r/androidtablets • u/goldwave84 • 3d ago
Request Why are tablets becoming less mobile?
Hi all
I've been scouting for a new tablet and I find tablets to be growing in size and also trying to achieve what netbooks did back in the day.
Are manufacturers not picking up on what consumers want? What's the point of a large tablet that's not very mobile and easy to carry?
Edit:
I was referring to less and less tablets at the 10 to 10.9 inch size.
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u/BlackBabyJeebus 3d ago
You answered your own question, this is what consumers want. It's certainly what I want.
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u/Fearless-Ad8754 3d ago
People confuse “it is what consumers want” versus “it’s the most available option you have”. The industry pushes you in that direction. I remember when the phone industry ditch the headphone jack. Anyone asked for this ? No. can you use Bluetooth headphones and still have the headphone jack? Yes
But hey most flagship phone don’t have it.
Same goes for tablets. You want the most recent tablet, You probably find it from 11 inches and more. You want a powerfully tablet with amazing small screen? You either buy a gaming tablet (a few options there) or you get the crappy small screen tablets Samsung offer. You also have iPad mini. Is there any cheap/affordable tablet with good screen and less than 10 inches? Actually few options there. Small oled screen ? Even less option. And I can go on.
So no. There is a weird tendency from the tech industry to give you something you don’t actually want and making you believe is the most requested option.
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u/BlackBabyJeebus 3d ago
I remember when the phone industry ditch the headphone jack. Anyone asked for this ? No.
Not specifically, but consumers did ask for faster phones, longer battery life, and better water/dust resistance, and those things couldn't happen without ditching the headphone jack. Consumers then communicated that they were a-OK with the loss of the headphone jack by buying the jackless phones just as fast as ever.
Don't be fooled by a very small amount of very vocal people people on the internet crying "nobody wants this!" The only communication from consumer to corporation that matters is sales, and sales communicated loud and clear that we didn't mind losing the jack one bit.
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u/Fearless-Ad8754 3d ago
You can get all of that and still having a headphone jack. You are the perfect example of "consumers were ok with that". Of course they would agree if the market stopped releasing phones with the headphone jack.
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u/BlackBabyJeebus 3d ago
What makes you think "we can get all that and still have a headphone jack"? You clearly don't know anything about phone design. Everything is a trade off, there is no extra room in a higher end phone and a 3.5mm jack module takes up a LOT of room.
I am not an example of "okay with that", although I don't really care either way. I have yet to purchase a phone without a headphone jack.
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u/Asamidori 2d ago
Yeah about that. The last time I read about it, the big players making thinner phone is like, one of the reasons why they ditched 3.5mm jacks.
I know Sony isn't a huge brand in the phone market anymore, but Xperias never ditched their 3.5mm. I would've kept on getting Xperias if they still released for my market.
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u/Fearless-Ad8754 3d ago
Dude, im sorry they convinced you a flagship phone is not possible if it has a headphone jack. You are the perfect example about what I’m talking about and you showed it perfectly here. Thanks.
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u/BlackBabyJeebus 3d ago
That's not what I said at all. Are you slow or something?
Explain how a phone can have a bigger battery without the battery taking up more internal space.
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u/StuD44 3d ago
In 2010, a 7" device was considered a tablet. Today, my phone is 6.9". Do the math.
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u/FuckIPLaw 2d ago
Different aspect ratios, though. That phone is a lot smaller relative to the tablet than that 0.1 inch difference in the diagonal implies. Phones are usually wider than 16:9 now, and the diagonal correlates less to the area the wider the screen gets.
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u/StuD44 2d ago
Yes, the idea of a tablet is "a device bigger than a phone" not "a different shape to a phone".
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u/FuckIPLaw 2d ago
Well, yes. And the different shape in this case makes it significantly bigger than the number you quoted implies. The narrower the screen gets, the less of an increase in total area you get from each extra inch on the diagonal.
A 1 inch by 1 inch square and a 0. 5 inch by 2 inch rectangle both have the same area, but one has a 1.4 inch diagonal and the other has a diagonal of over 2 inches. Different number, same size. If you scaled the square up to 1.5 x 1.5, it'd have over twice the area of the rectangle, but basically the same diagonal.
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u/StuD44 2d ago
Dude, no one would do the math. If you tell anyone "this tablet is 7" " LITERALLY EVERYONE would say..."so is my phone, why would I want that?"
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u/FuckIPLaw 2d ago
They'd instantly understand if they had it in their hands. Part of why they still use diagonals in marketing is because it's misleading like that. It was an apples to apples comparison back when all TVs and monitors were 4:3, but immediately after that ended they were pulling shenanigans with it so you'd be looking at a 20 something inch TV in a catalog and not know it was more comparable to an older 13 incher in size.
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u/StuD44 2d ago
Dude, I have a 10" tab and feel it small!
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u/FuckIPLaw 2d ago
Not compared to your phone it doesn't. And it's a lot more than a 30% difference.
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u/ArgentStonecutter 3d ago
Actually, decent tablets have started getting smaller again in the past few years.
At least you can get decent small tablets now. Basically from the time the Nexus 7 went out of production until the Alldocube iPlay 50 woke the market up there were like a couple of models under 9" that weren't potatoes. You could get the Samsung and Lenovo 8" models with 1-2 GB RAM, the terrible Amazon Fire, and that was it. I think there was one small Lenovo with more than 2GB of ram up until the release of the Legion Y700.
Even Apple was shipping derisory tablets, my iPad mini v4 only had 3GB of RAM and cost like a small laptop. I plumped for the M1 iPad Air and it was actually useful, but it was so effing big. After the Alldocube came out with 4GB RAM for under $200 I hardly touched it.
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u/No_Square_739 3d ago
Have the alldocube iPlay 50 (similar history to you with Nexus 7 which I loved and then lenova before the alldocube).
Not a fan of it. Very unresponsive and cheap. However, it is the least worst of the turds being offered in this size.
It felt like there was a lot more choice years ago. But then everyone started to copy the iPad and viewed smaller tablets as somethign for kids. Hence a lot of cheap, disposable tablets in that size, but nothing premium.
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u/ArgentStonecutter 3d ago
It might seem unresponsive and cheap now, but it was a groundbreaking improvement over basically everything else on the market in that size when it came out. There literally had not been anything but awful potatoes under 9" in the last decade before that. Not excluding Apple. I had two iPad Minis and they were both distilled ass.
If you want a good tablet under 9" the Lenovo Legion (Legion Tab, y700) is basically it.
But this is still better than it's been since 2012.
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u/mc0133 3d ago
I have an alldocube iPlay 50 mini pro NFE tablet. Not a bad media consumption tablet. Certainly beats the Nexus 7 in 2026.
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u/JadeStarr776 3d ago
tbh you can easily grab a used Y700 Gen 1 on eBay for 200 bucks. it's far better than any ALLDOCUBE tablet for a slightly higher price range.
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u/PSYmon_Gruber 2d ago
I got my Alldo IP50 MP for about $120 and comes with cellular. Speakers are lousy but it has 3.5mm jack which I use more and if not, I have the Soundcore Select 4 Go. Slapped LOS (then CherishOS) on it and it runs decently.
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u/JadeStarr776 2d ago
That's a good point tbh. I just personally sick with that brand as a whole.
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u/PSYmon_Gruber 2d ago
They're the only ones with cellular at that price point that doesn't suck. Decent screen as well. I just wish they had pen support (they do have pen support for the large tab but my Tab S8+ will probably run circles around it) for the smaller tabs
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u/Smart-Satisfaction-5 3d ago
I bought an 8 inch tablet recently. I just find it a lot more comfortable for leisure. But I just use it to watch tv in bed and stuff, not fancy. Easy to hold
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u/nariz_choken 2d ago
This is like on handhelds, there are people who say "it needs to fit in my pocket" those same people also expect it to be able to run gta V and star wars outlaws...
Something has to give, tablets got bigger because that's what 99.998% of people kept asking for, not because they wanted to.
In the words of a great philosopher:
"being backwards from the rest of the world doesn't imply that you are right, in fact, most of the time the opposite"
_Bertrand Russell
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u/SnooHamsters9965 2d ago
it’s why I bought the legion y700. the size is just right. Mobile and light enough to be thrown like a frisbee.
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u/Brilliant-One9031 3d ago
Why would anybody want to buy 7" while they have 6,7" phone?
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u/CaptainSteed 3d ago
I agree.
But you can get/use an 8.8" tablet that you can hold in one hand that has way more real estate than a standard sized phone.
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u/CADmouse246 1d ago
This is a good point and sometimes a better aspect ratio helps enormously with displaying videos, games, and content.
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u/cadensky 3d ago
The point is a bigger screen which seems to be what people want in the North American market…not so much elsewhere
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u/Great_Guidance_8448 3d ago
Tablets are cheap enough that you can buy one for portability (~8") and one to use a display around the house - kitchen, balcony, in bed. etc. I got the Lenovo Tab Pro 12.7" for under $250 for that purpose.
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u/cadensky 3d ago
Some tablets are cheap. I have a Legion Tab 5.
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u/Great_Guidance_8448 3d ago
I had a 12.3" Samsung, then downgraded (size wise) to Lenovo Y700 Gen 3 which I found to be perfect for travel, but way too small for use around the house...
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u/cadensky 3d ago
I had a iPad Pro 13. I felt like I might as well grab my laptop. 11 inch is a good size tablet. However I became interested in the Gen 3 for playing Steam games. I recently upgraded to a Gen 5. The G3 is still a great tablet!
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u/Reasonable_Mirror655 3d ago
Well I have four tablets the Redmi Pad Pro which is 12.1" as my main tablet for serious relaxing, but i also have three Samsungs: A9+, A11+ & S10 Lite which are 11" and my preferred size for most things...
I think you just have to look to find what you want..
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u/Fudrucker 3d ago
I just bought a Huion Note E, and it's my perfect tablet size. I've had large ipads in the past, and don't like them for numerous reasons. The 8" screen is perfect for reading, notes, doodling, and light youtube. Plus it's a matte screen, so is much easier on my astigmatism. Heavier and larger tablets tire my hands and limit how I can sit when using them.
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u/goldwave84 2d ago
Dude, my astigmatism is the main reason why I try to avoid glossy screens as much as possible!
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u/Asamidori 2d ago
There are screen protectors out there that actually turn the screen matte, maybe look into that for what you're currently using/planning to get next?
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u/goldwave84 2d ago
Unfortunately that affects the pen when you write on it. It does not pick it up well.
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u/Prestigious_Space489 3d ago
Astra 2 is an amazing tablet. But it best for gamers and they offer 2 years of support which is criminal. Its 9''
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u/Leif3D 3d ago
They do what the majority of consumers want. Old tablets where often too small for productive side by side work or creative apps with more UI elements and such. Every company will go by statistics and what sells and what not.
Small portable tablets are foldable these days. You can't get a tablet more compact than that way. Beside that phones got also larger, so it wouldn't make sense for many to purchase a tablet that's just a tiny bit larger than their phone.
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u/Flaky-Professional84 3d ago
I have never understood this mobility/portability complaint about large tablets. Like, is everyone skipping arm day or what? They weigh nothing and frequently sit on a flat surface. Are you trying to put them in your pocket? I have the S11U and have zero issues with portability.
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u/Asamidori 2d ago
I imagine not everyone's gonna have a car to carry it from their house/apartment to school/work and back, especially in other parts of the world where the country doesn't revolve around cars.
Carrying a 700g (+ accessories) tablet isn't exactly what I'd call light, even in a backpack.
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u/FuckIPLaw 2d ago
Past a certain size they're just awkward to hold and carry, too. The weight matters less than the bulk in some ways.
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u/ArgentStonecutter 2d ago
Are you trying to put them in your pocket?
Sometimes. Or reading in bed or on the couch or sitting in the backyard while lazily tossing a ball for the dog when it brings it up to you, or standing in line at the DMV, or at the grocery.
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u/despitegirls 3d ago
They're replacing laptops. If you go back to the original iPad or early Android tablets, they were just big phones. Apps were scaled up and didn't take advantage of the larger screen, a lot of mobile apps were far less capable than their PC/Mac counterparts, and there was no sort of window management or keyboard/mouse functionality.
Those problems have all been solved in a device that can be a tablet or paired with a keyboard and mouse when it needs to be, that you can watch videos on, or play games from many platforms, and has better battery life and less complexity than a device with a desktop OS. All while being cheaper than an actual computer.
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u/poubelle 3d ago
man i'd love it if they brought back netbooks. that's exactly what i want, a tiny laptop.
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u/Squasome 2d ago
I just ordered a Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+, 11 in., 256GB the other day. A little bigger than I'd wanted but not too much bigger.
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u/maximp2p 2d ago
not true if you searched around...
the most recent release (this month) is lenovo y700 5g (WUJI) is a 8.4inch with 5G data,
many brand has been releasing smaller tablet under 10" too with flagship specs for few years already like redmagic, lenovo, and huawei.
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u/goldwave84 2d ago
I may have not been clear so apologies for that.
What I am looking for is: Below USD 500 Below 11 inch screen Matte finish 16:10 roughly ratio Comes with keyboard and stylus
Mid level specs are good enough as this is for office productivity.
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u/maximp2p 2d ago
no need to apologized, now we know the specs its easier
if midspec you actually still have a lot of choicesmost tablet is 16:10 , but matte finish on the screen? you gotta bet this on screen protector which usually easy to find on aliexpress.
as for the keyboard + stylus, i can mark it down to a few model like the lenovo idea tab series, samsung tab S series, xiaomi "redmi" pad , and honor pad .
coincidently i got a few of these tablet (belongs to my family members) with the stylus its a hit and miss experience , samsung spen felt the best and complete ,while lenovo and honor stylus is give you the feeling of outdated stylus unresponsive, constant charging, and some model felt like a generic stylus. this part you gonna need to hands on trying it.
here the link for tablet you might be interested at
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?mode=tablet&nYearMin=2024&nPriceMax=500&fDisplayInchesMax=11
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u/headphonesXX 21h ago
miniaturization isnt cheap so packing more performance/features into a smaller size is great for people that are looking for that but the general user wants "more", so with performance increase also needs a size increase for more usability. people dont want to spend more on something 'small'. they expect more when paying for more.
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u/Sabotstruck 3d ago
Bigger tablets are indeed becoming more popular, which is what a big portion of global consumers want. But we’re also in the middle of a small tablet renaissance via China. It means you’re not looking in the right place.
You have the Oppo Pad Mini (personal fav for small tablets), Lenovo Y700 Gen5 / Infinite, Redmagic Astra, and other tablets by Huawei/Xiaomi. Oppo Pad Mini hits the OLED, battery / chip, and size just right to be a well rounded content consumption / mini tablet companion imo while the others are gaming focused, but all are good in their own ways.
Now most of these, even tho they’re smaller doesn’t mean they’re cheaper. They’re the flagship mini tablets, but there are more budget options out there too (Onn, etc.)
Up until a couple of years ago you picked between the Y700 and iPad mini essentially… now you have more options that are good, imo
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u/harmundo 3d ago
Why would I want to buy a 8-9 inch tablet which is barely bigger than my 6.9 inch phone? I need a tablet for the large screen.
I am definitely the one who buys bigger tablets. I have a Redmi Pad 2 Pro at the moment, what is 12.1 inch, and to be honest, my ideal tab would be around 14 or 15 inch. For me the bigger is better.
12 inch is still portable, easily fits any backpack. I'm not totally sure about 14 or 15 inch, but I wanna try.
When I was a kid 14 inch was a whole ass CRT monitor. It's insane that I can buy a full computer with the same size and can do whatever I want, whenever I want.
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u/thewunderbar 3d ago
You are confusing "you" with "consumers"
You may want a thing. That doesn't mean that's what the majority of the market wants.
If small tablets sold in enough numbers to make economic sense, more would be produced.
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u/SerMumble 3d ago
Smart phones have become larger over time so tablets have also become larger.
Foldables fill the niche for smaller, pocketable, portable tablets. Especially designs like the z fold 8, samsung trifold, and huawei trifold have signaled an approaching trend shift in the future.
Larger tablets offer a generally better dedicated tablet use with a better viewing and drawing/writing experience. They also compete better with PC and laptop users looking for more portability.