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Tablets, Speed, & Me

I am always on the prowl for the next best thing in portable computers, especially tablets. The result is that right now, I have a lot of different tablets, in several “flavors,” none of which are 100% but several of which are very close. It’s a team effort.

I started this essay using a 2020 iPad Pro 11”, the base model with 128GB of built-in storage. My biggest indulgence this time, as compared to the last time I had an iPad Pro, is that I splurged on LTE connectivity. I’ve come to the conclusion that always having access to the online world is a very, very nice thing, and I hate tethering.

Another big splurge with this iPad is the new Magic Keyboard. The key feel is excellent, and the weight pays for itself with a solid base to work from. I’ve seen some complaints about the lack of a range of adjustment with the display, and I get it but it’s fine for me. As for complaints that the iPad can’t double back onto the keyboard for one-hand use, the way it can with the Folio Keyboard, that doesn’t bother me since the iPad Pro pops off the keyboard with little more effort than a gentle tug.

So that’s my iPad Pro setup. What else do I have on hand? Well, I still have that Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, which remains as nice as ever. Its biggest problem, one shared by all Android tablets, is the complete lack of tablet-specific apps. Maybe they’re out there, but I’ve never found them. The result is that every time you install an app, it’s just as if you were using it on a giant phone, one with a 10” screen. This contrasts with the iPad situation, where you can find apps that are tablet-specific.

Is this a big deal? Well, yes, because it means the market is far less robust. Developers are focused on phone development and never mind the added capabilities of a tablet. Maybe that Lenovo Duet Chromebook is worth a look...

Meanwhile, I’ve still got a pair of Amazon Fire tablets, a 10” and the new 8”. For the money, they really can’t be beat. A little slow, yes, but I’ll come back to that. Their biggest problem is that they are locked into the Amazon world. For using the Amazon apps, this is fine. It’s when you want to use something not supported where things get messy, like Vudu. Most of my video purchase are supported by Movies Anywhere, but not all (e.g., John Wick, damnit) which means that my entire library is not available via the Fire tablets. I keep hoping for the day that I get a software update that allows access to the Google Play store without me doing anything more than logging into my Google account.

Yes, it’s not all that hard to add Google Play to Fire tablets. It remains a pain in actual operation, though. Auto updates via the Play store conflict with auto updates via the Appstore. This includes, with a supreme touch of irony, the Kindle app included with the Fire tablet. The result is that you really need to turn off auto updates and keep track of what got installed from where. Hard? No. Tedious? Absolutely.

Also, I’ve discovered that speed is a relative thing. My first gen Microsoft Surface Go is generally considered “slow.” Ditto my Fire tablets and the Tab S5e. That’s sort of true, and I can sense it sometimes on startup and during downloads. But for the apps I use, the iPad is not exactly a speed demon. For instance, typing right now, between the iPad Pro, the Surface Go, or the Tab S5e, there would be no speed difference. For the “work” I do on a portable device, there is no speed gap. Indeed, there are times, especially when just navigating around the tablet, when the iPad feels deliberately slowed down.

I’ve made this comment with friends who own iPhones versus my Galaxy S20. All sorts of benchmarks appear to demonstrate that the iPhone is faster, but in actual use you see all sorts of things where it seems slow. There is a setting within Samsung’s OneUI that allows me to speed up animations. I can even activate developer settings and improve animation speeds even more. These are the sorts of things that make the simple, everyday use of the product feel quick, and which the iPhone completely lacks, negating, during use, its theoretical speed advantage.

Which brings me neatly around to what I’m typing on now, my Microsoft Surface Pro X. When it was released, virtually every single review lamented its use of an ARM processor. What I saw in common with each of those reviews was that the complaints centered on Adobe Photoshop, that it ran miserably. This also applied to video editing applications. I found precisely one reviewer who asked, “So?” I asked myself the same question since I do not photo or video edit on a laptop or tablet (I have an overpowered desktop PC for that if I so wish, or use alternatives to Adobe which run fine).

For the most part, that was it; to these reviewers, the Pro X was useless because of one app. Now, it may have been the central app in their work experience, but really, is that applicable to everyone that mind find the Pro X attractive? It’s the next question in that entire “speed” discussion. First, there’s the difference between theoretical speed and the speed you’ll actually see and/or use. Second, there’s the entire evaluation of what applications you use and how much speed those need.

For me, the Pro X is more than fast enough. For me, the Fire tablets are more than fast enough. For me, the sluggishness I often experience with the iPad Pro is irrelevant to just how damn convenient it is.

Does any of this sound applicable to you?

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