Contents
How To Compare Tablets To Pick The Right One?
For side-by-side tablet comparison, here is the detailed checklist of crucial features, specs and factors you must know about.| Specification | Description | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Screen Size & Weight | Responsible for better viewing experience and portability | Size - Higher the better (depending upon requirements) Weight - Lower the better |
| Screen Resolution | Determines how detailed viewing experience you will get while playing videos or gaming apps | Higher the better |
| Screen Type | Responsible for device’s bulkiness and color ratio | For entry level - LCD For mid or high level - AMOLED |
| Brightness & Color Gamut | Impacts the picture quality and viewing experience in high-glare surroundings | Higher the better |
| Processor | Determines the performance speed and quality of device | Latest the better |
| Battery Life | Decides how long a device lasts with a single charge upon continuous usage | Higher the better |
| RAM | Decides how smooth and fast apps and data run for multitasking | Higher the better |
| Storage | How much data can be stored in a device | Higher the better |
| Camera | Determines pictures and video recording capabilities | Higher the better |
| Pricing | Determines what features you will get | Depends on your requirements |
| Warranty | Crucial for further maintenance and replacement of damaged parts | Higher the better |
Screen Size & Weight
Range: Size – 7 inches – 15 inches, Weight – 1 pound – 4.5 pounds Tablet size comparison is the foremost thing to do while comparing various options to see which one fits your requirements well. Modern ones come in various tablet dimensions ranging from 7 to 14 inches or above. The more the tablet size, the bulkier it is to carry. Any tablet beyond 3.5 pounds is less portable and should be considered for home/office purposes.
While the small tablets of 7-9 inches are compact and highly portable and lightweight (ranging between 1 pound to 3.5 pounds), they don’t offer you a seamless viewing experience for media consumption or playing games. So, while choosing a tablet size, keep the following in mind:
- 7-9 inches tablets: This tablet size is suitable for you if you travel a lot and have some basic requirements like media consumption, net surfing, etc. These mini tablets either come in a 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratio (the classic example is the iPad mini). Due to their compact size, they are easy to hold and carry for long hours and come with good battery life.
- 9-11 inches tablets: For better viewing experience, editing and designing purposes, you can look for a tablet between 9-11 inches. This size is suitable if you need to do productivity work on the wheels without carrying your bulky laptop. Most tablet lovers prefer this size as it offers them the best of both worlds (phone and laptop).
- 11-13 inches or above: For better gaming or media consumption experiences, you can go for this size. However, this size is less portable, it offers better battery life and easier to read screens than the small ones. You can use them with BlueTooth keyboards to replace your traditional workstation on the go. They offer a 16:10 aspect ratio to use in portrait mode for a better reading experience.
Screen Resolution
Range: 720p – 4K UHD The higher the display resolution of a tablet, the more detailed experience you will have while browsing, playing games or watching movies on it. Small-size tablets usually come with 1080p resolution to play high-quality videos and graphics. Contrary, if you have larger screens between 10-13 inches or above, 4K UHD resolution would work better. However, to run 4K UHD videos, tablets require dense displays and more power, which reduces the battery life and running time of the device. So, choose accordingly.Screen Type: LCD vs AMOLED
Modern tablets either come with LCD or AMOLED/OLED displays. While LCD generally comes in entry-level or mid-range tablets, AMOLED display comes in high-end tablets. LCDs are thinner and light-weight, thus suitable for mini or normal-size tablets. However, for large screen tablets, generally, AMOLED works better with high contrast ratio. They also have a faster response time than LCD ones and thus come at a high cost. So, while comparing a tablet, don’t forget to compare its display type per your needs and budget.
Brightness & Color Gamut
Range: 100-600 nits Some tablet displays come with a Gorilla Glass coating, which is highly reflective and glossy. Such tablets are hard to use at low brightness in daylight or high light ambient. So, a tablet must have an anti-reflective display coating with high brightness to be used in direct sunlight. The brighter the tablet display is, the easier it is to use in high-glare surroundings, but by consuming more battery. An average tablet has a brightness of around 400-450 nits which is more than workable, however, the high-end ones come with a maximum brightness of 600-800 nits. Anything below 350 nits in a tablet is considered low brightness.
A tablet’s color gamut decides how many colors a screen can produce. The higher the color gamut, the more colors a display offers for a better viewing experience. However, a high-color gamut is more useful when you use a tablet for video editing or gaming purposes. So compare it if you have graphics designing, editing or production-related requirements.
Processor
Range: 1 – 8 cores A tablet’s processor and chipset, along with its memory, determines its performance, how many apps it can run smoothly and whether it is suitable for multitasking or not. A processor can have cores ranging from one to eight. The more cores a processor has, the faster it performs while multitasking or running heavy apps. Dual or quad-core processors would work fine if you have moderate requirements like online surfing, reading books online, or media consumption. However, consider six or eight cores for more intensive multitasking or heavy apps. One of the best-performing processor chipsets for mid and high-range tablets is the Apple M1 chip. In Android tablets, Qualcomm Snapdragon works best. Brands like Samsung use the Qualcomm processor in their mid and high-range tablets. The latest Samsung Galaxy S8 uses the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. In Windows tablets, you can find an Intel processor that performs smoothly and quickly. The entry-level and mid-range tablets use i3 or i5 processors, while the high-range ones come with an i7 generation to offer seamless performance for multitasking.Operating System – Android vs iOS vs ChromeOS vs Windows
The tablet market offers more OS options than laptops and smartphones. Primarily, there are four popular operating systems you can compare or choose from:
- iPad OS: The most popular and the most expensive one. Designed for iPads, specifically by Apple, this OS comes with a clean interface and is suitable for multitasking, playing end games, and consuming media. However, go for it only if your budget is high.
- Android: In budget-friendly options, Android OS is the leading and best choice for multitasking as it is an open platform. Some leading brands using Android OS in their tablets are Samsung and Lenovo. The UI is the same for tablet Android OS as for smartphones.
- Chrome OS: Chrome OS by Google is widely popular for Chromebooks; however, some brands like HP also use it in their budget-friendly tablets. Although Chrome OS in tablets allow you to download and run both chrome and android apps, it is still a less powerful OS. So, go for it only when your budget and requirements are low.
- Windows: You can find this OS in the Microsoft Surface Go series, and go for it if you want to replace your laptop with a tab. It allows you to run full-fledged Adobe and other professional windows apps. While doing a window tablet comparison, go for 10S or above if you have professional requirements.
Keyboard – Convertible or Standalone
Some tablets come with the ability to convert into a laptop by attaching a wired or wireless keyboard. It can be handy to have a keyboard attached to your tablet for better typing speed or a professional gaming experience. Some tabs have connector pins to attach keyboards when required, and some come with Bluetooth functionality to offer attachment for wireless keyboards only. So, depending upon your requirements, you can choose which one is suitable for you.Battery Life
Range: 5000-15000 mAH Battery life is crucial to check for comparison of tablets to see how long a device can last after continuous media consumption or browsing. These are the two processes that consume the tablet’s battery the most. So, ideally, if a tablet can run for eight hours or longer with a single charge after running heavy apps, videos or multiple browsers for hours, it has good battery life. However, a tablet’s battery life depends upon several other factors like its display type, screen brightness, size, apps running in the background, etc. So, a tablet with a screen size of 8-10 inches should have around 7000mAH battery, while the bigger tablets with 11-13 inches should have around 10,000 mAH battery or more to last a day.Connectivity and Networking Features
To connect your tablet to various devices and a strong WiFi network, you need to compare which tablet offers you the latest connectivity features in your budget.- Dual-Band WiFi: First, compare what type of WiFi network a tablet supports. Every tablet must support 802.11n. Most tablets have dual WiFi compatibility to connect WiFi 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. To stream videos in UHD or 4K quality, having WiFi 5 in your tab is essential.
- Bluetooth 5.0: Modern tablets come with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity to let you connect a wireless keyboard, mouse or other handsets. Bluetooth 5.0 supports wireless earphones and lets you simultaneously transfer data between two devices.
- Cellular Connectivity (4G/5G): A tab with cellular connectivity consists of a sim or eSim slot to connect with a cellular network. However, it is not necessary, but if you have a 7-8 inches tablet which you want to use for communication purposes, you can also use the cellular connectivity feature.
- USB Type-C Port: It is crucial to connect your existing wired devices with your tablet for audio, charging and other purposes.
Storage
Range: 8 GB – 256 GB All tablets have SSD storage to draw less power with low weight and better durability. However, depending on how much media and data you want to store, you can compare its in-built storage. If you have fewer media storage requirements and want to use it primarily for web browsing or reading purposes, 64GB storage would be sufficient. However, if you wish to store heavy gaming apps or high-quality videos or data on your tablet, you should go for 128-256 GB storage. Some tablets come with a flash memory drive to upgrade storage. However, apart from the in-built storage, you can also use cloud storage for additional space.RAM
Range: 4 GB – 16 GB RAM is not an extremely crucial factor in iPads as its OS hardly makes a difference in tablets with higher RAM. However, in Android tablets, it is crucial to compare if your requirements are multitasking or gaming. For basic usage, 4 GB RAM is a bare minimum. However, you should consider tablets with 8 or 16 GB to run heavy gaming and multitasking apps.Camera
Range: 5MP – 20MP If you wish to utilize your tablet for recording videos, taking pictures and video call conferences, comparing camera specifications is crucial. For the rear camera, an 8 or 12 MP camera is enough with an F2.0 aperture, autofocus and 4K (30/60 FPS) video recording capabilities. A 5MP camera or above would work fine with HD or 4K video recording capabilities for the front camera.Accessories
Depending upon your work requirements, you can check what additional accessories or features you are getting with a tablet, like a stylus, speaker and keyboard docks, etc. If you are an artist, getting a good stylus with a tablet can be great for improving your artwork. However, for better compatibility, the screen latency must be lower than 50ms. Some high-end tablets like iPad Air and Galaxy Tab S7+ even have screen latency as low as 9ms.
However, if you are a content writer or coder, go for tablets with keyboard docks or cases to attach third-party keyboards for better typing speed.
If your major requirement is media consumption, go for a tablet with speaker docs to connect high-quality loudspeakers for a better audio experience.