There is now a whole range of tablets to choose from, many with features and advantages that allow them to seriously compete with laptops. Perhaps the frontrunner among these is the Samsung Galaxy Tab line; though Apple remains the Goliath of the tablet industry, especially considering the upcoming release of the 2020 iPad Pro. However, there are real reasons to consider a competitor instead.
Cost
Price is probably the major stumbling block when considering an iPad; they can seem prohibitively expensive, though you often get what you pay for. The standard iPad is the cheapest, generally selling for between £300 and £350. The iPad Pro retails for about £750-800. The latest Samsung Galaxy tablet, the Tab S6, undercuts the iPad Pro by as much as £150; the Galaxy Tab S5e costs about the same as a standard iPad yet is only slightly less powerful than the S6. Samsung also offers the cheaper A model, which retails for between £140 and £300 depending on screen size. Though iPads generally offer a more enjoyable and elegant user experience, Galaxy Tabs are much more affordable.
Memory and connectivity
From its first release, one of the iPad’s major flaws has been its locked-down nature. While it does have access to the iCloud, Samsung tablets benefit from being extremely expandable, including slots for physical memory cards. If you generally use non-Apple devices, especially those which use micro-USB ports, an Android tablet may be a wiser choice. The 2020 iPad Pro, however, promises to include a USB-C port, rather than the Lightning cable used in previous models – which is exactly the same connector as the latest Samsung phones and tablets. The Galaxy Tab S6 and iPad Pro both include stylus functionality, with the S Pen and Apple Pencil included respectively.
So, Apple or Samsung?
There really isn’t much, besides price, that separates the two devices; if you’re going to use a tablet for a lot of your computing, most reviewers agree the iPad Pro provides a better overall experience. But to supplement a smartphone or laptop, or if you don’t use your tablet all that often, a Galaxy Tab S or even A is likely to do just as well.
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