Tablets Android tablets are dead

[Vegastouch]

Same here. I used to be very picky about tablet apps being designed specifically for tablet rather than phone and this is one factor that led me to stop using Android tablets a few years ago. But I've come to realise that its not that important for me (as ultimately I use it as a consumption rather than productivity device). Obviously there is still a segment for whom app quality is a big factor, but I think it's a minority.

For me the key issues with budget and midrange Android tablets is
A) Uncertainty about how long devices will be supported
B) Lack of options with secure biometrics

The budget iPad does not suffer from these issues and this makes it easy to recommend.

If Google can release a tablet that can compete on price with the budget iPad, can guarantee 4 years of support, can provide either finger print login or secure face/iris login (that can work with sensitive apps), I think it would be a compelling alternative to the budget iPad. Even better if it supports multiuser profiles and has base storage of 128gb instead of 64gb (both of which would be better than what the iPad offers).

True, not important to me anyways. I use my tablet maybe 25% as much as my phone or PC but that's probably because it is slow as mollasses.
It's 6 years old and now the Amazon app says the tablet is too outdated to run the app. I don't really care about the OS but when the apps are outdated, time to get another.

Don't.matter to me if I have the newest IS on it.

 

[Benlurks1010]

I hate my Fire 7…it’s so laggy with even just one app open, the battery is pathetic and even the most popular apps fall behind on updates because Amazon insists on having their own version of everything. But I still use it because I love that 7 inch form factor! It’s so comfy to hold and even fits in my baggier pants’ pockets.

I’ve noticed there aren’t too many 7 inch options anymore…I guess with phone screens becoming so big, they’re mostly targeting 8” as a minimum for tablets now. There is a 7” ONN tablet at Walmart though, I might pick one up🤔

 

[jimimac71]

Yes, the 7 inchers are junk.
Didn’t look at the Walmart tablet.
8 or 16 GB and 1 or 1.5 RAM.
32 Gigs is almost impossible along with 2GB RAM.
You can still get KitKat and Lollipop.
Android Go or maybe Pie.
What year is this?
With such terrible specs, I can see the use of older OSs.
I guess the 7 inch Android tablet is dying.

 

[Benlurks1010]

The onn one actually has 2gb ram and Android 11, so it should be fine for light duty…1024x600 screen is the main problem😅 The 2012 Nexus 7 I had ages ago was way better than that.

I guess the popularity of Amazon’s cheap tablets made people believe they’re meant to be cheap kids toys, so no one’s willing to make a really good premium 7 inch anymore. Sucks for people like me who would actually like one to use as a serious device, but I understand.

 

[Ixon2001]

Well since getting the Fold 4 I've hardly used my Tab S8, it's just so much easier using the Fold 4 as a tablet due it's smaller size & weight, I may sell my Tab S8 on while it still worth something rather than have it sat at home gathering dust.

I honestly think as foldable & whatever else comes in the future become more commonplace & cheaper, tablets as a consumer product will start to disappear, leaving only a expensive niche market for those that really need one.

If i stick with foldable phones from now on I will defiantly have no need for a tablet anymore.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I hate my Fire 7…it’s so laggy with even just one app open, the battery is pathetic and even the most popular apps fall behind on updates because Amazon insists on having their own version of everything. But I still use it because I love that 7 inch form factor! It’s so comfy to hold and even fits in my baggier pants’ pockets.

I’ve noticed there aren’t too many 7 inch options anymore…I guess with phone screens becoming so big, they’re mostly targeting 8” as a minimum for tablets now. There is a 7” ONN tablet at Walmart though, I might pick one up🤔

ALL Amazon tablets are total garbage designed for the landfill. They still run specs from 2009 on them. I got two, an HD and a 7 and they're full of lag and ads. I once had an old original Kindle Fire from 2011 that was superior in just about every way, and felt like it was made of quality.

If you try putting Google Play on a Fire tablet today, you'll find out what it was like after logging into a Google account and updating everything on a Samsung Galaxy ACE back in '10.

 

[ArkSingularity]

ALL Amazon tablets are total garbage designed for the landfill. They still run specs from 2009 on them. I got two, an HD and a 7 and they're full of lag and ads. I once had an old original Kindle Fire from 2011 that was superior in just about every way, and felt like it was made of quality.

If you try putting Google Play on a Fire tablet today, you'll find out what it was like after logging into a Google account and updating everything on a Samsung Galaxy ACE back in '10.

The 10inch is much better. I've had both the 7 and the HD 8, and the 10 blows both of them out of the water. Mine has remained snappy even with google play on it.

I’ve noticed there aren’t too many 7 inch options anymore…I guess with phone screens becoming so big, they’re mostly targeting 8” as a minimum for tablets now. There is a 7” ONN tablet at Walmart though, I might pick one up🤔

I'd check what processor is in it before you buy. Most of the cheaper tablets use Cortex A53 based SOCs without any performance cores, which are why they are so laggy (the Cortex A53 is an efficiency core, it's designed for extremely low power usage and it's about as fast as a pentium 3. Both the Fire 7 and the Fire 8 have SOCs that are set up like this.) The better performing tablets all have a proper big.little configuration with a set of Cortex-A72+ cores in them.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I find that hard to believe. They're laggy out the gate, and adding Play Services to that is only going to compound the problem given how demanding and invasive Google Play actually is.

I never gave the 10 a chance after having been screwed over twice with the 7 and HD 8, expecting some semblence of quality like the original Kindle Fire had. One would expect some sort of improvement since 2011, but like most things today, it's just a total downgrade with ugly flat UI.

 

[ArkSingularity]

I find that hard to believe. They're laggy out the gate, and adding Play Services to that is only going to compound the problem given how demanding and invasive Google Play actually is.

I never gave the 10 a chance after having been screwed over twice with the 7 and HD 8, expecting some semblence of quality like the original Kindle Fire had. One would expect some sort of improvement since 2011, but like most things today, it's just a total downgrade with ugly flat UI.

The 7 and the 8 are both kneecapped by having SOCs that have exclusively Cortex-A53 efficiency cores. The 10 has a much better SOC with a proper big.little configuration and a set of real performance cores, which makes a world of difference. Mine is buttery smooth.

It's a night and day difference from the 8. The 10 actually feels like a very well made tablet.

 

[nickdalzell1]

How much newer than the HD 8 is the 10? The 7 and HD 8 felt like a modern tablet with the specs of the Samsung Galaxy SII, with added problems being a bloated, ad-driven UI. Putting Google Play would likely render them both unusable. To say nothing of the massive privacy issues and virus-like behavior of Google Play Services.

 

[ArkSingularity]

How much newer than the HD 8 is the 10? The 7 and HD 8 felt like a modern tablet with the specs of the Samsung Galaxy SII, with added problems being a bloated, ad-driven UI. Putting Google Play would likely render them both unusable. To say nothing of the massive privacy issues and virus-like behavior of Google Play Services.

It's not about newer vs. older, the SOCs in all of them are fairly recent. The 7in and the 8in are both slow because they don't have any performance cores, the entire SOC is powered by 4x A53 efficiency cores.

The A53 is literally the slowest core that ARM makes that is still in mass production for mobile devices (and it's many times slower than Apple's efficiency cores). It's a core that was specifically designed to run background tasks with very little power consumption, not to power entire SOCs without being paired with performance cores. Many of the cheaper android tablets and phones still do this anyway, and they are all very similarly sluggish (despite proudly advertising "Quad core 2ghz CPU" on the product page. They aren't telling you that those are A53s.)

The 10in has a completely different kind of SOC with 4x performance cores and 4x efficiency cores, and the A73 performance cores that it uses are about 3.5x faster. If you're ever near a Best Buy, check out the display units. It seriously makes a night and day difference.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I never meant it literally, but the performance of the tablets was pretty much on par if not worse than the Samsung Galaxy SII, or HTC Wildfire. They acted as if they were still running dual-cores and MALI chipsets. They were that awful. Just getting past the lockscreen was a lesson in frustration since oftentimes it'd be playing an actual video! (ad for a game).

Budget smartphones get away with terms like '2.0GHz Octa Core CPU' by faking the specs. If you watched any videos reviewing fake iPhones and the like, a lot of times the benchmark software "Sees" 8 cores but what truly happens is it's faked, the cores being 1 2.0 GHz core and the remaining 7 as 0.0GHz. So in reality it's just a single core faking itself out to be something it ain't. Now how they don't get into legal trouble is a mystery. Where's Sherlock Holmes when you truly need him?

 

[Technerd108]

It's incredible how much ground Google ceded to Apple only to come right around and have another crack at tablets. The problem is the app ecosystem is really lacking because of their strategic decisions, and all the great professional productivity apps are generally only available for iPad. I'm excluding Microsoft Office because I don't feel their apps are great on any platform.

There has been some nice Android hardware, but the software and apps are completely lacking. I don't think Google can ever catch up with Apple at this point.

The problem with Google is they are in a money crunch. They are trying to get rid of things that aren't profitable.

Couple that with their history of producing a product and just dropping it. Remember the Chrome tablets or when Honeycomb was going to usher in a separate version of Android for tablets. They start things and just end up dropping them.

Pixel phones are another example. They have so much potential. Then they release buggy updates. They just never seem to really put all their effort into anything.

So for them to make a tablet the potential is certainly there. They could make a great device and screw it up somehow and just drop it. I have been burned too many times.

I have a Samsung phone and tablet and I would love a proper alternative. I hate the bloat on Samsung but they make pretty solid devices and their software is much more reliable and now they are giving longer term software support than even Google does with their Pixel. 3 years is just not enough. 5 years should be standard.

This is why Apple is so popular. They put a lot of effort into research and design of their products. They support them for a long time and they don't just drop something after a short period of time. Microsoft is the only other manufacturer that does similar stuff.

I am really hopeful Google can get itself together and start fixing some of the long time issues with Pixel phones, Android on tablets, updates and better optimized and designed apps but I am not holding my breath for any of it to change.

 

[ArkSingularity]

I never meant it literally, but the performance of the tablets was pretty much on par if not worse than the Samsung Galaxy SII, or HTC Wildfire. They acted as if they were still running dual-cores and MALI chipsets. They were that awful. Just getting past the lockscreen was a lesson in frustration since oftentimes it'd be playing an actual video! (ad for a game).

Yeah I remember, I've owned both the 7in and the 8in, and both were almost unusably slow. The 7in especially, it couldn't even scroll down the homepage without freezing up.

 

[nickdalzell1]

To be honest, even my SII performed a lot better than my Fire HD 8. Even my original Kindle Fire was better.

 

[dumastudetto]

The problem with Google is they are in a money crunch. They are trying to get rid of things that aren't profitable.

Couple that with their history of producing a product and just dropping it. Remember the Chrome tablets or when Honeycomb was going to usher in a separate version of Android for tablets. They start things and just end up dropping them.

Pixel phones are another example. They have so much potential. Then they release buggy updates. They just never seem to really put all their effort into anything.

So for them to make a tablet the potential is certainly there. They could make a great device and screw it up somehow and just drop it. I have been burned too many times.

I have a Samsung phone and tablet and I would love a proper alternative. I hate the bloat on Samsung but they make pretty solid devices and their software is much more reliable and now they are giving longer term software support than even Google does with their Pixel. 3 years is just not enough. 5 years should be standard.

This is why Apple is so popular. They put a lot of effort into research and design of their products. They support them for a long time and they don't just drop something after a short period of time. Microsoft is the only other manufacturer that does similar stuff.

I am really hopeful Google can get itself together and start fixing some of the long time issues with Pixel phones, Android on tablets, updates and better optimized and designed apps but I am not holding my breath for any of it to change.

Yeah this is brilliant post. I agree with so much of it. Google should hire you I think, you certainly recognise so many of the most pertinent pain points that they continue to flub.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Google is an advertising company who occasionally makes hardware.

Advertising is where they make the overwhelming majority of their profits.

Maybe they should stick to advertising.

 

[jimimac71]

Why Android tablets could be dead? I don't like Amazon or Samsung for a low cost tablet. That leaves me with Nokia as I also don't care for Lenovo. When a Chromebook costs as much or more than a low cost Windows laptop, I feel backed into a corner. My Nokia T20 is okay and on par with my iPad 7th Gen. My eyesight struggles with a 10 inch tablet, so anything smaller would make a great paperweight. Microsoft is getting to be as bad as Google when it comes to advertising.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Wait, hold up! Nokia 1) still exists? and 2) makes tablets now?

The last 'new Nokia' I remember was the now-no-longer-supported second coming of the 3310.

I haven't even heard the iconic Nokia Tune or bootup sound since Cingular EOL'd. At one time it was more common to hear that than the Samsung Galaxy SIII Whistle ringtone.

 

[jimimac71]

Wait, hold up! Nokia 1) still exists? and 2) makes tablets now?

The last 'new Nokia' I remember was the now-no-longer-supported second coming of the 3310.

I haven't even heard the iconic Nokia Tune or bootup sound since Cingular EOL'd. At one time it was more common to hear that than the Samsung Galaxy SIII Whistle ringtone.

You haven’t been reading my posts lately. My iPad is easier on my eyesight than my T20, being the only advantage. Nokia has the 10 inch T20 and the 8 inch T10. They have basic and smart phones. Support is pretty bad. No updates the way they have promised.

 

[compwiz1202]

Most people don’t need a tablet. Or even a home computer anymore. Smartphones are the way to go.

Remember I said MOST. Of course there are still people out there. But looking at the research. Android tablets are far from dead.

I've never liked tablets, but won't never not want a laptop. Can't do most things as well on my phone, especially type.

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

Ipad compared to Android tablet is like comparing Porsche 911 GT3 to 1991 Ford Escort.

 

[jimimac71]

I’m not one of those ‘most people’ who don’t want a computer.
I enjoy my Windows PC the most as it is not a struggle to see the screen.
It’s all about my vision issues. People with good eyesight don’t get that, but you will. My iPad 7 is easier to see. I can’t push the Nokia’s text any higher.
My iPad is not better.
The 911/Escort comparison is silly.
Just how did you come to that conclusion?
I would compare iPad/Android to a car with the same engine with manual transmission versus automatic.
My 4 cylinder Escort with 4 speed transmission worked fine.
My 6 cylinder Pinto with automatic transmission was a gas hog because it had A/C and power steering. The vehicle was too heavy.
My Escort was fun and economical.

 

[Technerd108]

Let's not get into car analogies.

Obviously there is a bias on Macrumors for all things Apple. We all understand.

Just because "you" have a particular point of view the comments like I have an iPad and all Android tablets are trash or my iPhone is soo much better than Android. I had a galaxy s4 and it sucked and been on iPhone ever since are really not very smart responses.

You may prefer this or that and that is fine but unless you can explain why something is better and understand the differences not from several years ago but within 3 years or less your opinion is really not relevant.

Android tablets generally have better hardware at a cheaper price and for a lot of people that is all that matters because they just want something to browse the web and watch some movies.

I have an iPad and I love it and I have a Samsung galaxy s8 and I love it. One is not a Lexus and the other a Tercel. Both have their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Google is much like Microsoft where the user base props up the company despite making poor decisions. They are also similar in the latter OEM's have a vested interest in pushing the envelope in terms of hardware to sell their products. So you will always have more choice on MS and Android hardware. Features that Android has had for years first are later adopted by Apple.

Android is open source mostly or at least based on open source and Linux whereas iOS and all Apple software and hardware is proprietary.

If Google gets their act together and starts to focus on their software and hardware better they have the potential to be much more competitive. Since their user base is baked into their business model it makes sense they start to do a better job. They are losing Market share at the higher end of the spectrum to Apple and even at the mid level too and this will only get worse over time if they don't change things.

One thing Google needs to figure out is how to make updates like chromeOS come to Android. They can do it. If they made updates no longer dependant on OEM they could eliminate a lot of problem but if they did that they would hurt a lot of their OEM partners like Samsung. They also need to improve on their resource management in Android. You shouldn't need 12-16gb ram to run a mobile phone.

We will see what the future holds but Android isn't going anywhere any time soon and although their developers have more freedom to deliver crappy software the paid apps are mostly good just like Apple. Android has a lot of features for the cost. Always on display is now just coming to iPhone after so many years on Samsung phones and others. Also a camera cut out instead of a notch, before that was an app drawer and 120hz screen all of which Android phones had for years before Apple adopted it.

So can we stop with the redundant and childish quips about I have an Apple blah,blah,blah, and it is so much better than the cheap android trash. Even the S4 when it came out was a nice phone. You had a user replaceable battery, SD card expansion, OLED screen way before it was an option on iPhones but TouchWiz wasn't so great. Lol

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

Or I can compare whatever I want. ANd you're free to make retort or not.