Tablets have not been able to become "PC killers." Statistics show that their sales have been declining for several years in a row. Although manufacturers make various attempts to revive interest in this segment of portable devices, they do not correct the situation. In the current crisis, most domestic consumers are interested in affordable and practical solutions, which did not slow down to affect the popularity of nameplate brands. But since the review deals with the best firmsmanufacturers tablets, trademarks Digma, Irbis, bb-mobile Techno and the like, whose rating in Russia is quite high, are not presented in our review.
APPLE
Taking the first place in the world market in terms of sales, the company from Cupertino in Russia was only the third in 2014, and in the subsequent ones it did not even fall among the leaders. Of course, it's not about the quality of products under the Apple brand - there are just few complaints about the trendsetter and the manufacturer of the first commercially successful tablet. The main complaints are related to Californians' stubborn reluctance to equip mobile devices with memory card slots and high prices for Apple tablets. Here is the last factor and became decisive in the formation of preferences of domestic buyers in a crisis. Apple does not have budget offers, and the iPad model (2017) belongs to the middle class conditionally. It is noteworthy that the company decided to simplify the range of its lines and instead of the generation serial number, the release year is now added to the name of the model range.
Introducing the new iPad Pro at WWDC 2017
A feature of all the company's tablets is the classic 4: 3 form factor and the “Retina” criterion, which determines the pixel density, which is indistinguishable by the human eye at a typical distance to the screen. Watching movies on any iPad is not very convenient, but Apple never focused on the multimedia nature of using its devices, and for many other tasks the aspect ratio of 16: 9 or 16: 10 is less practical.
On the photo tablet Apple iPad Pro
The top tier segment represents the updated iPad Pro models. Unfortunately, Apple decided to exceed the economy, demonstrated a little earlier by Microsoft, and the delivery set of these tablets does not even provide a stylus, not to mention a keyboard case.
Conclusion: Apple is one of the best manufacturers of tablets, but not everyone can afford such a tablet.
SAMSUNG
Recently, the South Korean industry giant has also simplified the assortment variety of its tablets to the limit. If two or three years ago, market experts noted an incomprehensible internal competition among some Samsung lines, now the entire nomenclature is limited to Tab S3 flagships and conditionally average Tab A devices. and Note Pro, the development of protected Tab Active models has practically withered, and the Tab E budget line update is unlikely. The company has once again revised the concept of positioning its devices and now the 4: 3 aspect ratio relies to flagships, and the devices below are again focused on convenient playback of multimedia content.
Photo: vistanews.ru
This tablet with a folding display, Samsung has promised to release in 2016.
Among the proposals from Samsung, flagship tablets and the latest 8-inch Tab A model are of the greatest interest. The first are equipped with high-quality AMOLED screens, for which the manufacturer is the undisputed market leader. The second is interesting as an inexpensive solution for all family members, including children. Perhaps the update of the remaining series will be announced at the upcoming exhibition MWC 2018, but so far it is only known about the company's plans to present the next Tab S. there.
The photo is a protected tablet for extreme people and business people Samsung Tab Active, who never found their consumer.
Conclusion: Samsung tablets are quite popular in Russia. But, in comparison with smartphones of the same manufacturer, they look like a poor relative. Practically all the time, when developing a new model, the company's specialists choose not the most modern hardware platform for it, necessarily losing the solution used in the smartphone of the corresponding class.
More details:7 best Samsung tablets
LENOVO
Despite the already many years of steady decline in the interest of customers to tablets in general, the popularity and sales of products of this Chinese technogiant are constantly growing. And both in quantitative terms and in monetary terms. Actually, if you look at the variety of model ranges of Lenovo tablets, there is nothing surprising in this fact. The range covers almost all possible niches, and the company offers solutions not only on the Android operating system, but also on the Windows platform. For the classic form factor, Lenovo is now responsible for the Tab 4 family, in which most 8-inch and 10-inch models compare favorably with direct competitors with a filling capacity.
Pictured Lenovo Miix 510
Easy to adapt to any tasks are able to hybrid devices from the line of Miix, whose removable keyboard does not interfere with the use of such devices for entertainment purposes. Again, the “serious guys” have no entry-level solutions (like the Miix 320), and the “players” simply do not threaten the professional segment, where the big screen diagonal and really productive processors, like the five-hundredth series, run the show.
The photo shows a tablet with a Lenovo Yoga Tablet 3 PRO projector.
Yoga Tablet tablets did not go anywhere, instantly attracting the attention of a unique design. Finally, a couple of “yogis” acquired a keyboard, and not just a simple one, but a touch one. If you want to work with the text, there is a need - turn off the backlight and use it as a digitizer.
Conclusion: Lenovo is one of the best manufacturers of tablets. Last but not least, it became possible thanks to an impressive range of budget devices, as well as tablets in the Lower Mid-End segment.
More details: 8 best tablets Lenovo
ASUS
A sad sight is the current range of Taiwanese classic tablets. If earlier the manufacturer lured potential buyers with an abundance of various modifications and affordable prices, now the company is strictly pragmatic - almost the only position in the main segments (and not all). In addition, some devices in the domestic retail network is simply not found. In particular, the really cool 8-inch ZenPad 3S (Z582KL). Nevertheless, choosing a tablet from ASUS, you still have to literally read into each letter of the model designation, because the difference between the versions can be just about what. For example, between Z301ML and Z301MFL.
Pictured is ASUS ZenPad 3S 8 (Z582KL)
Apparently, the opinion of market analysts that the company decided to focus on hybrid solutions is true. At least, this category of tablets from ASUS is represented much more fully. The only pity is that some new items for so long get to the windows of our stores. A relatively inexpensive high-performance Transformer Pro T304 was announced in early 2017, and it is very problematic to buy it in a year. At the same time, the “freshest” Mini T103HAF is already actively being offered.
Pictured: ASUS Transformer Pro T304
Conclusion: ASUS tablets are no longer pleasing to the eye with a wide variety, but they still force you to strain when choosing a suitable device, as far as the characteristics of individual models can differ radically.
MICROSOFT
The company specializes in large-format devices, a diagonal of 10 inches. Of course, they are all equipped with the Windows operating system.
A tablet is also hanging on the wall. This is a 84-inch Microsoft Surface Hub.
Such devices do not enjoy wide popularity, but they occupy approximately 5 percent of the market. The main buyers of Windows tablets are OS fans or users who are well aware of what they need and what price (in every sense) will have to be paid for.
Devices budget and average price segments among the tablets of the Redmond corporation simply do not.
For all tablets, the aspect ratio remains 3: 2, which is also a "trick" of the company. Compared to the 4: 3 form factor, this proportion of the screen is much better suited for watching movies. On the other hand, the products of the Microsoft Device division are equipped with sensitive displays, focused on the effective use of styluses. The latest generation of Surface Pen detects 4098 levels of pressure and senses slopes. Actually, this is one of the main differences from the Quartet, not counting the updated hardware platform. Completely turn the tablet into a universal mini-PC allows the case-keyboard.
On the photo of Microsoft Surface Studio
If you are professionally working with digital graphics, you can not do without specialized tools. Among the proposals of the corporation there is a corresponding solution "all-in-one" under the name of Surface Studio. In a sense, this product can be viewed as an interactive graphic giant tablet.
Conclusion.If you do not take into account the high cost, then the main disadvantage of Microsoft-made tablets is still the poor range of Windows touch software.
HUAWEI
Huawei released the first MediaPad tablet back in 2012 and at the time was one of the best available solutions. In fact, this model is still on sale.
MegaFon and Huawei joint traveling exhibition in Irkutsk.
Having brought several lightweight modifications to the market and decided to develop success, the manufacturer divided the series into specialized lines: budget (T), multimedia (M) and premium class (X). The first consists of devices with a maximum screen resolution of 1280 × 800, performed without any special bells and whistles, and for the complete happiness of the owners it lacks only more memory. Rulers have grown to the third generation and, in the process of development, “lost” the flagship. Rather, the second one first “caught up” with its characteristics, then ousted, and at the end was again divided into two families M3 and M3 Lite. A feature of the Huawei multimedia tablet is an excellent acoustic subsystem, which companies have helped to develop specialists from Harman / Kardon.
Pictured Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite 10
What is more remarkable about Huawei's MediaPads is the presence of the current “childish” mode. Moreover, the company even produces a special version of a 7-inch tablet, equipped with a thick silicone bumper with a comfortable handle. But the hybrid devices from the manufacturer once ... and miscalculated. Nevertheless, it now ranks 4-5 in Russia in terms of sales of tablets.
Conclusion: Huawei makes excellent tablets, but it has almost no models with a keyboard and Windows OS (MateBook is the only and unique).
DELL
This company is one of the main IT manufacturers for the corporate sector, and therefore its tablet solutions are at the appropriate level. At the moment, DELL produces two lines of tablets and a specialized work surface for digital creativity. Unlike Microsoft Studio, which is close in purpose, the DELL Canvas product is designed for PC connection.
DELL Canvas Graphic Studio at CES 2017
Serious people are very responsible for the protection of information and tablets of the Latitude 5285 series are ready to offer all the necessary tools for this. There are several options for user authentication. The 7285 line in this sense is much simpler, and its “trick” consists in the wireless method of charging the battery. Such an opportunity appears in the presence of a special keyboard unit and the corresponding station stand.
DELL Latitude 7285 on a wireless charging station
But that's not all.For the Latitude 7285 tablet there are a couple of other compatible keyboards - with an additional battery or extremely small thickness.
Conclusion: DELL tablets are quite good, business-oriented, and sometimes with unique capabilities.
Which firm's tablet is better?
In the context of a slump in demand and struggle for the buyer, the question “Which company's tablet is better - Lenovo, Samsung, Apple or other industry leaders?” Has no definite answer - all well-known manufacturers produce high-quality and interesting products. Each of them has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of the best tablet is yours. Decide what you expect from the device - reliability, prestige, appearance, high-quality screen, good camera, the ability to work with documents, security, reasonable price? And choose the tablet of the company that produces models that meet your requirements.
We add that one of the modern vectors of tablet development is the hybridization of their design. Keyboard cases, multifunctional docking stations, styli with a large number of recorded levels of depression and positions in space are now being presented as a necessary component and a sign of correct evolution. But if you remember that in the first tablets the ideology of an exclusively sensory device control was laid down, it turns out that the pattern is broken.
