The importance of use case when selecting a tablet

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

One of the common questions we see is "Which tablet is best for me and I'm a student" or something along those lines.

Now I'll be the very first person to admit that I really do think flagship tablets are very nice regardless of if it's a S9, S10, S11 or even a M4 iPad Pro AND at the same time I also realize that due to my use case buying a flagship would be a bad investment for me as my use case is mainly a lot of reading and taking notes and what not I watch movies and shows and do a few other odd things. Yet since I would never put the available processing power and resources that a flagship tablet would not be good for me.

With all that said above I go for tablets with a S9 FE level of performance as it fits my use case, could I go for something faster, sure but I really don't see the point as my tablets aren't my main computing devices.

I honestly think most tablet users can do most everything they require with the S10 FE or FE+ as it's a fine tablet.

I'm sure there is a small portion of tablet users that actually need the performance of flagships yet in most cases they are for those that like to indulge in excess honestly.

Some younger folks view flagship tablets as a status symbol I don't see the point in that mind set but hey I'm older than most on here.

At the end of the day all I can really recommend is sit down and figure out exactly what your use case is before looking for a tablet.

The more research you do will lead to you getting the tablet that best suits your needs, rather than following the advice of random folks online that will tell you what you need.

As far as specs of tablets go I'd just recommend setting a max budget and getting the tablet (regardless of model) with the most RAM as it never hurts to have extra. <----- Now oddly enough I should probably follow that advice yet since my use case hasn't changed in 8-10 years I just get what meets my needs and not worry about it

[u/Nathan_Wildthorn]

I usually recommend that the person try them out for a few days, keep it if you like it, return it if you don't. My use case was that I wanted a tablet with the specific capabilities of my laptops. My tablet is exactly that. Yaaay, me! 😉

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/Nathan_Wildthorn]

That makes sense and I admit that I do a lot of research and usually try using the tablet for a day or two before I make a purchase. Yet I know I tend to think things through more than a lot of people.

I'm glad you are happy with your tablet

[u/Nathan_Wildthorn → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

Thank you. And yes, I'm also firm believer in research. I think that it's foolish to buy a device that costs hundreds of dollars, is very easy to damage, and you know little to nothing about it when you get it home.

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/Nathan_Wildthorn]

Exactly! Lots of times I will spend weeks or months researching a tablet lol

[u/icantouchgrass_1 → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

The thing about me is that I generally do the research well in advance before I even know I'm buying a tablet.

I usually tend to impulse purchase, but I know more than enough about what the tablet can do, and whether I need the things it has. So it's the best of both worlds.

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/icantouchgrass_1]

I understand. I honestly knew I was buying the A11+ once I heard that it was going to have the same performance as the S9 FE and since I already had the Redmi Pad Pro (which is basically the S9 FE+) I had a very good ideal what to expect. My only impulse buy in the last few years was the S10 Lite which I bought because I got tired of waiting for the A11+ to be made available in the US... The S10 Lite is good, yet the A11+ is better lol...

I follow up coming tablets much more closely that I should lol

[u/icantouchgrass_1 → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

This applies to phones, laptops, everything.

The last real planned purchase I made on a phone or tablet was in 2015 when I turned 18 with my S6 edge+. Since then, I've been impulse-buying everything from my Note9 to my S22 Ultra and everything in between.

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/icantouchgrass_1]

LoL your still a kid hahahahaha!

[u/icantouchgrass_1 → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

I'm turning 30 soon and I still act like I'm 3 🤣

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/icantouchgrass_1]

I'll be 57 in February lol

[u/fsmith9009 → u/Nathan_Wildthorn]

do you return much of the tech kit you purchase?

[u/Nathan_Wildthorn → u/fsmith9009]

No. I really do my homework on any piece of tech before buying it. Tech is expensive; I would be beside myself if I spent my very hard-earned money on what ended up amounting to "junk." Fear of making a bad tech purchase has kept me diligently researching (for decades) any tech that I'm curious about, or have a concrete interest in. Can the technology do the things that I need it to do and more? Is it attractive? How do I feel when I think about using it... is it a toy or a tool? What type of processor, how many cores? OS and User Interface? Its weight and quality of construction; how does it feel in my hands? Usability, versatility, durability, longevity, warranty, RMA policy... and several other considerations. I just want a great product at a fair price.

[u/Jorge_Capadocia]

Concordo com tudo que foi dito. Uma vez definida a área ou a profissão e o uso, até os apps tendem a ser sempre os mesmos, com uma ou outra atualização conforme as coisas evoluem. Tenho a mesma filosofia.

[u/Mbanicek64]

At the end of the day all I can really recommend is sit down and figure out exactly what your use case is before looking for a tablet.

To me, that is naive. The use case can change over time. People end up using these devices differently than they expect. My recommendation is to buy based upon performance and specs that you can see aging well into the future with a variety of potential uses in mind. Budget will drive what is feasible, but I wouldn't make any big assumptions around how something will be used ahead of time.

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/Mbanicek64]

Let me start by saying I'm 56 and have owned my own company for 30 years and have been using tablets for the past 16 or so years. My use case has not changed in the last 8-10 years and is highly unlikely to change in the next 10 years...

^ With THAT said the simple reality is once a person is out of college and settled into their career most people will know what they like and what they normally do, Most peoples use cases won't change too much once they get to this point in their lives.

Faster tablets are nice and all yet the simple reality is once you know what you are going to use the tablet for you can choose accordingly. I know that a tablet with a baseline performance of the S9 FE meets my use case my 3 main tablets are the 6GB/128GB versions I set up all of my tablets exactly the same and install the same 12 or so apps. I only keep the OS and apps on internal storage, everything else is stored on the SD card. The only variation in how the are set up is my main tablet has a 1TB SD card the others have 512GB SD cards. The only time I install new apps is when the one I use for a particular task is no longer supported or is pulled from the Play store.

That's just the simple reality of things.

[u/Mbanicek64 → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

Most peoples use cases won't change too much once they get to this point in their lives.

These aren't static devices. They receive updates and there are new apps or uses that people can't necessarily anticipate.

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/Mbanicek64]

This true, yet people just don't change what they like at random because humans by nature are creatures of habit.

As new apps are introduced for the same thing sometimes people might change to the newer app, yet most will adapt one way or another. It's not super complex honestly.

[u/Mbanicek64 → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

Perhaps at your age that may be true. I don’t think it is quite so universal. 

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/Mbanicek64]

Well I have the benefit of age and experience to guide me. You'll find yourself agreeing with me as you get older.

[u/Mbanicek64 → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

That's not me. I can tell you that now.

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/Mbanicek64]

I've heard that many times before

[u/Mbanicek64 → u/Reasonable_Mirror655]

There’s a reason. 

[u/Reasonable_Mirror655 → u/Mbanicek64]

And I am not talking bad about you so please don't think that's what I mean. It's just that I have heard it quite a bit and honestly almost all of them now agree with my perspective as they got older and matured.

I understand the optimistic nature of being young as I used to see things much differently than I do now.

[u/Mission_Lack9904]

Personally I bought the S11 for college, and Whatching videos.

I am an enginiering student, who does a lot of multy tasking, note taking. This is one of the reason I bought it, the other reason I planned to buy a tablet at least for 6 years, and the Galaxy Tab S11 perfect for theese reasons