Viable alternative to an iPad - Recommendations.

[Ned_Seagoon]

I am at the end of my tether with Apple. Physically, my 7/8 year old iPad Air 2 still works. However, because updates to the OS, stalled at IOS 12.5.5, less than a third of my Apps do. I lost Outlook and other MS Office products many months ago. Yesterday, I discovered that I can’t even use Google Meet. So much for my iPad being a back up for times when I don’t want to carry a laptop.

Initial research suggests that the noddy model of iPad is topside of 350 and that I would have to spend 600-1000 to update to a similar capability as my old one but without any confidence in the longevity of the OS.

I don’t game or do much media streaming but I do use office apps, want access to my music and take lots of photos. User replaceable batteries and upgradable memory would be a bonus.

Any experience/recommendations appreciated.

Ned.

 

[labrat]

without any confidence in the longevity of the OS.

Let's look at this realistically - You're complaining about loss of compatibility on an 8 year old computer product.

 

[Ned_Seagoon]

Let's look at this realistically - You're complaining about loss of compatibility on an 8 year old computer product.

Yes. I don’t like being forced to upgrade just to inflate Apple’s profits.

 

[Drazyl]

Yes. I don’t like being forced to upgrade just to inflate Apple’s profits.

Whatever tablet you buy, you will need to replace it regularly.

To be fair to Apple, they keep updates going for their iThings longer than most of the competition.

 

[Wader 2]

I think the point is £600 is too much. I switched my wife from a similar IPad just over a year ago to a Kindle Fire 10. I think I paid around £140. The IPad now just gathers dust.
Amazon has an excellent returns policy. Get one, try it, keep it or return it. What's to loose?
Amazon also do regular upgrade offers.

 

[Nemesis44UK]

I have to say that Apple does have the market on tablets really. Android is not as advanced with dedicated apps for their tablets, they tend to be the exact same app as android phone apps. My Guitar Tabs app shits the bed if I don't start it in portrait mode.

Samsung tablets are a possibility, as one of the few Android tablets, Amazon Kindles are good value, but they don't use regular Google store IIRC. Compatibility may be an issue.

I use a Samsung S6 Tab Lite, which goes for £300, but even though it has expandable memory and a headphone jack (something which is being phased out of Samsung products), I can't recommend it because of the poor screen (when compared to the iPad).

I had an iPad Air original, but the charging port has gone belly up and the repair was around £120 and to be honest, because of the issues you mention, I'm not fussed about upgrading.

For a large capacity, large screen, OLED screen tablet, for Samsung, you'd be looking at the S8 Tab, which is between 800 and 1200 quid, dependent on options.

 

[Nemesis44UK]

I think the point is £600 is too much. I switched my wife from a similar IPad just over a year ago to a Kindle Fire 10. I think I paid around £140. The IPad now just gathers dust.
Amazon has an excellent returns policy. Get one, try it, keep it or return it. What's to loose?
Amazon also do regular upgrade offers.

There you go - sell your wife's iPad to @Ned_Seagoon. Win/win.

 

[Daz]

I have to say that Apple does have the market on tablets really. Android is not as advanced with dedicated apps for their tablets, they tend to be the exact same app as android phone apps. My Guitar Tabs app shits the bed if I don't start it in portrait mode.

Samsung tablets are a possibility, as one of the few Android tablets, Amazon Kindles are good value, but they don't use regular Google store IIRC. Compatibility may be an issue.

I use a Samsung S6 Tab Lite, which goes for £300, but even though it has expandable memory and a headphone jack (something which is being phased out of Samsung products), I can't recommend it because of the poor screen (when compared to the iPad).

I had an iPad Air original, but the charging port has gone belly up and the repair was around £120 and to be honest, because of the issues you mention, I'm not fussed about upgrading.

For a large capacity, large screen, OLED screen tablet, for Samsung, you'd be looking at the S8 Tab, which is between 800 and 1200 quid, dependent on options.

There's also the issue with Samsung only providing OS updates for about 4 years from the release date*, after that the only way of keeping the system up to date is by jailbreaking the tablet and loading a stock(ish) Android OS and then sideloading Google apps.

I've just had to do that with a 10 year old Samsung Tab4 to get Google maps working again


*Here's every Samsung devices eligible for four major Android updates

 

[giatttt]

I had the same problem - iPad 2 would not run the latest version and hence applications would not install.

Solved it by spending £150 on an iPad 5 from ebay - runs the latest s/w, all good.

Can kicked firmly down the road.

 

[Roadster280]

Yes. I don’t like being forced to upgrade just to inflate Apple’s profits.

If you’d bought an Android tablet that long ago, you’d probably have inflated Google’s/Samsung’s profits twice by now.

Personally, I use my iPad every day, and prefer it to a bigger computer for email/web. I’m using it now. There’s no way in hell it’s got a user-upgradeable battery or memory though. It’s only about 5mm thick. Wonderful piece of engineering, and worth every penny I paid for it, considering the use it gets. My laptop sits there for weeks on end without being opened.

 

[Daz]

If you’d bought an Android tablet that long ago, you’d probably have inflated Google’s/Samsung’s profits twice by now.

Personally, I use my iPad every day, and prefer it to a bigger computer for email/web. I’m using it now. There’s no way in hell it’s got a user-upgradeable battery or memory though. It’s only about 5mm thick. Wonderful piece of engineering, and worth every penny I paid for it, considering the use it gets. My laptop sits there for weeks on end without being opened.

Apart from with Androids, it is possible to mod them to run newer versions of the OS with a bit of googling

 

[Roadster280]

Apart from with Androids, it is possible to mod them to run newer versions of the OS with a bit of googling

Yes, but eventually you will run out of system resources as the later OSes require more and more, to deliver a better experience. You used to be able to “jailbreak” iOS devices, to do similar. No idea if that’s still possible, I never went that route.

 

[AlienFTM]

I think the point is £600 is too much. I switched my wife from a similar IPad just over a year ago to a Kindle Fire 10. I think I paid around £140. The IPad now just gathers dust.
Amazon has an excellent returns policy. Get one, try it, keep it or return it. What's to loose?
Amazon also do regular upgrade offers.

Agreed. The browser has had a wobble over the last month or two, but they've updated and sorted it, and it's entirely adequate at the price.

I had a Lenovo tablet @£240 a few years ago. Broke. Couldn't be fixed. Fire tablet is cheap as chips in comparison and if it goes wrong, just get another.

 

[Morticiaskeeper]

Neocore E1, E1+ and now the E2.
Does nearly all of my Internet use, including programming nodemcu boards.

 

[Ned_Seagoon]

Many thanks all for the feedback. Plenty of food for thought at 150 ish, I am very tempted to give the Kindle Fire 10 a go. It would be a good gizme for the sprogs if I find that it doesn’t suit my needs.

 

[headgear]

I am at the end of my tether with Apple. Physically, my 7/8 year old iPad Air 2 still works. However, because updates to the OS, stalled at IOS 12.5.5, less than a third of my Apps do. I lost Outlook and other MS Office products many months ago. Yesterday, I discovered that I can’t even use Google Meet. So much for my iPad being a back up for times when I don’t want to carry a laptop.

Initial research suggests that the noddy model of iPad is topside of 350 and that I would have to spend 600-1000 to update to a similar capability as my old one but without any confidence in the longevity of the OS.

I don’t game or do much media streaming but I do use office apps, want access to my music and take lots of photos. User replaceable batteries and upgradable memory would be a bonus.

Any experience/recommendations appreciated.

Ned.

I just bought a Chromebook tablet (second hand) - I can get lots of apps but also use it just like my laptop eg Youtube , surf Google etc - I also got a keyboard and mouse with it in the unlikely event I want to type anything up - I've found it to be far more functional and flexible than my old iPad

 

[Rab_C]

Many thanks all for the feedback. Plenty of food for thought at 150 ish, I am very tempted to give the Kindle Fire 10 a go. It would be a good gizme for the sprogs if I find that it doesn’t suit my needs.

I find the fire frustrating, you’re either stuck with Amazon or have to jailbreak it to use the google store. I find that quite a few apps have more functionality on an iPad than kindle as the google apps tend to be written for phones. I have been down the same road as you and even though I detest the Apple ethos, I ended up with an iPad again.

 

[retread2]

I have recently replaced my aged Samsung Galaxy S2 with an S8. I am absolutely gobsmacked at what an improvement it is over the old one, which was getting slower and more idiosyncratic with every day that passed. I'm a huge Samsung fan, even our new 'fridge is a Samsung.

 

[Nemesis44UK]

I have recently replaced my aged Samsung Galaxy S2 with an S8. I am absolutely gobsmacked at what an improvement it is over the old one, which was getting slower and more idiosyncratic with every day that passed. I'm a huge Samsung fan, even our new 'fridge is a Samsung.

Same here.

TVs are all Samsung, my phone and tablet also. I like their build quality and even though I'm disappointed with my S6 Lite screen (LCD?), it's still a good tablet and significantly cheaper than the cheapest iPad.

 

[stacker1]

I am at the end of my tether with Apple. Physically, my 7/8 year old iPad Air 2 still works. However, because updates to the OS, stalled at IOS 12.5.5, less than a third of my Apps do. I lost Outlook and other MS Office products many months ago. Yesterday, I discovered that I can’t even use Google Meet. So much for my iPad being a back up for times when I don’t want to carry a laptop.

Initial research suggests that the noddy model of iPad is topside of 350 and that I would have to spend 600-1000 to update to a similar capability as my old one but without any confidence in the longevity of the OS.

I don’t game or do much media streaming but I do use office apps, want access to my music and take lots of photos. User replaceable batteries and upgradable memory would be a bonus.

Any experience/recommendations appreciated.

Ned.

My wife has a Samsung Tab and it seems fine for everything she does, however as others on the thread have said, it doesn't really matter what you buy, any old tech is likely to be shite in the future, I buy my wife the latest version of the tab every 2-3 years, technology improves so fast there isn't much choice.

You can compare your IPad to the latest gen here and see the differences.

iPad - Compare Models

Compare resolution, size, weight, performance, battery life, and storage of iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad, and iPad mini models.

www.apple.com