Question Why is the android small tablet market dead?

[martixy]

My old tablet is struggling a lot these days and I've been thinking of finally replacing it with something newer.
But... the market seems to have up and died.

I mean, looking for an upgrade on my old one in the same form factor(<10 inch) from the past 2 years (2018+) what are my choices?
8 bloody tablets altogether!
(Heaven forbid if you want a 3.5mm jack too.)

What the heck is going on?

 

[mikeymikec]

If I had to guess, I'd say it's because of the following::

1) phones keep getting bigger
2) bigger phones almost invariably mean decent/better specs
3) smaller tablets mean suckier specs

conclusion: get a good phone.

in addition, maybe: If the tablet usage is restricted to a particular location, get a TV that can handle casting and have your phone cast to the TV.

 

[martixy]

I doubt phones will ever get above the 7 inch mark, at that point they're unpocketable. (Dimensions, not screen-size, foldables incoming.)

Besides, phones racing to the tablet form factor means better specs, but for tablets that means suckier specs..... WHAT? And who's talking about TVs. I read books and articles on my tablet, and watch the occasional video. I want something the size of a book, I can't be the only one.

 

[killster1]

you didnt say a price range. im a sucker for fire hd tablets(takes 5 mins to add google playstore) . have many diff 7" 10" 8" dont think i spent more than 80 on any of them with a nice big case glass screen protector. i dont really use them myself but the people that do use them love them.

 

[Commodus]

My old tablet is struggling a lot these days and I've been thinking of finally replacing it with something newer.
But... the market seems to have up and died.

I mean, looking for an upgrade on my old one in the same form factor(<10 inch) from the past 2 years (2018+) what are my choices?
8 bloody tablets altogether!
(Heaven forbid if you want a 3.5mm jack too.)

What the heck is going on?

Part of it is the growing sizes of phones, but part of it also stems from the Android tablet market itself devolving. You have Google on one side doing little to foster software on Android tablets, and vendors on the other echoing the Windows PC world's "race to the bottom" approach where small Android tablets got reduced to cheap Netflix viewers (as vendors didn't feel they could compete on anything besides price).

This is part of why I appreciate that the iPad mini exists. It's Apple standing up for those people who want a small tablet that actually has some horsepower.

 

[killster1]

Part of it is the growing sizes of phones, but part of it also stems from the Android tablet market itself devolving. You have Google on one side doing little to foster software on Android tablets, and vendors on the other echoing the Windows PC world's "race to the bottom" approach where small Android tablets got reduced to cheap Netflix viewers (as vendors didn't feel they could compete on anything besides price).

This is part of why I appreciate that the iPad mini exists. It's Apple standing up for those people who want a small tablet that actually has some horsepower.

yes very true, apple has actually dominated the market and i forget that i do own ipad's as well for adult use and a ipad mini 3 for child use. but again i dont know the price range.

 

[mikeymikec]

I doubt phones will ever get above the 7 inch mark, at that point they're unpocketable. (Dimensions, not screen-size, foldables incoming.)

Besides, phones racing to the tablet form factor means better specs, but for tablets that means suckier specs..... WHAT? And who's talking about TVs. I read books and articles on my tablet, and watch the occasional video. I want something the size of a book, I can't be the only one.

TV: It was just a suggestion. I'm watching Netflix on my phone in bed these days.

Phones / tablets / specs: High-end phones are getting bigger, which means that a physically large phone is almost invariably going to mean it's high-spec. The same has happened for tablets, and the same thing has happened at the low end of both markets: Small-screen phones and tablets are dying breed and mostly suck.


---

Is there a decent-performing Kindle Fire out there? Every one of the 7" models I've tried (when customers have bought them) have always been slow.

 

[thilanliyan]

yes very true, apple has actually dominated the market and i forget that i do own ipad's as well for adult use and a ipad mini 3 for child use. but again i dont know the price range.

Yep the ipad mini is the best small tablet right now. However, I tried one but the ghosting from the LCD screen was horrendous...gave me headaches every time i was web browsing and scrolling. It is even worse on the ipad pro 11inch. Can't go back to the ghosting from LCDs after using my Tab S 8.4 with AMOLED screen for the last 5 yrs. Wish Samsung still made AMOLED-screened small tablets.

 

[Commodus]

Is there a decent-performing Kindle Fire out there? Every one of the 7" models I've tried (when customers have bought them) have always been slow.

You'll get better performance out of the larger Fire tablets, but none of them are what you'd call high performers. They're designed for Prime Video and Kindle books, and not much else.

 

[Commodus]

Yep the ipad mini is the best small tablet right now. However, I tried one but the ghosting from the LCD screen was horrendous...gave me headaches every time i was web browsing and scrolling. It is even worse on the ipad pro 11inch. Can't go back to the ghosting from LCDs after using my Tab S 8.4 with AMOLED screen for the last 5 yrs. Wish Samsung still made AMOLED-screened small tablets.

Really? I don't think the ghosting is nearly as dire as you make it out to be. I have both an iPhone XS and a 2017 iPad Pro, and the shift between the two isn't jarring.

And let's face it, if you're going to get a small tablet in 2020, the odds are extremely high that it'll have an LCD and not OLED. Unless the OP literally gets sick by looking at LCDs (in your case, I suspect it's just a matter of reacquainting yourself with the tech), I suspect they'll be fine.

 

[thilanliyan]

Really? I don't think the ghosting is nearly as dire as you make it out to be. I have both an iPhone XS and a 2017 iPad Pro, and the shift between the two isn't jarring.

And let's face it, if you're going to get a small tablet in 2020, the odds are extremely high that it'll have an LCD and not OLED. Unless the OP literally gets sick by looking at LCDs (in your case, I suspect it's just a matter of reacquainting yourself with the tech), I suspect they'll be fine.

The pixel response time between a Tab S4 and an iPad Mini and Pro is about 5-10 times worse for the ipads (as measured by Notebookcheck).

Apple iPad mini 5 Tablet Review

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www.notebookcheck.net

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 Tablet Review

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www.notebookcheck.net

Apple iPad Pro 11 (2018, WiFi, 64 GB) Tablet Review

Notebookcheck reviews the new Apple iPad Pro 11, which has undergone a complete redesign. Does the device have more power and better battery life than its predecessor? The iPad can be bought practically anywhere online and directly from Apple, the latter of which also offers a student discount...

www.notebookcheck.net

It was very noticeable for me. Sure, I could probably get used to it but I've been using OLEDs in my small screen devices for years now and I like their look compared to LCDs. Only reason I even tried the Ipad mini is because that is the best small tablet right now, and my Tab S 8.4 was having battery issues (5 yrs old). If Apple switches to OLEDs in their tablets I'll definitely give them another look. I can't say I'm a fan of 4:3 aspect ratio tablets though...my main use case is watching Netflix/Youtube, which leaves a lot of black bars on 4:3 screens.

As for the OP, they should definitely give the iPad mini a whirl. If the ghosting doesn't bother them then it's a great tablet.

 

[martixy]

I very much do not like devices I cannot own (i.e. Apple devices, or anything with a locked bootloader for that matter). Not to mention I have never used anything from apple in my life. So the ipad mini is out.

My old one is a nexus 7 (2013) and it has served me honourably, but it's been getting slow and full. I was thinking reflashing from an old Android 7 custom rom to an Oreo (8.1) with a custom kernel.
Sadly the poor thing seems to be dying on me, when I tried to copy some things over usb I end up with errors halfway thru. Now windows no longer even detects the device. And I can't seem to be able to boot into recovery! I fear if I try to flash I will brick it completely.

So it seems I'm on the serious lookout for a new tab.
Out of the filter I used above I was able to find the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 over here. It an upgrade on performance, with 64GB and 4 GB ram, but the screen is still only 1920x1200. It is also one of the few devices for which there already exists a LineageOS 17 rom (i.e. Android 10). Guess I might have to give up a high PPI screen. *le sigh*
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 is the other more expensive option I have, amoled and higher res, but 4:3 aspect ratio and only 3GB ram.

My other option seems to be shipping a Huawei MediaPad M6 all the way from China - aliexpress or some other shop.

 

[thilanliyan]

The Tab S 8.4 has been able to run Lineage OS, but only up to 14/15 IIRC.

Part of the reason I looked at the iPad mini was the software support (mainly security updates)...Apple keeps their devices up to date long after Android updates stop.
However, not having used an Apple device before, I found it to be very locked down. I could probably have worked around it but considering the screen ghosting as well I decided not to keep it.

 

[killster1]

The Tab S 8.4 has been able to run Lineage OS, but only up to 14/15 IIRC.

Part of the reason I looked at the iPad mini was the software support (mainly security updates)...Apple keeps their devices up to date long after Android updates stop.
However, not having used an Apple device before, I found it to be very locked down. I could probably have worked around it but considering the screen ghosting as well I decided not to keep it.

wow im really drawing a blank as to screen ghosting. i guess if i youtube it and then use the tablet i could comment further on how prevalent it is on my ipad mini 3

 

[thilanliyan]

wow im really drawing a blank as to screen ghosting. i guess if i youtube it and then use the tablet i could comment further on how prevalent it is on my ipad mini 3

It's most noticeable on scrolling text for me. Compare it to pretty much any OLED side by side and it is very noticeable.

 

[Vipul Rajput]

I think the development in the smartphone sector is taking at a greater pace than the tablet industry. The increased sales and usage may be the reason for it.

I think you can so with a smartphone with a big screen as it will give you better specs in the same price range.

 

[GoodEnough]

I never ever use my Android tablet.
I think the phones have taken over that space.

 

[killster1]

I never ever use my Android tablet.
I think the phones have taken over that space.

true for adults but fire tablets are killer great for kids, 60-100$ gets you a great big screen and usable power to play movies surf the web play games. its the price that kills the tablets.

 

[nOOky]

I'm dreading the day my Kindle Fire HDX 7" dies on me. I use it for reading, some CCS before bed, checking the weather, Youtube videos, etc. and I love the higher pixel density versus my wife's new 10". It's 5 years old and still works fine, it doesn't seem slow or anything. I don't want to read or watch movies on my phone, that gets turned off every night anyway.

 

[pete6032]

I feel your pain as I was in the same situation as you, with an old 8.1 inch tablet wanting to upgrade. I ended up with a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 inch. I would recommend looking at Xiaomi MiPad or Huawei. Both have tablets under 8.5 inches with modern specs. Can buy on Aliexpress.

 

[mxnerd]

Waiting for Microsoft Surface Duo phone. Hope it has a rear facing camera though.

 

[dainthomas]

I'd have to guess that phones are getting pretty close to small tablets. I've had a 10 inch samsung tablet for years, but it hasn't seen a security or OS update in a long time. And with only 16gb internal storage I was constantly having to move apps to the SD card. I finally caved and got an Amazon HD10 with 64gb storage for a third the price of a similar android tablet. Love everything about it except their app store is trash.

 

[mikeymikec]

Waiting for Microsoft Surface Duo phone. Hope it has a rear facing camera though.

I'm surprised. I would have thought that any observer of MS products would assume that yet another attempt by MS to get into phones would result in insufficient investment and abandonment sooner rather than later.

 

[sdifox]

I'd have to guess that phones are getting pretty close to small tablets. I've had a 10 inch samsung tablet for years, but it hasn't seen a security or OS update in a long time. And with only 16gb internal storage I was constantly having to move apps to the SD card. I finally caved and got an Amazon HD10 with 64gb storage for a third the price of a similar android tablet. Love everything about it except their app store is trash.

Pretty easy to get google services and play on a fire tablet