Is the Slate right for me, or is it time to go the iPad route?

[egernant]

I'm an Android power user. I've never owned an iPhone. I've owned probably around ten Nexus and Pixel devices throughout the past several years, currently rocking a Pixel 3XL and Pixelbook (though my wife really uses the Pixelbook). I use virtually every Google service from music to drive to photos and so on.

I would like yet again to get a tablet. Every Android tablet I've had, I've ended up selling. I had high hopes for the Pixelbook but it's a better Chromebook than tablet. I have interest in the Slate, but it's pricier than it should be and I hear bad reviews on lag and experience.

My question is this: is the right Android tablet out there for me, or is it time to admit defeat and go the iPad route? Can an Android and Google power user make an iPad work for them, or is it just going to frustrate me?

 

[B. Diddy]

I can give you an answer in maybe a week, since I'm expecting my Slate to arrive in the next couple of days.

From what I've read and heard from other users, the lag was primarily on the version with the m3, and many of the bad reviews were based on Chrome OS's problematic tablet UI (which has been improved significantly since the Slate was originally released). I currently have an Acer Chromebook Tab 10, and the interface on that works fine in my opinion (the main drawback being that device is much less powerful than the Slate, but perfectly fine for kids, as was its original intent).

Is there a particular tablet functionality that you're looking for?

 

[kakos26]

The reviews of lag were on the Celeron processor, not the m3. I've had the m3 for couple days now and smooth, no lag and fast performance. Enjoying it, no idea why anyone would say m3 lags

 

[B. Diddy]

The reviews of lag were on the Celeron processor, not the m3. I've had the m3 for couple days now and smooth, no lag and fast performance. Enjoying it, no idea why anyone would say m3 lags

Oh yeah, I forgot there was a Celeron version! I must've been thinking of reviews that just pointed out the relative performance differences between the m3 and i5 (not lag).

 

[Jeremy8000]

If you specifically want an Android tablet, this isn't your best bet - the Samsung Tab S6 fits that bill nicely. If you aren't likely to ever use the keyboard and run it as a chromebook it's still a great device, but probably not the best fit for your needs.

But if you want a large tablet with a ridiculously good-looking (though not incredibly bright) display and phenomenal sound that runs most android apps very well, that you can and will slap on a great keyboard to become a fully functional chromebook, and (perhaps most importantly) runs the true desktop version of Chrome browser, this is an amazing value if you can still find the M3 version for $449 (I'm pretty sure BB and Google are sold out of the M3, but some BB stores may still have them). The i5 for $649 does give you a lot more with the better processor and storage, though that $200 would have been a lot easier for me to envision shelling out when it was a 30% increase (based on retail) instead of the current 45% increase (based on promotion).

 

[B. Diddy]

You can also get the discount at B&H Photo/Video, although it's on back order: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tml/BI/20079/KBID/13844/SID/UUacUvbUpU6700213