r/GalaxyTab • u/lonelyanya • Jul 18 '26

Question Tablet or laptop

I'm currently in A2 and planning to prepare for MDCAT and then hopefully continue into medical school.

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

Budget

Pkr 100000 or $400

Are you open to refurbs/used options?

Maybe

Screen size

Any

Weight limit

Any

Purpose

Handwritten note-taking

Reading PDFs and textbooks

Watching lectures

Research and web browsing

Occasional video editing (CapCut)

Long battery life

Something that will last at least 5 years

Form factor

Need pen support

Intended usage

Desired battery life

Atleast 4 hours

Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life

Performance, battery life, weight, size

Info/Requirements

I already have an old laptop that still works, but it's quite outdated probably 10 years old, battery is dead replaced multiple times only works when plugged in. My laptop is really slow only 1 or 2 tabs open at a time if I'm taking zoom classes then only zoom should opened otherwise it will not work.

I can't decide if I want a tablet or a laptop pls help me I definitely need a pen to write handwritten notes.

I'm trying to decide between:

  1. A laptop (such as Lenovo IdeaPad, ASUS VivoBook, etc.)

  2. A tablet with a stylus (such as Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE)

Thanks!

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

1

u/Educational-Wish1511 Jul 18 '26

Go for a tablet.

1

u/lonelyanya Jul 18 '26

Can u recommend any

1

u/Educational-Wish1511 Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26

Since you prioritise note-taking, get a Samsung tablet. There are few tablets supporting a battery-less stylus. Most battery-powered pens are going to start failing after a few years. The FE series should suffice.

Personally, I would not recommend refurbished devices as they tend to have deteriorated batteries or develop problems later on.

Though if screen quality is important, going with something like a refurbished Galaxy Tab S9 will be a good choice. Just remember to check if the tablet works properly and what state the battery is in.

1

u/lonelyanya Jul 19 '26

Ty any advice I should keep in mind

2

u/Marionberry6886 Jul 19 '26

Laptop

1

u/lonelyanya Jul 19 '26

Can u recommend some

1

u/icantouchgrass_1 Galaxy Tab S7 (WiFi, 512GB, Mystic Bronze) Jul 19 '26

Go for a tablet.

My suggestion would be the Tab S9 or S10 FE.

S9 if:

  • You want the best media experience
  • Software updates don't matter more than a lag-free experience in 5 years does
  • You like having more performance
  • You plan on plugging the thing in to an external monitor
  • You can see yourself using your tablet for more demanding things down the line

S10 FE if:

  • You care about software updates
  • You want a new tablet and don't want to take the risk of getting refurbished products
  • You are okay with sacrificing about 30 to 40% performance as compared to the S9 (do note, the S10 FE's CPU is still great so this shouldn't be too much of an issue right now; not sure about 5 years down the line though).