Seven mistakes to avoid
Buy in haste, repent at leisure. It’s all too easy to rush in and buy the wrong type of device, so take a moment to read our buying advice
It’s tempting to rush the tablet buying decision. Many people blithely think that iPads are best, without considering whether they actually meet their needs. Instead, you should ask why you want a tablet and draw up a shortlist of criteria.
For example, are you simply looking for a device with which to browse the web and catch up with social media? Do you travel a lot and want to watch movies on the go, or in your bedroom? Are you looking for a travelling companion for business use that can handle productivity tasks, or even heavier workloads, such as video editing?
By analysing your needs and making a checklist, you’ll be ideally placed to look through the models in this month’s Labs test and compare them against your list. To help, we’ve covered the important features of modern tablets below.
1 Buy the right OS for you
The two main tablet operating systems are Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, and if you’ve already bought into either software environment with your mobile phone, that’s a major factor to consider. For example, if you have an iPhone, choosing an iPad will make it easier to share apps and data between the two different devices. The same is true for Android – sign in to your Google account and it’s a simple task to update your apps and sync your cloud services so that switching between your phone and tablet becomes seamless.
Amazon’s Fire OS is another option. This is a customised version of Android that surfaces Amazon’s various services, such as Kindle ebooks, as well as Amazon Prime Music and Video, making them easy to access. If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, are a frequent user of Amazon Music and Video and perhaps have a few Echo devices around the home, Fire OS could make more sense than a standard Android tablet. However, Fire OS has limitations, such as forcing you to use Amazon’s own app store rather than Google Play. As a result, Google’s own apps, such as Gmail and Maps, are missing, and you’re restricted to using Amazon’s Silk browser too. If you really need the Google apps then it is possible to install the APK files, but this route is for more advanced users only.
Last year, these would have been your only choices, but there are now two more options. Google’s Chrome OS is, so far, only found in the education-focused Chromebook Tab 10 ( see p82), and still needs work to make it truly tablet-friendly. But support for Android apps and the desktop-class OS mean it’s worth a look. Finally, there’s Windows 10 in the form of the Surface Go. We explore its pros and cons in the review on p80.
2 Don’t skimp the display
When it comes to choosing a screen, again consider why you’re buying the tablet in the first place. If it’s more for productivity work or simple web browsing, a 4:3 screen, such as that found on the Apple iPad devices, may be better. But, if your primary intention is to play movies, consider a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio instead.
Screen size is also important. The 10in or larger tablets look more cinematic, but are trickier to hold and weigh more. If being able to slip your tablet into a pocket or small bag is important, look at the 8in or smaller devices. Conversely, if you’re a digital artist looking for a sketching tool then a bigger screen is better, and you need to ensure that the device supports (or includes) a stylus or pen.
Resolution matters for all tablet screens, but especially for the larger devices. The key feature to look at is the screen’s pixel density, which is measured in pixels per inch (ppi). Anything below about 200ppi and small text will start to look fuzzy, though you need to drop below 150ppi for this to seriously affect readability. Apple settled on 264ppi as the optimal pixel density for super-sharp text, and we agree: more than this is fine, but it’s difficult to see the difference.
Numbers don’t tell you everything, however: the difference in screen quality between the premium and budget tablets is like night and day. Apple’s colour-accurate 120Hz screens on the iPad Pro devices are perfect for content creation work, while Samsung’s HDR-capable Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Tab S4 is unmatched for watching or streaming videos. Again, decide what