Upgrade from iPad air: iPad 2018 or Samsung tab s3?

[gdourado]

Hello, how are you?

I currently have an original iPad Air as my tablet.

I bought it at launch and it served me well since.

But I have been finding it needing an upgrade.

Apps take some time to open and switch between open apps.

When I open chrome or switch tabs, they reload often.

I’m guessing the 1gb of ram is seriously bottlenecking it.

So am I looking for an upgrade.

I currently have the option of either a Tab S3 or a 2018 iPad.

They both cost the same.

I am not really in the apple ecosystem.

My phones have been android for some time and my current one is a Mi8.

I don’t use apple services. 85% of my iPad usage is chrome, tapatalk and YouTube.

But I constantly hear that the S3 has an old soc and doesn’t have good performance.

But on the other hand, the 2018 iPad has an apple A10 fusion soc, that is an iPhone 7 soc, so 2016 or older soc to.

Is the performance difference that much?

What do you recommend for my case?

Thank you.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[akash.nu]

On an apple specific forum most likely you will only get recommendations for the iPad. Having said that it’s an absolute truth that the apple chipset always outperforms any other Android manufacturers by more than double the scale.

 

[GerAlex73]

In the spring, the new iPad could be presented, maybe wait until then if possible?

 

[chabig]

On an apple specific forum most likely you will only get recommendations for the iPad.

On the contrary, I think he should go with the Samsung tablet. He's already all-in with Android, and he doesn't see the value in iOS or Apple hardware. Why buy an iPad then?

 

[akash.nu]

On the contrary, I think he should go with the Samsung tablet. He's already all-in with Android, and he doesn't see the value in iOS or Apple hardware. Why buy an iPad then?

Because in the tablet market there’s really no other option other than iPad. Android is horrible on tablets.

 

[chabig]

Android is horrible on tablets.

I agree.

 

[gdourado]

It's not that I don't value apple.
I like my iPad Air and its experience.
It is just showing its age now.
I just don't use apple software.
Since I use an android phone I use chrome on the iPad to have my opened tabs sync between the phone and the iPad.
And outside chrome for Web browsing, Tapatalk for forums and YouTube to watch videos, I don't use the tablet for much else.
I use it quite a lot, but just those apps.
But it still gets 3 or 4 hours of use everyday.
That is why I am looking to upgrade.

 

[chabig]

If you like your iPad (which runs Apple software, btw) and want an upgrade, get an iPad. If you want the Samsung tablet, get it, though I think you'll be disappointed because all Android tablets do indeed suck. Remember that there aren't really tablet apps for Android. You'll be running phone apps on a big screen. If you don't want to take the "risk" of going with an Android tablet, stick with the iPad. It's all up to you. I don't know how anyone here can help you make a decision.

 

[Greenmeenie]

It's not that I don't value apple.
I like my iPad Air and its experience.
It is just showing its age now.
I just don't use apple software.
Since I use an android phone I use chrome on the iPad to have my opened tabs sync between the phone and the iPad.
And outside chrome for Web browsing, Tapatalk for forums and YouTube to watch videos, I don't use the tablet for much else.
I use it quite a lot, but just those apps.
But it still gets 3 or 4 hours of use everyday.
That is why I am looking to upgrade.

Well, if you really liked your ipad air a lot, which it looks like you did...then definitely get the 2018 ipad. Nice upgrade for sure. If you can wait a couple of months, Apple might be updating the regular ipad in March. But thats not known for sure.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I would get the iPad. The chip in the iPad is faster than the one in the S3 and performance will be better on the iPad.

Also the tab S3 does not run the latest version of android and will never be updated again.

As others have said apps on the iPad are a lot better. The battery life will be better.

Positive points for the tab S3 are the screen is better than the screen on the iPad. It has an S-pen. It runs android if you prefer android. Also you can connect external devices to it like USB pens and a mouse.

 

[1BadManVan]

2018 iPad, faster processor and much better software support for updates. Had mine for awhile now and use it daily, never a slow down

 

[Trey M]

3 reasons to opt for an iPad:

1) App Support: It’s likely that at least a subset of apps you use today on your iPad are not available on Android. Even for apps that are available, the odds that the app is optimized for the Tab S3 is 50/50. You’ll definitely find a worse overall app experience when compared to any iPad.

2) Resale Value: Android tablets lose their value overnight. They’re a dime a dozen. If you’ll ever consider selling at some point, the iPad is the obvious choice.

3) Software Updates: By buying a new iPad, you’ll be guaranteeing yourself fresh annual software updates for around 5 years. The forum almost unanimously would agree iOS13 will be siginificant updatenfor the iPad. With Android tablets, there’s no telling which OS you’ll end up on, what the big support will look like 3+ years down the road, etc.

 

[sparksd]

Because in the tablet market there’s really no other option other than iPad. Android is horrible on tablets.

I like my 10.5 iPP but I also really like my 8" Galaxy Tab S2 so I would disagree. But it's a matter of personal preference.

 

[gdourado]

Thank you all for your opinions.
I have been reading some reviews and looking at some YouTube videos.

From what I can tell, the tab s3 has a better screen, speakers and the fast charging is an advantage.

The ipad seems to have smoother performance and a better soc.
The update support is better and it might age better.

The s3 seems to become laggy with usage.
At this point I am really torn, since they both cost the same.

I like my current ipad Air, but I also love my android phone.

On the other hand, apple with the ipad pros, seem to keep betting on the tablets.

Android tablets seem to be dying.
The better one currently is the s4 with an 835 soc.
All other offerings are either basic Chinese tablets or older models.

So I am also worried about betting on a dying horse.

 

[1BadManVan]

Google has replaced their tablets with chrome books. Samsung is barely a float with their tab s series which is a same because they are nice pieces of hardware but the support is really lacking for something that expensive

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Thank you all for your opinions.
I have been reading some reviews and looking at some YouTube videos.

From what I can tell, the tab s3 has a better screen, speakers and the fast charging is an advantage.

The ipad seems to have smoother performance and a better soc.
The update support is better and it might age better.

The s3 seems to become laggy with usage.
At this point I am really torn, since they both cost the same.

I like my current ipad Air, but I also love my android phone.

On the other hand, apple with the ipad pros, seem to keep betting on the tablets.

Android tablets seem to be dying.
The better one currently is the s4 with an 835 soc.
All other offerings are either basic Chinese tablets or older models.

So I am also worried about betting on a dying horse.

I own an iPad Air, 2018 iPad and a Samsung Galaxy S2 and have owned a Galaxy Tab S3. Let’s get this out of the way first. Samsung Galaxy Tab S2/S3/S4 do not slowdown over time. That’s just plain false.

If you want the best screen then go Samsung, nothing else even comes close, they are just beautiful OLED displays. If I had to pick the best option, I would go with the budget iPad. The iPad’s even the budget iPad’s outperform the Galaxy Tab S4 in real world usage.

Resale value is much, much higher with the iPad’s. My 5 year old iPad Air is worth 4x as much my Galaxy Tab S2. You get much better support on the OS side with the iPad. The best all around tablet value are the budget iPad’s.

 

[Momof9]

I would suggest waiting until March - baby the Air? not have too many tabs open, maybe have all other apps that you are not using closed.

I am hoping they will make the bezels smaller and I will get the LTE to replace my 2 + year Asus tablet

 

[sparksd]

Follow-up from my earlier post. Been using both my iPad Pro 10.5 and 8" Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 today and the iPad is just such a better experience - so smooth and responsive with incredible performance. The Galaxy is good, the iPad is really great. I say this as a late comer to the iPad - the Air 2 was my first Apple device - and an early adopter of Android, having owned a wide variety of Android devices since early on (and as an advanced user - I've done a lot with rooting and custom ROMs). I'll always keep a foot in both ecosystems - my phone is Android - but I'll stick with Apple on the tablet side.