Hi All, Got a conundrum for you.. I have an aging Nexus 10 tablet, which although still works, the battery life is dropping, and has a tendency to slow to a crawl; especially after power-on if the battery dies. So, I've been mulling over replacing it, but I cant decide whether I want a new tablet or a laptop. My current primary use, is watching netflix/films/etc. whilst away on business. BUT, i like the idea of full-fat Steam games as an additional distraction. BUT fitting in a personal laptop and a work laptop into my EDC bag wouldn't leave room for much else. AND just to be awkward, I really fancy grabbing a Switch, which would assuage my need to be able to game on the go... Argh, I cant decide! Help me!
The new Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 sounds like it would be the perfect fit: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/xps-15-2-in-1/spd/xps-15-9575-2-in-1-laptop
Current android tablets are, pretty much without exception, awful. I'd go for a 2-in-1 like the one @Anfield mentioned.
tbh there hasn't been any decent tablets since the 2013 nexus' and people are screaming out for a successor for the 7. you'd be better off getting a replacement battery and a diy guide on swapping it out then to **** about with laptops imo the surface is nice but holy **** is it pricey
The Shield Tablet is the closest thing to a 'modern Nexus', but the Switch is probably a better option for pure gaming (doubly so now it's hackable so could be extended to do 'full tablet stuff' in the future). But if you want Windows gaming, then a convertible laptop is probably a better option for anything beyond integrated graphics, just at several times the price.
Nice, but ouch, that price... Why do you say that they're awful? Will look at battery replacements; but its responsiveness has tanked since the last android update. Wasn't aware of that; definitely worth a look-see! **** Just to clarify NEED: screensize >10" (ish); watch netflix/prime/movies/etc.; WANT: gaming; word processing/spreadsheets Thinking further, i think my main struggle is between - windows based = more capable in general; can do more things, but requires a little more effort android based = less capable in general; apps make things just work
Hardware that hasn't meaningfully progressed in years [or not the way it has in phones] and an OS that, in terms of usuability on tablet screens, has gone backwards. 'droid tablets have been hopeless more or less since Google stopped making the Nexus ones. Even then the Nexus was an outlier by not being completely **** in a sea of utter crap. TL-DR Google cares about 'droid Tablets about as much as MS cared about its Phone OS... and it shows.
The advantage however is that it can replace both a Laptop and a tablet, also it has the superb Vega M, which means gaming is not going to be a problem unlike with cheaper Laptops that resort to stuff like the pathetic Intel igpu or the laughable Geforce MX150. The problem with Android tablet is that a lot of the brands have effectively stopped updating them, so they are mostly the same as they where back in 2014 - 15 (with an occasional bump in RAM capacity or newer android version pretty much being the only real upgrades). Instead they have been focusing on Windows devices in the £200 - £500 range (the lines between tablets, convertible and Laptops have been blurred beyond recognition in the process), essentially they've been doing for the last couple years what Microsoft is now doing with the Surface Go.
How do people expect the hardware to have advanced? Does it matter for me if i just want to watch films/tv? I think my main stumbling block is that i'm unsure whether a windows tablet/2in1/laptop would give me as stress free/simple interface for that use case... i can see that a laptop/laptop-like would be more capable, but is the increased cost and hassle worth the extra functionality?
My wife had a similar conundrum recently - didn't want a laptop, didn't want a tablet, wanted something both more portable and less expensive than all of the 2-in-1s out there. Ended up with a Lenovo Yoga Book and is loving it. I was initially concerned about it's general horsepower, and how usable the keyboard would be, but turns out it's perfect for "stuff" and "things". The key is though, there's no such thing as a no-compromise device that nails both sides of the brief. You need to figure out if you want a tablet that can occasionally stretch to more laptoppy duties, or whether you want a laptop that can pretend to be a extra-large tablet sometimes. And to echo what's already been posted, IMO the Shield is really the only android tablet worth bothering with these days, but lacks the screen you're after. The 15? It really can't. It's a laptop that you can occasionally fold over. It can't replace a tablet on account of being enormous, heavy, thirsty etc. I have a 12.5" 2-in-1 and even that's far too large to be a natural tablet replacement.
It's perfectly fine if you have somewhere to put it down, your legs, desk, coffee table, bed etc. But yes, for handheld use it isn't practical. So why not just go smaller? Unfortunately that is where the problems kick in: You'll still face the same usability limitations with 12 - 13" ones as with 15" devices when it comes to handheld use. And when it comes to the difference between 12 - 13" 2 in 1 devices vs 14 - 15" options there are much better GPU options available (which matters since op would use it for some light gaming as well). Want to go even smaller? Once you drop below 12" Windows very quickly becomes a pain in the arse leaving you with Android / Apple options, at which point you then need two devices again. So the easiest solution is a 12 - 15" windows 2 in 1 and just using your phone as the only real handheld device (and hopefully you've avoided the trap of small screen phones).
12-13 inch is lovely as a 2 in 1, I use mine all the time, mostly as a laptop with good keyboard for web and mail but will flip it over or use in tent mode for movies, all day battery life, nothing it can't do, well except for you intensive pc games, but nothing will do those apart from a 5kg laptop Shield is old and slow, iPad seems to be the only realchoice for a tablet these days every one else seems to have stop trying
Definite love for the 2in1 then... I cant seem to help myself, but if going for a windows device I want something that isn't going to suck, which to my eyes, boils down to an i5 +8GB ram (min), and that doesn't come cheap in these smaller form factors. Will keep an eye open for a decent 2nd hand 2in1, with the surface go (non emmc) as a additional (pricier) possibility. But in the mean time, think i might treat myself to a Switch, if i can find a decent deal... I mean the tablet still works right?!
Surface Book 2 with the GTX 1060, Dell XPS 2-in-1 with Vega M and HP Spectre X360 with Vega M can handle gaming (obviously not talking about 4K 60 FPS @Ultra settings, but they are pretty damn fast), of course they all come at a price... In the smaller versions however those options dry up. Yep, its pretty sad state of affairs with android tablets, ipad mini 4 running vanilla android would be absolutely perfect, but of course doesn't exist
This is what I want as well, but will never happen. Looking for a tablet currently to replace my Shield tablet as it's battery life has tanked. Get about 2 hours of video playback. Shame because it was pretty awesome.
