The Pixel Tablet isn't going to fix what's wrong with Android tablets on its own

[AC News]

Hardware is only half the problem. Not even the important half.

The Pixel Tablet isn't going to fix what's wrong with Android tablets on its own : Read more

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Thank you! Finally an article that isn't a fawning puff piece on the Pixel Tablet. I too am a big Android fan and owned a G1. The lack of a quantity of quality tablet-optimized apps is what holds back Android tablets (as you indicated).

 

[JellyRollz2]

Jerry - you're not wrong, but sometimes just having a larger phone app is good enough. The browser experience is better, YouTube is obviously better, and the handful of content consuming apps that I use are more comfortable on a tablet. I currently use a cheap Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 which is slower than my Pixel 7 but thoroughly usable for browser/reddit/Hacker News content. And I have had a lot of Android tablets over the years...the Google I/O Galaxy 10.1 edition with Honeycomb, both revisions of the Nexus 7, and far too many junky Amazon Fire tablets.

I think the thing missing from this article is the particulars of the software. Even the junk Fire tablets are fine for consuming content and games but the difference between any Android tablet and an iPad is the content creation apps. Maybe it was implied?

 

[Mike Johnson27]

I've used à tablet for many years and I currently use Samsung S8 Plus and I am completely satisfied. Don't expect to change it for years. I surf, email, WhatsApp, phone and use spread sheets.

 

[parksanim]

Another problem is that Android developers insist on all but the extremely expensive (You, Samsung...) tablets be slower than an experience any of us cares to deal with. Apple makes EVERY device work well, with a top-level chip that's very fast, for years. Samsung (main offender) gives us some Helio trash on tablet hardware that was outdated 3 years ago. It's no wonder there isn't more support for the Android tablet world. Samsung has this "just barely enough unless you fork over 3x as much for our flagship" mentality with phones, too. My wife's 2 to 3 year old Snapdragon 888 chip in her a82/Quantum 2 runs rings around the trashy low-level Exynos and Helio chips they handicap their midrange phones and tablets with, today. There was a marked step backward to slower chips in the midrange last year. Why? What does it save them... $5 per chip? Samsung and Android deserve playing 2nd fiddle to Apple. And if they continue this strategy, they will fail.

 

[Marek Hlava]

I don't agree with this article. I think the tablet experience is good enough for most people. If you use tablets for social media, games and videos, you won't have issues. I guess there's no Android version of iPad Pro with software for power users but is there even demand for it? You can't expect all phone apps to be optimized for tablet, that's just not a priority for many companies because users don't demand it.

 

[Marek Hlava]

Thank you! Finally an article that isn't a fawning puff piece on the Pixel Tablet. I too am a big Android fan and owned a G1. The lack of a quantity of quality tablet-optimized apps is what holds back Android tablets (as you indicated).

Can you give us some examples of those apps? I'm curious.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Can you give us some examples of those apps? I'm curious.

Can you give any examples of third party apps that ARE tablet optimised?

 

[vulture#AC]

The Dock is $130 and is a dead paperweight when you take the tablet off. It's $30 more than a Nest Audio, and it's a fancy paperweight. You cannot cast to it on its own. Even the tablet can't cast to it or make use of it unless it's sitting on it. Can they sell a Pixel tablet without a dock and charge me $130 less?

I think I've about had it with Google's nonsense.