Honestly, I'm baffled by the tablet market. Everyone puts out underpowered devices. Even Google! How can you, in good faith, justify a tablet having a slower processor and less memory than a phone while trying to advertise it as the superior device, perfect for editing and whatnot?
Tablet market stalls because there’s not much new to buy
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/12/idc_tablet_market_data/
40 Comments
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 59 pts · 278d
My next tablet is going to be an x64 or ARM device that runs straight linux. Android is dead now that they are closing the software ecosystem.
jcarax@beehaw.org · 12 pts · 278d
I keep looking at the Starlite, it's recently upgraded to an N350. But every time I'm about to pull the trigger, I can't come up with enough use case.
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 278d
Thank you for bringing this to my attention! That page made it look like an Android device but when you go to configure one, it's Ubuntu.
jcarax@beehaw.org · 7 pts · 278d
Last I checked, they'll pre-install any number of distros. I just... I don't know what I'd use it for that justified a separate device from a laptop. Maybe once I get home assistant setup in my new place, but even then... what I'm really wanting is a Linux phone that I can use on Verizon's network. But even there, I'm tending towards moving to my cell phone sitting on the charger 95% of the time, and using kdeconnect.
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 278d
Yes, the Star Lite is still probably too big for my ideal use cases, where I'm really just looking for a libre pocket-sized device.
jcarax@beehaw.org · 3 pts · 278d
I really wish Sony would come back to the US market. I'm tempted to get an older Xperia device to run Sailfish, but it would be like 4-5 years old, and it's time on the Verizon network would be limited.
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 278d
What I really want is an Atari Portfolio or a Blackberry
LiveLM@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 277d
I'd aim for it to be a laptop replacement.
My current laptop is heavy as hell, assuming the keyboard case they have is decent, this could be light enough to leave in my backpack without adding too much weight, while also being usable in more situations that a standard laptop.
Only reason I haven't bought one is because good god the currency conversion and my country's stupid import tax 😵💫
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 278d
I notice that while they give stats on their processor and most other components, they don't seem to say anything at all about the GPU
jcarax@beehaw.org · 3 pts · 278d
It's on the N350, and is going to be pretty limited, though well supported in mainline.
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/241638/intel-core-3-processor-n350-6m-cache-up-to-3-90-ghz/specifications.html
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 278d
Oh, I didn't know what that was. Thanks.
biofaust@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 278d
I never bought a tablet for myself, but I am looking at the Volla tablet with Ubuntu Touch. Same reason.
Diurnambule@jlai.lu · 4 pts · 278d
I went for a refurbished surface pro, some champions built and maintain a special kernel for it. It work well, still got some issues but it easily replaced my PC and. Tablette. But I don't use android applications and games. I mostly use is in tablette mode to read manga on my balcony or in my hamoc in a parc.
philpo@feddit.org · 2 pts · 277d
I have a similar solution and waydroid works pretty well for a lot of things.
mrfriki@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 278d
That is what I’m looking for. A tablet that can be used both for content consumption, via a full desktop browser experience, and for gaming, via steam, gog and epic. Also that can be used as a makeshift laptop in a pinch.
LiveLM@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 277d
Damn right.
I like the tablet form factor but there's no way I'm gonna stand Android's limitations on a bigger screen.
If it's a Samsung, maybe, but on Stock Android? Helllll no. Google only started giving a fuck about proper multitasking now and it hasn't even started rolling out yet 🤦
Buffalox@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 278d
IDK, I haven't used a tablet for years now.
I have a 6.7" Phone which is great for portability and easy to read, and when I want the bigger screen I use a "real" (old fashioned) computer, either laptop or desktop.
I still prefer the desktop format of a (Linux) PC. 32" desktop monitor is great IMO, and super for gaming.
The tablet fills a hole that doesn't exist for me anymore.
otter@lemmy.ca · 10 pts · 278d
For the people around me, the only people using tablets are students. It's actually very helpful for note taking and I don't think there are any good alternatives to the iPad unfortunately.
2in1 laptops aren't that useful when you need to both type and draw/write
resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 278d
Tablets are worse laptops unless you’re a kid at a restaurant watching Bluey.
eleitl@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 279d
Their hardware is meh, particularly for the price. I consider it GrapheneOS tax.
isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 278d
Wasn't the tablet market eaten up by iPads and 2 in 1 laptops?
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club · 2 pts · 276d
An iPad is a tablet.
The problem is that most people use tablets as a media consumption device, so the need to update is far less than a phone. Even then, the smartphone market has cratered as justification for flagship phones have dropped. As tablets have a lower demand than phones, that market has completely dried up.
isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 276d
Yes, I'm aware an iPad is a tablet, the tablet market was eaten up by Apple tablets and laptops that turn into a tablet. Plus large phones, as you've mentioned.
philpo@feddit.org · 4 pts · 277d
Meanwhile all I want is a relatively cheap tablet sized display/AIO that can be powered by PoE and has no battery for displaying Home Assistant. (With ePaper it becomes totally crazy) Whoch seemingly is impossible.
JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 277d
Time to DIY!
Waveshare touchscreen for pi, 1200x800 is a good price and for home assistant that is fine. $70/75 for 8inch/10.1inch version. (10.1DP-CAPLCD)
Raspberry pi 3/4/5 can mount directly on the back of it. For whatever outrageous price Pis are now. (Around here, a 4B/4GB is 60€.
Wave share PoE hat for $20
Assemble it like Lego, put it in a wooden frame or 3D print, done. Around 160 USD plus shipping for a full build of a POE battery-less touchscreen display that runs full Linux of whatever flavor. (And is quite overkill as far as power).
You could probably do it even cheaper with an orange pi zero 3 with a PoE to USB-C converter or a Banana Pi BPI-P2 Pro IoT which has PoE built in.
It is cheaper than a tablet and strips out the useless things like a battery, camera, really high DPI display, LTE radios, etc... For a simple home assistant kiosk.
But yeah, epaper displays are 3x the display cost without touchscreen. Though in my opinion, epaper is better for static non-interactive sensor display which can run on battery with an MCU for almost no power because it only has to update once an hour or so.
philpo@feddit.org · 1 pts · 276d
Literally what I am doing,but has it's drawbacks and is hard to sell to other people that are less technically inclined. And sometimes time is money...
And it lead to me not finding proper wodden frames which led to me needing a CNC.. Etc. Etc.
You know how it goes.
SARGE@startrek.website · 3 pts · 278d
coolman@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 278d
Jailbreak them!
Once you have KOReader installed, you've got your perfect use case out of them, you don't need to do anything more than that.
Cool thing about KOReader, you can have it sync to a folder on your computer, so if you... acquire an ebook you just put it in that folder, and it shows up on your kindle! There's definitely more setup for that, so perfectly excusable if you'd prefer to just drop the ebooks on there over USB!
HubertManne@piefed.social · 1 pts · 278d
The original apple tablet was amazing for its time and then google put out something that was such a good deal for what you paid. Since only the fire sorta came close but its even more closed nature ruined it. I mean you could work around it but as you say its low powered and having to put that much effort sorta makes the cheap tablet thing meh.
DarkAri@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 278d
Why even buy a tablet? The only thing you can install on it are social media apps or something. Just buy a laptop.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 278d
I would be fine with a low spec tablet. But it should be priced appropriately. Currently using some old fire tablet that I got second hand for £15. Occasionally web browser runs out of RAM and crashes if I use reddit but not really had a problem with lemmy.
I could be tempted by a slight upgrade for like £30-50 though. Maybe.
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 0 pts · 279d
Android tablets anyway. Has there ever been a good one?
Get an iPad, there isn't a bad one, just less good ones. The $300 (or $330) base iPad is still better than like 95% of Android tablets, it can run Procreate, and it gives you access to the App Store. Nothing wrong with running an Android phone and an iPad. A lot of bloggers do it and recommend it, it's a good "best of both worlds" scenario, especially if you're into custom firmware on the Android side and tablet support is much less than it is on phones... might as well diversify at that point. Kind of like how if you're gonna get a PC, you maybe want Windows for gaming, but for a laptop, you'd be a fool to not just get a MacBook for its performance and battery life. Laptop gaming is streaming anyway, both platforms do it just fine. And again, there really aren't great PC laptops, and if they are, they're hard to find.
smeg@feddit.uk · 21 pts · 279d
beetus@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 278d
I loved my nexus 7.
smeg@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 278d
LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 278d
Nope, the touchscreen was terrible. It would have been nearly a perfect device for the time. Phones were smaller, and it was a nice accessory for watching videos and playing games that were less convenient on a smaller phone with poor battery life, but... It barely registered touch inputs.
Still salty about that waste of money. The forums were just full of people complaining about it and Google tried to fix it with software, but it just didn't work right.
smeg@feddit.uk · 8 pts · 278d
zout@fedia.io · 19 pts · 278d
Call me a fool, but Macbooks are 300-500 euros more than a decent windows laptop.
jerkface@lemmy.ca · 16 pts · 278d
Android was until recently an acceptable choice, while iOS has never been acceptable, no matter how "good" they make them. They are poisoned. Apple in general has always been extremely consumer-hostile and they are not trustworthy for the kind of relationship that they abusively force on their users.
dditty@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 13 pts · 278d
I have a Samsung Tab S7 that I still use and like. It's great for watching Plex and YouTube ReVanced, and I even use the Samsung Notes app with its S Pen. The bummer is Samsung will seemingly never update the OS on it again, so it's stuck on Android 13. There are custom builds of LineageOS I could try, but apparently those break S Pen support.
Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 278d
What constitutes good? And what makes an iPad good? I had an iPad pro about 4 years ago and I hated it and its' idiotic appleisms. People were paroting that iPad is the way to go back then as well and I fell for it. I switched to a Samsung Tab S7+ and couldn't be happier. I still use it daily, it does everything I need it to do and it does it better than the iPad.
RaoulDuke85@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 278d
I've had my ipad for 6 years and still feels new. Still gets updates.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe · 1 pts · 278d
Apps stop working on them, just because you can't update the app. Like currently functioning apps that don't require internet (but still use it for ads and tracking you).
I've had games that worked fine just stop because theres no update for an older iPad, yet the game works fine (think games like Risk, Solitaire, Dominoes, etc).
That's unacceptable, and why I'll never own another one.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 278d
But I don't want a £300 tablet. I want a much cheaper one.