Will tablets replace laptops?

[anon(10181084)]

Here's Wine 3.21 running on my Galaxy Tab S3. What do you guys think? Where is this headed? Tablets replacing laptops?

 

[belodion]

I have a Nexus 7/2, and know nothing of the Tab S3. Is it an ordinary sort of tablet? Have you somehow persuaded it yourself to run Windows?

 

[anon(10181084)]

Google "Wine on Android". It is a compatibilty layer to run Windows software on Linux based operating systems. All it take is a ~130MB APK file and you can get started. Will have to at some point when I have time test non built-in programs.

 

[Morty2264]

Hmm, maybe. I think about that sometimes. But part of me thinks that a tablet cannot replace the power of a laptop. At least for me, anyway.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Highly doubt it, especially with sales in decline and many manufacturers giving up on the market.

You will also never fit the same computing power into a tablet as you can a laptop, just as a laptop cannot match a desktop. I was reading over a decade ago how the desktop was dead, everyone would have a laptop and no one would own a desktop anymore.

 

[anon(10181084)]

I know, the power of a beast rig laptop/desktop cannot be replaced. What I was thinking was more of the tablet replacing it in situations where you just need some Windows stuff but don't wanna carry a heavy mobile workstation. For now, Wine can only run ARM compiled apps on ARM devices, so I guess I might end up one day having to find software for Windows RT (LMAO) and hope it works... The x86 version can reportedly run normal software, but you of course need an Intel Atom SoC to get that working. I do also use lBochs PC Emulator (got sick of Limbo's crappy performance and lack of Windows support). Even after tweaking, x86 emulation is SLOW as molasses in January... Apparently QEMU will be built into Wine in the future, so maybe we will be able to (slowly) run x86 apps on ARM devices in the future.

 

[anon(10181084)]

Highly doubt it, especially with sales in decline and many manufacturers giving up on the market.

You will also never fit the same computing power into a tablet as you can a laptop, just as a laptop cannot match a desktop. I was reading over a decade ago how the desktop was dead, everyone would have a laptop and no one would own a desktop anymore.

Are you kidding me?! iPad Pro has 18000 on Geekbench and my father's work laptop (Dell Precision 5530) has the i7-8850H with somewhere above 19000 in Geekbench. Only problem with iPad is that it is expensive and I hate the locked down iOS system. The problem is that since Android and most of its apps need less computing power than content creation apps made for iPads, Android devices don't ever get special tablet-specific SoCs. My Galaxy tab S3 runs very well for 99% of things I do on it, even though it socres just under 4000 on Geekbench (this is ~600 points less than my computer's cheap Celeron G1820). I wish we had iPad level SoCs so that we could enjoy fast emulation and fast video exporting (don't get me started about PowerDirector...).

 

[LeoRex]

I don't see one eliminating the other. I see the two devices becoming two versions of the same device... What you call it will just depend on if the keyboard is attached.

I just see the platforms merging... At least in the non Apple world. Microsoft is moving Windows to a hybrid OS, as is Google with working to blend Android and ChromeOS into a unified OS.

But you'll still see more dedicated hardware.. gaming laptops, for instance...

I'll be interested in how Apple evolves. If you can get a fully fledged desktop class device that can work just as well as a tablet, why would you bother with an iPad in it's current form?

 

[L0n3N1nja]

Are you kidding me?! iPad Pro has 18000 on Geekbench and my father's work laptop (Dell Precision 5530) has the i7-8850H with somewhere above 19000 in Geekbench. Only problem with iPad is that it is expensive and I hate the locked down iOS system. The problem is that since Android and most of its apps need less computing power than content creation apps made for iPads, Android devices don't ever get special tablet-specific SoCs. My Galaxy tab S3 runs very well for 99% of things I do on it, even though it socres just under 4000 on Geekbench (this is ~600 points less than my computer's cheap Celeron G1820). I wish we had iPad level SoCs so that we could enjoy fast emulation and fast video exporting (don't get me started about PowerDirector...).

Not kidding for a couple reasons.

1. As impressive as that iPad score is, it's still constrained by power and thermal limits. A more powerful version of the SOC could exist if better cooling was available.

2. For productivity, a tablet fails hard compared to a laptop, even if the software and computing power were theoretically identical. A small screen and flimsy cramped keyboard just can't compare to the user experience of a good laptop.


I don't see tablets going away, they've got their uses and some people could get away with just a tablet, but they don't offer what's needed to actually replace laptops IMO.

 

[Almeuit]

For most yes. For all no.

 

[mrgrtt123]

I don't think so, a lot of people still prefer using a laptop. These two devices have a different purpose in my opinion.

 

[anon(10181084)]

I don't think so, a lot of people still prefer using a laptop. These two devices have a different purpose in my opinion.

You're absolutely right about this, but still SOME tasks meant for laptops/desktops could be moved to tablets.

 

[anon(10181084)]

Not kidding for a couple reasons.

1. As impressive as that iPad score is, it's still constrained by power and thermal limits. A more powerful version of the SOC could exist if better cooling was available.

2. For productivity, a tablet fails hard compared to a laptop, even if the software and computing power were theoretically identical. A small screen and flimsy cramped keyboard just can't compare to the user experience of a good laptop.


I don't see tablets going away, they've got their uses and some people could get away with just a tablet, but they don't offer what's needed to actually replace laptops IMO.

Yeah, and I wish they still made tablets that could run 12 years of OS updates...

 

[Morty2264]

I don't see one eliminating the other. I see the two devices becoming two versions of the same device... What you call it will just depend on if the keyboard is attached.

I just see the platforms merging... At least in the non Apple world. Microsoft is moving Windows to a hybrid OS, as is Google with working to blend Android and ChromeOS into a unified OS.

But you'll still see more dedicated hardware.. gaming laptops, for instance...

I'll be interested in how Apple evolves. If you can get a fully fledged desktop class device that can work just as well as a tablet, why would you bother with an iPad in it's current form?

I really like what you said about platforms combining themselves into one entity. That sounds really cool.

I'm actually due to get a new laptop in a few months (I've had my current one for 5+ years and it's now, shall we say, flawed); so I'm really excited to see what has changed in the past few years. Sometimes I'm tempted to buy a new tablet but I know I want the power of a laptop - even if I don't plan to buy a massive laptop with lots of storage, CPU, etc.

 

[belodion]

You're absolutely right about this, but still SOME tasks meant for laptops/desktops could be moved to tablets.

I've never liked large devices, and when choosing a laptop so that I could use software tools and connecting to iTunes and other gubbins, I bought the smallest I could find that would do the job....8.9" screen size. Even so, I only use it for those purposes and much prefer a phone or tablet for all other purposes. I remember thinking when considering a laptop, 'If only a tablet or phone could run Windows', and given the right ports and sufficient storage etc., I can't think of any obvious technical difficulty. Thus is an area of ignorance for me, so there may be technical difficulties for all I know, but otherwise, I'd have bought such a device like a shot.

 

[methodman89]

My tablet has been relegated as a dedicated security camera viewing device. Has 4glte so works everywhere to keep an eye on things. It is also handy for passengers to watch video in the car. As far as replacing my windows computer, not gonna happen.

 

[anon(10181084)]

I've never liked large devices, and when choosing a laptop so that I could use software tools and connecting to iTunes and other gubbins, I bought the smallest I could find that would do the job....8.9" screen size. Even so, I only use it for those purposes and much prefer a phone or tablet for all other purposes. I remember thinking when considering a laptop, 'If only a tablet or phone could run Windows', and given the right ports and sufficient storage etc., I can't think of any obvious technical difficulty. Thus is an area of ignorance for me, so there may be technical difficulties for all I know, but otherwise, I'd have bought such a device like a shot.

There used to be laptop hardware based tablets in the early 2000s. Just look up "Installing Modern Windows ona 14 year old tablet" on YouTube. This guy literally installs EVERY version of Windows from 3.1-8.1(10 refused to even start installing) the install on a Pentium M based Windows XP HP tablet from the early 2000s. I highly doubtful any device today can natively run every Windows version from 1992-2013!!! In fact, Win8.1 works fine on that thing and even the PEN DRIVERS work. He also attempted to put Android x86 on it but utterly failed to get it to boot. Now imagine of the Dream could run Android Pie!

I also recently had an idea that could, if implemented, make our tablets, phones, laptops, desktops and 2-in-1s far more useful. If any of you know the company Acorn (original inventors of ARM processors), you may have heard that some of their ARM-based RiscOS computers had a slot for a guest CPU. Simply plug in a Texas Instruments 486 clone that is soldered to an adapter board, throw in your Win95 CD-ROM, open the VM program (I think it was PCPRO) and setup Windows! I was thinking that modern computing devices could have both an ARM SoC (for running Android) and a full-fledged x86_64 CPU (for Windows) that can run simultaneously. Phones and tablets would have Android running on the main ARM SoC and RUN Win10 in an app directly on the guest x86_64 CPU, and for desktops and laptops would be opposite.

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

It really depends on what you mean by "tablet". Is the Pixel Slate a tablet with a keyboard or a laptop? The Pixelbook? The Surface is obviously a laptop with a tablet-esque form factor, but those lines seem blurry. Chromebooks already have the ability to run Windows through Linux and official support for Windows apps is in the works. The only thing that tablets can't do, (yet?), is PC gaming... which is coincidentally something that almost all laptops suck at too - because dealing with all that heat isn't easy in a small form factor.

For my job, I can do 98% of what I need to do each week from a tablet - but at least 50% of that stuff I do prefer a keyboard for. So if the Slate is a tablet, I can get away with that no problem. Same with the iPad Pro with keyboard, etc.

 

[itic]

Chromebooks...for me its the transaction is towards the integration of android and chrome OS. The fact that i can use android apks on my chromebook puts MS windows 10 to shame. Not to mention that its cheaper, stabler and more secure.....

 

[anon(10181084)]

It really depends on what you mean by "tablet". Is the Pixel Slate a tablet with a keyboard or a laptop? The Pixelbook? The Surface is obviously a laptop with a tablet-esque form factor, but those lines seem blurry. Chromebooks already have the ability to run Windows through Linux and official support for Windows apps is in the works. The only thing that tablets can't do, (yet?), is PC gaming... which is coincidentally something that almost all laptops suck at too - because dealing with all that heat isn't easy in a small form factor.

For my job, I can do 98% of what I need to do each week from a tablet - but at least 50% of that stuff I do prefer a keyboard for. So if the Slate is a tablet, I can get away with that no problem. Same with the iPad Pro with keyboard, etc.

You are absolutely right! Although, yeah, things get fuzzy when my tablet plays Fortnite better than my PC...