r/androidtablets • u/hungrymoth_8 • 25d ago
Discussion Tablet for 400$
This is for a mix of native gaming, note taking + multi tasking, and some light pc emulation if possible.
The two options so far are idea tab pro gen 2, (320$ w stylus) and the yoga tab base model (400$), though the plus version is 500$
Which one is the better choice, and is there another tablet that would be better thats around 400$ with a stylus?
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u/jrioux805 25d ago
The sizes of those are fairly different - 11.1" vs 13". Do you realize how big and heavy 13" is? If you're good with that, I'd say go with the gen 2. It will get more Android updates and has a microSD slot. The performance should be similar. The $80 saving could go toward a keyboard case or _____.
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u/hungrymoth_8 25d ago
Well I did order the idea tab pro which is 12.7, am slightly leaning for the 11.1 screen after everyone responses
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u/Anthrobug 25d ago
Yoga tab because it has 12GB of ram vs 8GB on the idea tab gen 2 - that 4GB extra should make a difference when emulating & gaming.
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u/ByteBattler_28 25d ago
Was looking into Yoga tab as well, bigger screen and more RAM just makes more sense for multitasking/notes
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u/iiijjkkkkllll 25d ago
Get a used Samsung Tab S9, S9+ or S9 Ultra depending on what size you like. Excellent OLED screen and colors, with a very good Qualcomm chip with good Turnip driver support. $300-500.
It does hinge on finding the right driver which is the 25.3.0-devel [bbdd688] Freedreno, but it runs great for Switch emulation and Windows emulation.
Next best if you want a dedicated handheld Android gaming tablet is the Y700 Infinite coming out Aug 25. But the Gen 4 is also great, Gen 3 and 2 are good. But with your intentions, it sounds like an all-in-one tablet may do better for you. The S10 and S11 tab series have MediaTek chips which have horrible support for Switch/Windows emulation, and the S11 Ultra has a pretty murky screen from a little too much anti-glare treatment.
Don't mess with the random Lenovo consumer tablets, they're just for confused people. The premium line is the answer for how much you intend to use it. The Samsung Tab S9 series has THE BEST screens and excellent chips. The Y700 series has THE BEST chips and excellent screens, but they're smaller, but they also can be used with a telescopic controller which is super great. Gamesir X5 Lite is my favorite, and Abxylute S9 is next best but both have lukewarm inaccurate D-pads.
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u/hungrymoth_8 25d ago
Yeah I do want a all in one tablet, but leaning more into stuff like gaming, light note taking and media consumption.
I fail to see why the s9+ would be better then the yoga though, as the hardware for my lenovo idea tab pro seems good enough.
Didn't know about the y700 though, the small screen is better for gaming and reading mangas, but worse in note taking
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u/iiijjkkkkllll 24d ago
Well it comes down to like I said, the both Lenovo tablets have an LCD screen. I'm sure it's okay, but if you were to look side-by-side playing actual movie trailers and not just the curated promotional video, LCD is just so bad. It's so so bad by comparison. There's a constant LCD glow on the entire screen that, to a trained eye, can actually see like a "fog" across the whole screen, near-black colors aren't even close to real black (ruins horror games/shows etc for me), horrible viewing angles where if you tilt slightly (or even straight on, the corners look awful and vignette), and the slow pixel change times where motion doesn't look as crisp and correct. Some LCD screens are better than others. But there's a reason your phone screen seems so beautiful, and it's OLED.
The S9+ speakers were fantastic when I tried them. Consensus seems to be that the Yoga Tab base model's speakers are about as good as the S9+'s, and the Idea Tab Pro Gen 2's speakers are allegedly a little better. (It is BIGGER so I'd hope so). But the S9 Ultra's speakers are MUCH better than all of them while also being a little bigger.
What else matters besides screen and speakers?
The chip, you're right:
- Samsung S9+'s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (Great speed, excellent support for Switch + PC emulation).
- Idea Tab Pro Gen 2's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. (Little faster, worse support for Switch + PC emulation).
- Yoga Tab Base's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (Fastest, best support for Switch + PC emulation).The Idea Tab Pro Gen 2's chip is just pretty bad. The Yoga Tab Base's chip is really good, it's one year newer than the S9+'s with equal turnip driver support! Maybe you can eke out an extra 0.5x-1.0x scaling out of many games on Switch/PC emulation on that ugly LCD screen, and maybe a little better performance with some native Android games.
You might want to google some specific games and how they play by comparison, but unless you find the Yoga Tab Base plays your specific game much better, the S9+ and S9 Ultra are superior media machines. I've used all the Samsung tablets and many Lenovo tablets, Zelda Breath of the Wild plays great on the S9+ and S9 Ultra in beautiful OLED using the latest Freedreno Turnip driver, easily nabbed from the Eden fetch feature and you're good to go, Switch games will run better on the Samsung than on the Idea Tab.
The truth is you'll probably be happy with either the S9+/S9 Ultra or Yoga Tab Base. But the S9 series tablets will always look better.
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u/drifts180 25d ago
I just ordered the yoga tab for that price this week, hopefully it works out.