Tablets Android tablets are dead

[ozaz]

Use as digitiser for a PC - one of the occasional productivity use cases I have for my iPad is to use it as a graphics tablet for my PC (more for use with whiteboard apps and annotating presentations and documents than for drawing). I use an app called Easy Canvas to enable this. There seems to be an Android version of Easy Canvas, but I’m wondering if Samsung Dex also provides this functionality?

In case anyone else is interested in this type of functionality, SuperDisplay seems to be a well regarded option on Android - https://superdisplay.app/

Samsung Second screen seems to be another option, but doesn’t support wired connection, which is not ideal.

 

[jimimac71]

I like how people make the assumption that because people like nice things or have an electronics hobby that their credit is shot and they are broke. Lol. Being resourceful is fine but don't place such generalizations on those that enjoy new and nice things.

Okay, my bad. Others in this forum list all their Apple products, below their posts. Sometimes the posts are shorter than the list of products.
I have one PC from early 2015. I hope to keep it until the wheels fall off.
My first Amazon tablet is from 2017, and was purchased after I was forced to evacuate a fire that almost took my home. The charging port (mini USB) went bad. Like a fool, I got a 2019 Amazon tablet. It still works and I use it to play music mostly.
Surgery forced me to elevate my leg and use my tablet all the time and not my PC.
I enjoy my Samsung tablet from 2019. My go to device.
I figured the grass was greener with iPad. The biggest mistake I've ever made.
I have a Jitterbug flip phone for emergencies.
This rather long post lists everything I have and why.
I don't count my 2007 iMac, which really isn't functional.

 

[lepidotós]

There's also the thing that it's halfway to impossible to find an actual laptop these days, most of them are tablets with an attachable keyboard. It's been this way for, like, 8 years, and yet Microsoft's marketing team is still trying to convince us it's cool and new when it's been the zeitgeist for at least the last five of those eight. So it's now a three-way fight between Android, iOS, and Windows (on both amd64 and aarch64). And the occasional aftermarket Linuxing, though I suspect that's relatively rare.
And yes, I know Android is Linux, but the kernel is the only similarity it has with a desktop distribution, which is what I mean.​

 

[nickdalzell1]

Okay, my bad. Others in this forum list all their Apple products, below their posts. Sometimes the posts are shorter than the list of products.
I have one PC from early 2015. I hope to keep it until the wheels fall off.
My first Amazon tablet is from 2017, and was purchased after I was forced to evacuate a fire that almost took my home. The charging port (mini USB) went bad. Like a fool, I got a 2019 Amazon tablet. It still works and I use it to play music mostly.
Surgery forced me to elevate my leg and use my tablet all the time and not my PC.
I enjoy my Samsung tablet from 2019. My go to device.
I figured the grass was greener with iPad. The biggest mistake I've ever made.
I have a Jitterbug flip phone for emergencies.
This rather long post lists everything I have and why.
I don't count my 2007 iMac, which really isn't functional.

I have had Amazon Fire trash myself as well. I don't toss them into the garbage because I care about the planet we all live on. However, their original Kindle Fire was decent. It ran on Android 2.3, no 'Fire OS' garbage, and just had a customized launcher on top. It was easy to root and ROM, and supported my favorite custom ROM based on 2.3, called CyanogenMod 7.1. Perhaps the most customizable custom ROM out there.

Currently, my array consists of one eMachines PC from 2008 running Windows 10 (I should have installed Vista-but I wanted to see what happens when you install an 'unsupported' Windows version on an ancient PC), my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2012) tablet that mainly is for YouTube only, as that's currently all I use and need it for. I also have a Tab 2 10.1 (2012) for general web browsing and podcast playback, a Tab 2 7.0 (2012) for ebooks, and my go-to phone right now is my Samsung Galaxy Note II (2012). I have an S20 FE 5G for backup purposes, but it can be frustrating to use, with unnecessary notifications, routines that don't always work, and a gesture navigation system I still can't get right 2 years later! I prefer my Note II. Just the right size, removable battery, S-pen, etc. I use a Samsung Galaxy S5 at home as a home phone and for remote control replacement since it has an IR blaster.

The Note II is tecnically incompatible with VoLTE, but I forced it to work anyway via root/hacks. It can still make phone calls and texts today, just fine. It can't even pick up 1x or 3G as Verizon has shut most of 'em down, and if it loses the 4GLTE signal, it can't even call or text. It has to have an LTE signal to do any of that now. But works fine. There's only one place near work that only has 3G so I can't call at work, but that's anothe reason I keep all my digital content on-device such as music, books, notes, etc. I don't believe in the cloud. I was affected negatively when both Mega and Ubuntu One EOLd. I don't trust my data to a service I have no control over and doesn't last forever.

I'm a buy it for life kinda guy. I have amassed a great collection of old smartphones and tablets for a lifetime. I find most on Amazon, others I actually find in the trash! People on this forum don't want to believe me, but most folks do NOT return their device for recycling at all, they toss it and buy another. They even do this when the device they no longer want still works fine. I really despise this mindset as it's harmful to the planet and wasteful. I wasn't raised that way. I also can't see any benefits in modern devices since they do far less than my old stuff does perfectly fine. I don't know when the annoying adage 'if you run old software you'll get hacked!' comes from but it's a total myth. Now, if you view porn or go the PirateBay or Torrent, well, yeah. But all I do is take notes, use email, play offline music, browse YouTube, random Google Search, read PDFs, and read books. I have no banking apps installed and don't need them. Nothing on my phones involves my bank or money. I have ID and security monitoring services attached to critical information so I'd be notified in the event I got hacked.

My Android tablets are far from dead, and in fact work 100% fine. They do everything a modern device does. They do Spotify, YouTube, Kindle, browse the web, the works. They'd do social media if I cared about that. I never understood the attitude of people on this subforum much less this forum and many others, who actually seem threatened by one guy out there who prefers a 10-year old smartphone and tablet over a modern one. They always compare me with an Amish or guy preferring a horse and cart or someone bragging about the 'benefits' of a crank starter as if they are remotely comparable. I'm just an 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' guy who isn't compatible with modern OS design or modern tech. I cannot by myself change the progress (well, de-evolution and homogenization) of tech by my actions, so I fail to understand the threat I pose to anyone.

I am not the only one who notices a lot of 'modern' trends actually having been done before or at least 10 years ago. Mr. Mobile did a video about the new Dex laptop, and he even mentioned that Motorola had a very similar thing in 2012 as well, powered by the Atrix. The 'folding phone' concept is not progress nor innovation either, having been done with the Kyocera Echo in 2012. All the 'modern' devices have is support for the modern web overall, but that's all I can see. The Nintendo Switch concept is another 2012 throwback, given the Wii U accomplished the same thing. All I'm seeing is 2012 or 2010 concepts rehashed, nothing new, nothing groundbreaking. I would love to see the revolution and tech pace go forward like when the 2007 iPhone came out and changed everything. I want to see feature after feature be made, not taken away for a few more camera lenses, or a screen too impracticably big for a phone, but still too small to replace a tablet. Is it wrong to want the innovation and competition back? Why is it Microsoft got into a suit over anti-trust but other companies can get away with it? Also, when did companies care more about shareholders than their customers? that last one really irks me.

/rant

 

[sracer]

Takes me back to the Psion 3c. I can imagine a version which allowed the screen to unfold into double the area. (Plus a bit as the bezels were very wide.) And at least some small status screen visible without opening it up.

Speaking of which, its implementation of a word processor which was (more or less) compatible with Word, allowed you to specify a negative "Space before paragraph". Something I wish Word had.

I have one, and I'm hoping that someone will release a proper follow-up to it.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I'm still wanting to come across either a disposed of or Amazon used Palm Pre (Never experienced webOS) or an old BlackBerry PlayBook or HP TouchPad (another WebOS wonder). There's a lot of smartphones I would love to play around with but most have become like old cars, 'cash for clunkered'

I can't even find a reasonably priced iPhone 3GS today. You'd be amazed what a good condition one goes for on eBay!

My dad once had a PSION handheld, but it was no tablet! It was an ancient organizer he used for an aviation computer to calculate distance, ETA, etc. It's super rare today:

 

[jimimac71]

I am reluctant to replace my old Sansa Clip+ with a new one. Reviews are not so great. This supports the idea that old is good sometimes. I would be interested in a 7 inch Amazon tablet, but I know it could have a short life. My 2017 Amazon tablet is still functional. I have to stretch a rubber band around the charging cord as the port is sloppy. My 2019 Amazon tablet is no better in performance. USB-C is the only plus.
My Samsung tablet, also 2019, received a security update today.
It's my understanding EOL for support with Chromebooks is about 7 years. Much better than a couple of years with Android. I could care less about the Android release number, just want security updates.
I follow ChromeUnboxed. Robby is my hero.
Each new release of Chrome OS brings on new features.
If Android tablets are dead someday, they will have been swallowed up by Chrome products.
A Chrome OS tablet will have the desktop version of Google Chrome, with all the extensions.
It already has the Google Play Store and is still Beta with Linux apps.
I can see phones continuing to run Android or iOS.
Steve Jobs said the Mac would never have a touch screen, so we have iPad.
The iPad with M1 needs to be a touch screen Mac.
Android needs to stay in the game with a true tablet version of the OS, which seems to be in place, a little.
I like a light weight tablet I can hold in one hand. My eyes need to get close to the screen.
Love the 2 in 1 concept, but then you have a pretty heavy tablet.
Things I want in an Android tablet are: FM radio, back camera with flash, and GPS. In that order.
I've been in evacuation mode where Comcast was out and so was cellular. So we had electricity and radio.
Yeah, a tablet is big to use as a camera, but sometimes I do use my back camera. A flash could help, but it's rare. I've never used GPS, but why not have it. Just as easy to have FM and GPS as not.

 

[kaardowiq]

When I read - "It can't do it; but I force it to do so" directly tells me to keep my iPad and iPhone. I don't want to spend time on reading how to unlock a boot loader, how to flash, what to take care etc. Even if I'd be an car engineer I wouldn't build my own car - I would just buy a suitable one.

 

[jimimac71]

When I read - "It can't do it; but I force it to do so" directly tells me to keep my iPad and iPhone. I don't want to spend time on reading how to unlock a boot loader, how to flash, what to take care etc. Even if I'd be an car engineer I wouldn't build my own car - I would just buy a suitable one.

But would you fix your own car?
Think of all the people who tweak with just about anything to make it do what they want.
Then you have Microsoft and Windows S Mode.
There is a way out but you can't go back.
Windows S means Store. You can download anything you want, from the Store. Everything is safe and antivirus protection is not needed or provided.
Just like iPad and iPhone.
You can download anything you want, from the Store.
Regular Windows, Mac, and Linux let you do whatever you please.
There are risks. Trust me.
I'd be half my age if I could get all the hours back spent trying to fix my own stupid mistakes. But it is a way to learn.
Like the ongoing argument from Tim Cook. If someone wants to modify the OS, and has the knowledge, no one should stand in the way.
Maybe Tim doesn't have a clue what makes his products tick.
We all know Steve Jobs did. In my opinion, innovation was superior under Steve's watch.
I respect the investment Nick has made in his knowledge base.
It is paying him dividends.
SUDO is as SUDO does.
SUDO, the key to the backdoor.
Even a Chromebook knows how to use it.

 

[nickdalzell1]

You don't have to root or flash anything to enjoy Android. Heck, my old Note 10.1 and other tablets are un-rooted and just run the out-of-box software they came with. Without having installed a single update or linked them to Google accounts, they perform as if brand new today.

Android actually has similar support as Apple. Not for OS version numbers, of course, but app support remains pretty much the same. The last app I could install the latest version of on my Note II (which runs Android 4.4, Kitkat) was from the latter part of 2018, Samsung Health. That is already 6 years of support! Android does differently with the integration of Play Services replacing the need for 5-6 years of OS version updates (and tons of unnecessary UI design changes, I guess). The support overall remains much the same.

My Galaxy S5 is already 8 years old, and can still run the latest versions of Walmart, Kroger, and the Calm app. That's just three examples. That's better than the Note II, and close to the long support cycle of the iPhone 6S.

I only rooted and hacked some files to make the Note II run on VoLTE so I could continue using it as long as I wanted to. Straight Talk kept telling me it won't work after February 2022, but here it's March 21 and it's still working fine. It only works with LTE signal of course, and there's two places where I pick up 3G where it can't utilize it, but that's pretty much what a modern phone does, work on LTE or 5G only. The point is, it can be done. Unlike someone who prefers to keep their iPhone 3GS or 4, they're SOL since Feb 2022.

 

[babyexercise]

I know why Google is isn't putting any effort into android tablets, cause they are working on chrome OS tablets. That is the future.

Another new OS without any app just make iPad with dominate number and quality of apps even more dominate.

 

[babyexercise]

I know why Google is isn't putting any effort into android tablets, cause they are working on chrome OS tablets. That is the future.

Google does not try much now because Apple dominates the tablet market

 

[babyexercise]

Google does not try much now because Apple dominates the tablet market

I should say Apple dominates the “quality” tablet market, while a lot of people just buy the cheapest range Android just to have a basic running machine for something like Zoom for kids or anything when they don’t want to pay much.

 

[ian87w]

Google does not try much now because Apple dominates the tablet market

Google doesn't try because hardware were never their main focus. They are an advertising company. Just look at how many products and services they rolled out and then cancelled out of nowhere. Google will never be able to focus on hardware as sharp as Apple. The ones innovating on Android right now are the OEMs, with features from dual/triple cameras, foldables, multi-window support, etc. Then Google will roll out support on AOSP a few years later.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

Looking at my Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab, it doesn't seem to be dead. It does perfectly what it is supposed to, not less efficiently as my iPAD.

 

[nickdalzell1]

My 2012 Tab 2 7.0 and Note 10.1 seem to be doing well as well. Not dead, or 'bad quality'. They did YouTube, Netflix, web browsing, media consumption then, and they do all that now. I don't get it. Also bonus for not being forced by Apple to update it to keep using apps or worse, having apps cease to work because the version of the OS is too old. Apple products do that. Aside core apps such as phone, messages, and Safari, pretty much any third party app will refuse to even open if you're too many iOS versions behind. Not the case with Android. Despite Android 4.0 being the last supported version on my Note 10.1, everything works fine, with or without updates. I feel that saves money and e-waste as well.

More bonus points for the S-pen, being the OG Pencil, and having expandable storage and IR blasters.

 

[babyexercise]

My 2012 Tab 2 7.0 and Note 10.1 seem to be doing well as well. Not dead, or 'bad quality'. They did YouTube, Netflix, web browsing, media consumption then, and they do all that now. I don't get it. Also bonus for not being forced by Apple to update it to keep using apps or worse, having apps cease to work because the version of the OS is too old. Apple products do that. Aside core apps such as phone, messages, and Safari, pretty much any third party app will refuse to even open if you're too many iOS versions behind. Not the case with Android. Despite Android 4.0 being the last supported version on my Note 10.1, everything works fine, with or without updates. I feel that saves money and e-waste as well.

More bonus points for the S-pen, being the OG Pencil, and having expandable storage and IR blasters.

If you dont mind no patch and get hacked, it is functional.

 

[lepidotós]

That's honestly an overstated fear. It's not wrong, just sensationalized to be a bit more mountainous than it really is. It's true that frozen software will always be easier to exploit, but that depends on people still considering it a viable platform. Technically, Windows 98 SE is completely insecure. Objectively, good luck getting any malware found outside historical samples to work on it. Someone would need to be targetting specifically you.
As for historical malware still floating around in a dusty corner of the Internet, anything that phones home depends on the author not changing routers, ISPs, locations, computers... I guess ransomware is more destructive that way, but as long as you don't go anywhere you shouldn't, it should be fine.
Especially on an Android tablet.​

 

[babyexercise]

That's honestly an overstated fear. It's not wrong, just sensationalized to be a bit more mountainous than it really is. It's true that frozen software will always be easier to exploit, but that depends on people still considering it a viable platform. Technically, Windows 98 SE is completely insecure. Objectively, good luck getting any malware found outside historical samples to work on it. Someone would need to be targetting specifically you.
As for historical malware still floating around in a dusty corner of the Internet, anything that phones home depends on the author not changing routers, ISPs, locations, computers... I guess ransomware is more destructive that way, but as long as you don't go anywhere you shouldn't, it should be fine.
Especially on an Android tablet.​

Not really, virus can target any exploit of no more patch outdated android, all can be done by the virus, no need to have a hacker just manually target you.

 

[babyexercise]

Not really, virus can target any exploit of no more patch outdated android, all can be done by the virus, no need to have a hacker just manually target you.

Even just visiting some big popular websites, the site could be hacked or the ads company got hacked then some virus codes can be running through just visiting that website once. Updated browser may protects you from most of the risk but not all.

 

[polyphenol]

Even just visiting some big popular websites, the site could be hacked or the ads company got hacked then some virus codes can be running through just visiting that website once. Updated browser may protects you from most of the risk but not all.

And how many of us can claim never to have slightly mis-typed or mis-remembered a web address and gone somewhere else entirely? Very often, the sites with similar addresses to those that are well-known have been choice locations for malware and nasties.

 

[polyphenol]

Yeah I was just thinking Nexus 7 had a nice little screen and was a good intro to Android OS before I jumped into an Android phone.

The Nexus 7 had a hardware issue. I had to open it up (which was quite easy) and place a small piece of paper/very light card, in a particular place. Then put the back on. That worked for a long time. And when it became a bit unreliable, I put a slightly thicker bit in!

 

[babyexercise]

And how many of us can claim never to have slightly mis-typed or mis-remembered a web address and gone somewhere else entirely? Very often, the sites with similar addresses to those that are well-known have been choice locations for malware and nasties.

Not money related app or website should be OK, I would not do anything related to money in an outdated no patch android

 

[Oohara]

I’d switch to the same setup if I wasn’t so reliant on the camera in Apple’s pro phones (I use the telephoto lens a lot). Now owning an iPad mini, I’d love an iPhone pro mini that could mostly live in my pocket or backpack until I needed to capture a photo or video. Just about everything else would be done with my Apple Watch or iPad mini.

I’d love an iPad Mini Pro even more.

Sorry I’ve meant to reply to this for ages! Somehow I forgot but then suddenly remembered as I posted this, up in the iPad forum:

Amen. I don’t need big storage, but with a Pro display (preferably even OLED) and sound, the Mini would be a KILLER content consumption device while remaining the best little productivity beast ever.

I’ve lately started to be over huge phones, so I’m looking to switch to a small/simple/low cost phone + a small tablet with cellular connection for all that stuff I used to think that a big phone was good for. Currently the existing Mini is really the only option in that size category and sadly I find it leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Give me an iPad Mini Pro and so God help me not even Bruce Lee would be fast enough to stop me from whipping out my credit card.

 

[cuzo]

I'm debating selling a S6 tab lite for 150 on offerup, the guy wants it.

I don't use it much but read a few books now and then.

But if I sell it I have to spend at least 250 for anything decent.

Basic ipad is 330.