Migrating from iPad to Samsung Tab

[sracer]

Most people replied that Android is worse than an iPad, but you replied its more capable. They said iPad apps superior to Android tablets. Thats confusing.

There are legitimate criticisms of Android, but some of the other criticisms are the typical pre-canned talking points from a schoolyard at recess of the "oh, well, my dad is stronger than yours!" variety. Some criticisms are outright false. Other criticisms are subjective. But having said that, those reasons are important to the people who said them.

There is no de facto superior device. The challenge for you in starting this thread is to see, not so much who makes the better objective argument, but which reasons connect with your needs, wants, and priorities in a device.

If you search this sub-forum, you'll find plenty of threads where I go through in excruciating details what even the most lowly Android-based devices can do.

The reason I said that Android devices aren't for you is because you started this thread with beliefs about Android that clearly show you don't want Android. I'm not a salesman. I don't get a commission if you choose Android over iPad. I have no interest in convincing anyone to pick one over the other... but to hopefully provide perspectives that will help the person make an informed decision themselves.

 

[pencilscribbler]

I don't appreciate you assuming to know what I do with my Android device and why it appeals to me.

My (very generalised) analysis re why your Android tablet appeals to you may be inaccurate, as I only have your one post to go on.

I have used the well-known generalisation that power users/techies on Android usually prefer Android due to its superior customisation features, unlike Apple’s locked-down “simpler-to-use” iOS philosophy.

If it has missed the mark, I do apologise for any offence caused. Sorry!

Perhaps you could elaborate to OP @MacBH928 in further detail why you love using your Tab S6, if you wish.

That would help us all understand more about Galaxy Tab real-world usage experience, and its pros & cons from actual users like yourself.

 

[pencilscribbler]

There is no de facto superior device. The challenge for you in starting this thread is to see, not so much who makes the better objective argument, but which reasons connect with your needs, wants, and priorities in a device.

If you search this sub-forum, you'll find plenty of threads where I go through in excruciating details what even the most lowly Android-based devices can do.

I totally agree, there is no one perfect “de facto superior device”. Different people have different needs/wants/values, so what suits one may not suit the other.

I personally love my Android TV box, it allows me to do things that I just cannot do on my Apple TV, due to Apple’s locked-down philosophy.

The reason I said that Android devices aren't for you is because you started this thread with beliefs about Android that clearly show you don't want Android.

Spot on @sracer.

 

[MacBH928]

sounds like a train wreck, wonder if google will ever take tablet software seriously, guess it’s a bit hard when developers don’t even care.

Heaven right there, don’t see what all the fuss is about when it comes to gesture navigation, couldn‘t wait till apple ditched the home button on the iPad, gesture navigation feel way more natural, my 3rd gen pro was a launch day pick up, massive improvement in every single way over the the 2nd gen pros.

Maybe trying out a Samsung galaxy tab will make him realise how bad they are, could be a thing for the op. Just make sure there is a return policy on the device.

Nothing special about blown up smart phone apps on a tablet.

The home button gives me touchID, using it always give me the requested results. Touch screen you need to do all kind of fancy movements from different areas of the screen to get to the result you want. Ex. pulling up from bottom of the screen you might get : The Dock, The home screen, or the app switcher.

1 click home button will always go home, always. Double clicking it will always go app switcher, Always. Double tap and you get the screen grab, always. And I don't have to move my hand to the bottom of the screen as the home button is always under my thumb.

I guess Google does not care about tablets due to low sales, people already pirating apps, and they don't want it to cannibalise their chrome books sales. They are probably planning on a Chrome tablet. I won't be surprised if they do Chrome phones and ditch Android altogether.

 

[MacBH928]

There are legitimate criticisms of Android, but some of the other criticisms are the typical pre-canned talking points from a schoolyard at recess of the "oh, well, my dad is stronger than yours!" variety. Some criticisms are outright false. Other criticisms are subjective. But having said that, those reasons are important to the people who said them.

There is no de facto superior device. The challenge for you in starting this thread is to see, not so much who makes the better objective argument, but which reasons connect with your needs, wants, and priorities in a device.

If you search this sub-forum, you'll find plenty of threads where I go through in excruciating details what even the most lowly Android-based devices can do.

The reason I said that Android devices aren't for you is because you started this thread with beliefs about Android that clearly show you don't want Android. I'm not a salesman. I don't get a commission if you choose Android over iPad. I have no interest in convincing anyone to pick one over the other... but to hopefully provide perspectives that will help the person make an informed decision themselves.

Best thing for me is to go and play with an Android tablet in a store. Yes, I do not like Android as the fragmented OS bothers me with each manufacturer runs an altered version of it just like in the Linux world.

That being said I do not like to hold the iPad Air 4 slab in my hand to read an article on a website. Also not fan of the display tech. I will be waiting for an iPad refresh and see how big the new Minis will be or if I can get a smaller ipad than 10.9 Air 4.

The screen size is literally made for people who use iPad as their sole device I think, and they will be happy with it.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Best thing for me is to go and play with an Android tablet in a store. Yes, I do not like Android as the fragmented OS bothers me with each manufacturer runs an altered version of it just like in the Linux world.

That being said I do not like to hold the iPad Air 4 slab in my hand to read an article on a website. Also not fan of the display tech. I will be waiting for an iPad refresh and see how big the new Minis will be or if I can get a smaller ipad than 10.9 Air 4.

The screen size is literally made for people who use iPad as their sole device I think, and they will be happy with it.

Why not get a case with a stand so that you don't have to hold the ipad up?

 

[LFC2020]

The home button gives me touchID, using it always give me the requested results. Touch screen you need to do all kind of fancy movements from different areas of the screen to get to the result you want. Ex. pulling up from bottom of the screen you might get : The Dock, The home screen, or the app switcher.

Never had a problem with gestures on my iPad Pro.

Swipe up slowly, brings up the dock

Swipe up normally, goes home

Swipe up with a slight pause, brings up the app switcher.

Maybe a bit of practice is needed. ?

Had my 3rd gen iPad Pro 12.9" since launch, can't go back to a home button.

 

[MacBH928]

Why not get a case with a stand so that you don't have to hold the ipad up?

I use my iPad in hand like an ebook or a magazine. For a desk use case I can use desktop or laptop.

 

[lyunmac]

I traded in my iPad Pro 10.5 for the Galaxy Tab S7+ for $300. It had the bright spot so I figured I get something out of it since Apple wouldn't have offered half of that if I wanted the newest iPads. I preferred the customization and the simple ability to download a video from reddit or any website and have it my downloads folder. The only major app I used was lightroom for photo editing and I got that on my Tab also with my included s-pen. I think you should stick with iPads as many of your requests aren't available on Android. There aren't many gestures, some apps are missing (depends what you use), Apple support is the best in case you have any issues, and there's no home button on Android tablets anymore. I have a Galaxy Note so I'm used to the system and Samsung will offer 3-4 years of major updates starting from last year.

 

[AKDub]

I am about to do the same - replacing my regular 9.7 iPad with one of the Samsung tablets. I have been playing around with an android phone recently and I think some of the features they have would make it more useful as a tablet - although its mainly just a plex/youtube/web browser so doesn't matter too much either way.

I'm thinking I'll go with the S6 Lite as you can now flash LineageOS onto it for a clean android feel, and try to make use of the fact that its more of an open 'computer'. For example Syncthing will sync files directly over wifi with my NAS so I my videos and music will always be up to date.

I would recommend install F-Droid and trying out some of the apps in there. Its a bit hit and miss and the apps can be a bit barebones, but there are lots of decent free and open source apps that can be useful and would limit play store downloads

 

[Shanghaichica]

I am about to do the same - replacing my regular 9.7 iPad with one of the Samsung tablets. I have been playing around with an android phone recently and I think some of the features they have would make it more useful as a tablet - although its mainly just a plex/youtube/web browser so doesn't matter too much either way.

I'm thinking I'll go with the S6 Lite as you can now flash LineageOS onto it for a clean android feel, and try to make use of the fact that its more of an open 'computer'. For example Syncthing will sync files directly over wifi with my NAS so I my videos and music will always be up to date.

I would recommend install F-Droid and trying out some of the apps in there. Its a bit hit and miss and the apps can be a bit barebones, but there are lots of decent free and open source apps that can be useful and would limit play store downloads

The new one UI update for the tab S6 lite will give it Dex support for an alternative desktop experience.

 

[Infinite Vortex]

I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ as my primary tablet and for my purposes it's the better tablet. iPadOS and it's far better app support will generally speaking give a much better experience. And given the way you wrote your original post I wouldn't recommend an Android tablet to you.

FWIW I do much prefer the 16:10 aspect ratio of the samsung tablets given I'm mostly using it at a media consumption device. If the vast majority of what I'm watching is 16:9 or wider, in what way do I care to have a 4:3 display that is only going to give a smaller picture?

As for not getting 5+ years of software updates, there a pluses and minuses to that. I dont see how or why Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Crunchyroll or any media service requires a software update. With each successive OS upgrade your device will generally go slower doing the same thing as what you were doing with the previous OS version so one has to offset that with whatever new features you get. I really don't like being forced into replacing a device because the OS has made is too slow to be useful and that has only ever happened to me with Apple.

My general experience with Android is that it's a more involved (some will use the word difficult instead) setup and process to get it just right but once that's done it's actually a lot less effort to maintain as I'm not issenantly badgered into doing things. Just be mindful that there are greater frictions in resolving certain issues when you wish to interoperate Apple and non-Apple devices. Once that's done properly though there's not much to think about other than enjoying your device.

 

[AKDub]

The new one UI update for the tab S6 lite will give it Dex support for an alternative desktop experience.

Yeah I saw that which has swayed me more to the Lite so I can give Dex a go, although I was disappointed to see that there are no Brydge style keyboards for Samsung tablets which would make them a great little tablet/laptop hybrid

I hope a desktop mode comes to AOSP eventually. A stock android phone that I can plug into a small laptop and a desktop dock would be the perfect computing solution for me.

 

[AKDub]

My general experience with Android is that it's a more involved

Yeah this is one on the key differences, and since buying a Pixel to 'play around with' I am realising more that as someone who is interested in computers and technology, and as someone who has generally a good understanding of them - having a device to tinker with and customise is not such a bad thing

 

[Shanghaichica]

Yeah I saw that which has swayed me more to the Lite so I can give Dex a go, although I was disappointed to see that there are no Brydge style keyboards for Samsung tablets which would make them a great little tablet/laptop hybrid

I hope a desktop mode comes to AOSP eventually. A stock android phone that I can plug into a small laptop and a desktop dock would be the perfect computing solution for me.

Samsung make first party keyboards, not if they‘ve made one for the S6 lite. However yes I don‘t think there are any third party ones from well known brands.

 

[AKDub]

Samsung make first party keyboards, not if they‘ve made one for the S6 lite. However yes I don‘t think there are any third party ones from well known brands.

Yeah I'm not a fan of those style ones, same on the ipad. I like the fixed hinge laptop style ones like Brydge do.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Yeah I'm not a fan of those style ones, same on the ipad. I like the fixed hinge laptop style ones like Brydge do.

Many people feel it will damage the screen because it is so tight.

 

[MacBH928]

I am about to do the same - replacing my regular 9.7 iPad with one of the Samsung tablets. I have been playing around with an android phone recently and I think some of the features they have would make it more useful as a tablet - although its mainly just a plex/youtube/web browser so doesn't matter too much either way.

I'm thinking I'll go with the S6 Lite as you can now flash LineageOS onto it for a clean android feel, and try to make use of the fact that its more of an open 'computer'. For example Syncthing will sync files directly over wifi with my NAS so I my videos and music will always be up to date.

I would recommend install F-Droid and trying out some of the apps in there. Its a bit hit and miss and the apps can be a bit barebones, but there are lots of decent free and open source apps that can be useful and would limit play store downloads

I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ as my primary tablet and for my purposes it's the better tablet. iPadOS and it's far better app support will generally speaking give a much better experience. And given the way you wrote your original post I wouldn't recommend an Android tablet to you.

FWIW I do much prefer the 16:10 aspect ratio of the samsung tablets given I'm mostly using it at a media consumption device. If the vast majority of what I'm watching is 16:9 or wider, in what way do I care to have a 4:3 display that is only going to give a smaller picture?

As for not getting 5+ years of software updates, there a pluses and minuses to that. I dont see how or why Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Crunchyroll or any media service requires a software update. With each successive OS upgrade your device will generally go slower doing the same thing as what you were doing with the previous OS version so one has to offset that with whatever new features you get. I really don't like being forced into replacing a device because the OS has made is too slow to be useful and that has only ever happened to me with Apple.

My general experience with Android is that it's a more involved (some will use the word difficult instead) setup and process to get it just right but once that's done it's actually a lot less effort to maintain as I'm not issenantly badgered into doing things. Just be mindful that there are greater frictions in resolving certain issues when you wish to interoperate Apple and non-Apple devices. Once that's done properly though there's not much to think about other than enjoying your device.

Lineage on Tab is great to hear but those tablets are only tiny bit smaller than iPad Air 4. When I held an 11 Tab 7 it seemed small than Air for some reason. I will be waiting if any new Minis or sizes coming to the ipad. They seem to provide every size in the spectrum except for the initial flag ship size which is 9.7 for some reason.

As for apps I don't really use anything ipad specific. Mostly just browser, media consumption. I don't make a living running iMovie or doing work on MS Office. I still don't understand which apps are so much greater for the iPad unless you are specific to something like Affinity Pro.

One problem I have is that the tab 6 is the base tablet which means it comes with the worse specs. For example the screen is TFT LCD and I don't know what that means. If one thing I need to work great that is the screen.

One thing I love about the Air4 is the processor speed. This is the snappiest thing ever, looks like it is only limited by your network speed.

 

[LFC2020]

One thing I love about the Air4 is the processor speed. This is the snappiest thing ever, looks like it is only limited by your network speed.

That’s another huge advantage these iPads have over the Samsung tablets, my 3rd gen pro (2018) still runs like the day I picked it up on launch day hasn’t missed a beat. The A12x is a awesome chip.

Reckon the upcoming mini is what you’re after, 8” plus display sounds perfect for you.

 

[MacBH928]

That’s another huge advantage these iPads have over the Samsung tablets, my 3rd gen pro (2018) still runs like the day I picked it up on launch day hasn’t missed a beat. The A12x is a awesome chip.

Reckon the upcoming mini is what you’re after, 8” plus display sounds perfect for you.

I will be honest, most Apple products work just as good as release date. When it becomes slower its because software becomes more demanding. On the PC side of things, I think , if you install a light OS like Linux it becomes fast again. I have a Windows laptop released near Win10 release era, running Win10, the mouse moves in slow motion. That is probably the case with Android devices too.

So they theory that hardware becomes slower with time is not real, its software becomes not compatible/more demanding. Its just that Apple somehow make their software last longer on their products.

my iphone 7 is just as fast as when new with iOS14. Where it lacks is "snappiness" while browsing which makes me think websites became even more loaded and complex since 2016. Even with that, its not bad I just wish for a snappier experience.

One confusing thing, but might be false perception, my SE 2020 (A13 bionic) is the predecessor generation of the Air 4 (A14) but the A14 feels much snappier. Maybe its the extra 1GB RAM ?

 

[Infinite Vortex]

Yeah I saw that which has swayed me more to the Lite so I can give Dex a go, although I was disappointed to see that there are no Brydge style keyboards for Samsung tablets which would make them a great little tablet/laptop hybrid

? I have the keyboard cover for the S7+ and it's as near as a "laptop experience" in its physical design as one can realistically expect. Granted it requires a rear kick stand to make the display remain upright rather than the hinge in a laptop, but I don't really see any real alternative as unlike a laptop the keyboard/base is required to have a certain weight for balance. You don't want to make the keyboard section heavier than it needs to be.

There are aspects I really like about this keyboard cover and aspects I really don't. Fortunately the aspects I like are skewed to the way I use it. Being a 2 part cover I mostly use the one, the rear, part alone where the keyboard part is left elsewhere.

 

[MacBH928]

Any one know which is the Samsung tab equivalent to the Air4?
I know the 7+ is the equivilant of the iPad Pro.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Any one know which is the Samsung tab equivalent to the Air4?
I know the 7+ is the equivilant of the iPad Pro.

Maybe the tab S7?

 

[JagRunner]

Don't do it. Even the hardcore Samsung phone people I know have iPads lol

 

[MacBH928]

Don't do it. Even the hardcore Samsung phone people I know have iPads lol

Its confusing as I read reviews, people say Android tabs completely suck other say iPad users are impressed with Samsung tablets.

I guess to each his own, must check one at a store and try it.