Is the 7" Windows tablet category dead?

[VirtualLarry]

I'm rather fond of my Winbook 7" Win8.1 tablets. I've got an HP Stream 7 too, as well as some iView Windows Bay Trail tablets (which are borderline horrid, but they were only $40 shipped, so can't complain too much).

Is this product category going away? Certainly, with "Contra Revenue" going away, I don't expect to find 7" tablets for under $50 again.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I think a few of those devices got a lot of publicity, especially when they were almost immediately sold at steep discounts, but:

1) The UI (IMO, at least, the smaller the screen, the more of an advantage iOS and Android have over Metro in terms of usability.)

2) Launch problem discrediting the concept (the Stream 7 was one of several tablets using a new Intel Wifi card that had bad, bad, bad driver issues. Do I want another Intel-powered tablet? Yes, but that's because I'm an Intel fanboi, not a non-techie consumer who's bad at statistics, making a buying decision.)

3) Hesitant manufacturers. The last Windows Tablet models made approximately none of the monies.

4) Momentum: go to Amazon and filter for <7.9" tablets:
There are 153 Windows products - the most popular one appears to be the Stream 7, with 600+ Reviews.
There are 2,011 Android products - the most popular one appears to be the Galaxy Tab 4. Twice the price of the Stream 7, over 5,000 reviews.
There are 47 Apple products - the iPad Minis appear most popular. Twice the price of the Galaxy Tab 4, over 5,000 reviews.

You do the math.

 

[ninaholic37]

Wasn't the main point of Cherry Trail to get the same performance as Bay Trail but bring the cost down a lot cheaper? I wonder if made it cheap enough to match without contra-revenue. I think the lowest Apollo Lake chip is 6W though, so manufacturers might have to settle for a Cherry Trail or Core M one. Maybe they went the way of the netbooks because of too many complaints.

 

[daxzy]

If we're looking at the tablet market in general (including Android and iOS), shipments have been going YoY for the last few years.

IMO, not worth getting a 7-8" tablet when you have 5-6" phones, which most people already have anyways.

Also IMO, not worth getting a 10" premium tablet when you can get a 11-13" 2-in-1 (e.g. Surface Pro). I realize a Surface Pro 4 costs a lot, but it only costs only slightly more (i5/128GB/$899) than the iPad Pro 9.7" (128GB/$699) and the same as the iPad Pro 12.9" (128GB/$899). Of course the SP4 will cost less if you factor in the cheaper keyboard and free stylus.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I went to www.gearbest.com , and searched their Windows Tablets. They had a bunch, but the vast majority were: 1) over $200, and 2) Had both Android 5.1 and Windows 10 in a dual-boot. Which is great if you want both of them, and they're certainly versatile that way, but I want my tablets... cheap!

It seems that Chinese importer is banned on these forums. Well, it's one of the top four, for gadgets and gear.

 

[Commodus]

Best way of putting it: 7- and 8-inch Windows tablets sit in an awkward middle ground.

If you're interested in a small, low-cost tablet, you're probably looking for something simpler and easier to use than Windows 10. You shouldn't be troubleshooting driver issues on a device that's just your portable Netflix machine or e-reader. And if you do care about running Windows, you probably want something larger and more powerful that could replace your laptop. That's part of why the Surface line has been doing so well.

Microsoft's biggest mistake with the Surface was an attempt to directly compete with the iPad (and later Android tablets), because that wasn't Windows' strong suit. The line took off when Microsoft started treating it more as a laptop that just happens to work as a tablet.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, Walmart.com has a bunch of 10" Windows 10 tablets, with dockable keyboards, for around $120. Looks like this category didn't disappear, just increased in size a little bit.

I mean, I have fairly big hands, but I question if a 10" tablet would be comfortable to hold by the edges, if it's even possible.

I think a 7" tablet is just perfect.

 

[JeffMD]

7" isnt dead, it is just over saturated. Everyone and their mom in china can make one. You can also find 8 and 10 inch tablets. The problem is the market for performance tablets is super tiny, so most everything sucks. Oh and windows sucks on touch screens still. All programs are still made for keyboard and mouse.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I mean, I have fairly big hands, but I question if a 10" tablet would be comfortable to hold by the edges, if it's even possible.

Have you actually tried an iPad? It works.

That said, I have an iPad mini, which is more comfortable for one-handed operation and operation in bed.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Have you actually tried an iPad? It works.

I have no desire to invest in the Apple ecosystem. Plus, I'm not made of money.

Edit: My interest is in the under-$100 Windows 7" tablets, preferably with the newest tech. Preferably around $50-70.

 

[XavierMace]

So rather than just spending $500 on an iPad, you'll buy 5 different $100 tablets trying to find one you like? 🙂

The low end Windows tablet market was basically doomed before it even started. They don't have enough grunt to be desktop replacements, and if all you're using them for is media consumption, you're far better served with an Android tablet. The ONLY thing I'm considering a cheap win tablet for is as a portable OBD2/tuning tool for my BMW. But that requires the tablet to have a full size USB port on it which most don't. The Dell Venue 8 Pro meets that requirement and I've been considering picking one of those up, but I wouldn't consider that for anything more intensive than that. That's bottom of the barrel for a Windows Tablet IMO. I had an HP Pavilion X2 which honestly made a pretty damn solid Windows tablet. That was around $600 but that still put it about half the price of a comparable Surface Pro. Sadly I cracked the screen like an idiot on that.

You're not going to see this product segment explode because there's no money in it.