Talk me into or out of buying an iPad to replace my Android Tablet

[frellingfrakker]

So, I'm an Android junkie who would never switch to an iPhone, but my tablet use cases are much different than my phone. I don't need the customization as much, just fast performance, good gaming and office apps. My current tablet is an Asus Transformer Prime. It was great 2.5 years ago but now it runs like a dog. I've been waiting months for a suitable Android replacement, but nothing has piqued my interest (Nexus 10 refresh never came, not into TouchWiz, Z2 looks intriguing but will it ever come to the U.S.?). I don't want a 7" tablet or 12" but I'm open to anything in the 8" - 10" range (yep, that's what she said). So, for anyone who has experience with both iPads and Android tablets, please give me your opinions on why I should go one way or the other.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Good question. There are many users on Android Central that have an Apple and an Android as one device or another. As for what to suggest, I am not really sure. I have a Galaxy Tab 2, but I am also running SlimKat, so no TW for me. The newer Samsung Tabs can probably be rooted and have s custom ROM flashed to them, so avoiding TW shouldn't be that difficult.

This also has a couple interesting things: Is HTC working with Google on an 8.9-inch Nexus tablet? | Android | Geek.com
1. Hopefully true that HTC will release a tablet in the near future.
2. Mentioning that the LG G Pad 8.3 has a GPe ROM available

 

[the tall guy]

So, I'm an Android junkie who would never switch to an iPhone, but my tablet use cases are much different than my phone. I don't need the customization as much, just fast performance, good gaming and office apps. My current tablet is an Asus Transformer Prime. It was great 2.5 years ago but now it runs like a dog. I've been waiting months for a suitable Android replacement, but nothing has piqued my interest (Nexus 10 refresh never came, not into TouchWiz, Z2 looks intriguing but will it ever come to the U.S.?). I don't want a 7" tablet or 12" but I'm open to anything in the 8" - 10" range (yep, that's what she said). So, for anyone who has experience with both iPads and Android tablets, please give me your opinions on why I should go one way or the other.

I've got an Ipad Air and a Nexus 5 and I love both of them! I enjoy being able to experience IOS 7 as well as KitKat. The Ipad Air does everything I want it to do, plus it looks and feels amazing. Just like you mentioned above, I don't really want to customise my tablet too much, I do all that on my phone. It's always good to see what the grass is like on the other side

 

[JRDroid]

So, I'm an Android junkie who would never switch to an iPhone, but my tablet use cases are much different than my phone. I don't need the customization as much, just fast performance, good gaming and office apps. My current tablet is an Asus Transformer Prime. It was great 2.5 years ago but now it runs like a dog. I've been waiting months for a suitable Android replacement, but nothing has piqued my interest (Nexus 10 refresh never came, not into TouchWiz, Z2 looks intriguing but will it ever come to the U.S.?). I don't want a 7" tablet or 12" but I'm open to anything in the 8" - 10" range (yep, that's what she said). So, for anyone who has experience with both iPads and Android tablets, please give me your opinions on why I should go one way or the other.

I have experience with both. Unless you're okay with buying the same apps twice, stick with Android for your tablet. Android is also great in that you can set up multiple user profiles if you have kids/friends/family that may use your tablet from time to time and don't want them to have access to everything on your tablet. I know that the iPad has Microsoft Office and iWork, but Android has Open Office (which is identical in function to the desktop equivilant) and QuickOffice. Microsoft has also said that Office for Android tablets is coming. The LG G-Pad 8.3 would be an excellent choice. You can even get it as a Google Play Edition if you don't like the LG interface. Galaxy Note 8 or Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 would be my first suggestions, but you did say you didn't want TouchWiz. Nova or Apex can go a long way in hiding TouchWiz though, so I think you should still consider it. I've heard good things about the Dell Venue 8 (not the Pro, which runs Windows) and it runs a near stock build of Android.

 

[frellingfrakker]

Thanks for the feedback so far. A lot to consider.

 

[Evilguppy]

Check out the galaxy tab pro 8 and 10 inch tablets.
Personally I would give up tablets before going back to Apple, that's how badly I got burnt, lol. I used to be a die hard Apple fan until IOS 7 and Mavericks crippled all my devices and Apple customer service went down the proverbial toilet.
1 have a note Pro, now, which I understand is more than what you're looking for but the tab pro in 8 and 10 inches are really pretty sweet.

 

[frellingfrakker]

So, I ended up going with the iPad Air and so far I love it. The interface is very simple but I like that for my tablet and everything is snappy and works great. The device is also very premium, no light leakage or bad wifi (I'm looking at you Transformer Prime) and the size and weight are perfect. I will have to say I do miss widgets though. I also had to spend a few bucks re-buying apps, but I figure if the app is useful enough for me to re-buy then it's probably worth it, especially when we're talking $5 or less for 99% of them. Another great thing is that, unlike a couple of years ago, you can use an iPad and stay solidly in the Google ecosystem (minus apps of course). Gmail, Drive, Google+, Maps, etc. all have iOS versions now and I haven't had problems with any of them. Unlike Android, iOS also has an Amazon Instant Video app which is a big benefit to a Prime subscriber.

I'm still rocking my original HTC One (M7) though and love it way more than my iPhone 5S (work). So, for now I'm happily rocking an Android phone and an Apple tablet.