and touchpad—as opposed to consumption. Indeed, it’s not coincidental that the OnePlus Pad has a 12-inch-ish display, putting it in Surface Pro territory.

But that’s not what I’m looking for: I just want to read and, when traveling, watch videos. I don’t want or need a keyboard and touchpad, but I do value long battery life and a slim and elegant form factor. I also use the device primarily in portrait orientation, only switching to landscape for videos.

As for the Google Pixel Tablet, it will apparently have an 11-inch display, which is the same as my iPad Air, and just a hair bigger than the base iPad. But Google’s marketing materials always show this device in landscape mode, and I have to think that’s the focus.

Also, the iPad mini, which is all about consumption, has an even smaller 8.3-inch display, and had this updated design been available when I did buy the iPad Air, I would have chosen it instead. Yes, I’d love to drop yet another Apple product, but this is where I’ll probably turn when the time comes to upgrade. You know, unless something good happens on the Android side. (I noted Amazon and Samsung above, and both do offer smaller Android tablets too.)

I don’t think anything will change, sadly. And because a tablet is, for me, a 2-to-3-year commitment, if I do go iPad, yet again, it will be a while before I consider switching, yet again. And round and round we go.