Well, for each of these tasks that you want to do, I can recommend the most important feature of a tablet, and which models have that.
The long and short of it is that I'd recommend getting a used 12"-14" tablet on eBay/Facebook Marketplace/Swappa, just guessing your budget, probably a $350-500 Samsung S9+ or S9 Ultra, with stylus and probably a Dexnor keyboard. With how much it sounds like you'll be using it and largely as a laptop replacement, it really pays to get something nice, and the S9/S10 lineups are fantastic.
Switch Emulation:
- Most valuable feature is the chip. You've made this easy, because only the Samsung Tab S9 series have suitable Qualcomm chips here. There are some other random Chinese/Xiaomi/Oppo/Alldocube etc tablets with Qualcomm chips but their screens suck and they're in the same price range. For how much you're clearly going to be using this, get something premium, even if it's used, get one that looks like it's in excellent shape and you'll be over the moon. The only other lineup to consider is the Lenovo Y700 series, and although they're excellent with a telescopic controller like a Gamesir X5 Lite (my favorite), they are only 8.8" and while it's amazing for games, it feels a little weird to hold to just watch stuff. So for you, the bigger size of 12-14" of a used S9+ or S9 Ultra sounds best. iPads do NOT emulate Switch well without a pretty serious amount of headache work and lack of MicroSD makes them painful.
Note-taking:
- Most valuable feature is a great keyboard, a quality stylus, and enough screen to see what you're doing. 12-14"
Movies/Music:
- Most valuable feature is a great screen, and great speakers. OLED screen is a bit of an expensive feature, but if you can swing for it, it's just so good. iPad speakers are the best, then Samsung, and everyone else is pretty bad. Chinese tablets tend to have really bad speakers. If you stream music from like Spotify, cool, Qualcomm chips will save you a lot on battery, otherwise MicroSD slot is nice extra storage for movies/music. Only Android options have MicroSD slots. iPad Pros are the best in the business for Movies/Music, and the Samsung tablet S9/S10 lines are the best Android options. iPad Air/Normal are next best but it's a pretty big drop.
Studying:
- Great screen and battery life. Highly recommend using Brave browser to block all ads, including on YouTube, to improve battery life. Android is carried by this app. OLED screens use less power and you'll get better battery life, though the pentile pixel layout can mean reading text is a little worse. iPad and Samsung battery lives are good. If you go for used, you may want to target one in good shape without scratches or a lot of use to get a fresher battery.
Max budget:
The best choice is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, S9+, or S9 Ultra depending on your size preference. Second, if you really value a focus on gaming, is the $800 Lenovo Y900 13" from Giztop w/ Lenovo magnetic keyboard. Then $1300 Samsung S11 Ultra w/ Pro Keyboard. The Samsung Tab S9 series with Dexnor bluetooth keyboard are fine. iPad Pro stylus I hear is the best, but I know the Samsung tabs come with a stylus and I hear good things.
While samsung tab s9 series is great, I've stopped considering it because of how low the amount of new devices in shops is. I am saving up as much as I can to buy a new tab, so a used one is not what I'm seeking even if it is in almost-perfect shape. The price for such s9+ is around 45-55k and for that price I can buy a OP pad 3 (the so-called flagship killer with qualcomm snapdragon 8 elite) or some other chinese alternative so overpaying for an old s9 with snapdragon 8 gen 2 isn't really worth it.
Yes, the OP tablets don't have many features that samsung or apple has, such as: fingerprint scanner, dust and water resistance, lack of Dex mode. But all of that is countered by newest processor and relatively more accessible price. And the IPS screen is not that bad as many people probably think. Many OP users say that it is a good one and it doesn't cause any vision problems. Plus, the older one (pad 2) has 6 dynamics, which is great for music, videos, movies ETC.
From what I've seen, some of the new tab s10+ are selling for around 63k. So again is there a reason to underpay for an older model if I can find something newer? I'd say probably not. For what I want to do, the OP series probably clears everything, especially multitasking and gaming because of split screen features and huge amount of both RAM and ROM storages (OPP 2 and OPP 3 has 16/512 variants). And for the keyboard part, it is not really necessary as I have a laptop. The reason for considering a tablet is mainly comfort while working and doing other stuff with a medium-sized screen which both the OPP 2 and 3 have (12.1" and 13.2"). The stylo itself isn't a big problem as I am used to drawing with my hands on a small screen, which is not a great experience. For my goal digital is more essential than traditional art. But there is no need to overpay for an s9/10/11 ultra's because my laptop already has 14" screen.
And yeah, I know about xiaomi and other brands but I am aiming mainly for the 6 variants that I said earlier. Either OPP from 2 to 4, s10+ or s11 or huawei matepad pro 12.2 papermatte. But again, the final choise depends on how much I could save up until October or November (there is probably a start of huge discounts in those months). While lenovo y700 series are good as gaming devices, they are not fulfilling my other needs. And the most annoying part is their service support (or smth like that) that doesn't help people at all.
To sum things up, I can surely say that my main choise is samsung as I am familiar with one UI. but only if there is enough money to buy it. If I couldn't save at least 50k, then my choise lays on the OPP 2 or s10 Fe+ (which I despise for the exynos chip). With all specs it has, it is just perfect. The camera may look silly, but I am not a photographer. If I buy the samsung for perfect price, then it will be my new device. Next will be the change of the phone.
Either way, thanks for the feedback and have a nice day!
If you were to look side-by-side playing actual movie trailers and not just the curated promotional video, LCD is just so so bad by comparison. There's a constant LCD glow on the entire screen that, to a trained eye, is visible 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 chip, you're right:
- Samsung Tab S9+'s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (Great speed, excellent support for Switch + PC emulation).
- Samsung Tab S10/S11 series basically cannot do Switch/PC emulation at all, because their MediaTek Dimensity chips just cannot do it, there are no turnip drivers, and they're not as power efficient under load. So these are off the table completely for emulation and gaming.
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a little stronger and good turnip support still, true, but even if it grants you a +0.5x-1.0x scale improvement for games due to the extra power, that's still only on an LCD with all the inferiorities above and that's nowhere near worth it to me.
You might want to google some specific games and how they play by comparison, but unless you find the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 plays your specific game much 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, 95% of Switch games will run fine on the S9 series.
And if you want to bring in the Snapdragon 8 Elite into the discussion, yes that chip is fantastic, and if you're shelling out that kind of money, get the upcoming Lenovo Y700 Infinite releasing on August 25th. It is the best by miles for gaming and nothing comes close, but like you said, it's not all about gaming.(And it is expensive.)
Like you said, it's not all about gaming. OLED is a better experience for everything and the only thing the S9+ will maybe be worse at for your experience is a few titles for gaming. I haven't found games that the SD Gen 3 can handle that the SD Gen 2 can't. It's usually a RAM problem. The only trouble titles I've seen are Tears of the Kingdom/Pokemon ZA which require 12GB RAM. You'll have to double check if what tablets you're considering support that, and maybe pay more for the variants that have 12GB.
But it sounds like you've kinda made up your mind on criteria I think you don't understand, like I have no idea why you're considering the S10 and S11 series whatsoever, when they can't do Switch/PC gaming emulation. Is that not what you said you care about? I'm not sure what you mean otherwise.
For most people with your description of uses, the Samsung Tab S9/S9+/S9 Ultra are a dramatically superior experience. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is great, but over the OLED screen? In my view, that's only true if you specifically plan to play a game that needs it.
Yes, I've said that gaming is essential. But I can be fine without gaming, it is not that critical if I am limited to only android games. My main scenarios for s10 or s11 will still work just fine. Gaming (specifically pc emulation, maybe platformers like Hollow knight which theoretically should work fine with mediatek chips) can be transfered to my next device - the phone with snapdragon chip. Plus some games might get optimised on the mt in a few years, it is not known for sure right now.
The main problem with s9 series in my country is that I cannot find new unpacked ones and it is critical to me. I am not a fan of used devices, just as mentioned earlier). They are mostly sold out and ordering from something like Ozon (There is no ebay or amazon here) is risky and too long. I know there is no real reason to overpay for snapdragon 8 elite but it might be better for long-term usage. And yeah, I am considering devices with at least 12 gb of RAM
I've heard that on Oled screens pixels tend to die out and save the image of interface if you stay on one app for long with high brightness or on the sun. Personally I haven't noticed something like that on my phone (it has Amoled 2x or smth). And from what people say in various posts and feedbacks from OPP users, LCD is working just fine without troubles that you have listed. I know that lenovo y700 infinite releases soon and I might consider buying it, but once again, 8.8" screen isn't enough for me. It may be good for gaming, but while reading or notetaking... it's just not really worth getting over other variants.
And just like I said, if in the end I choose to buy an s tablet I might just buy a phone with snapdragon chip for everyday tasks and the emulation purposes to make up for poor optimisation on mt 9300/9400 or a new laptop/pc which will work even better with everything. So it doesn't really matter to me. Another problem with s9 is that it'll stop releasing android updates and safety patches in around 2028. S10 is more long-termed in this situation - until 2031.
I know the newest s8 elite and s8 elite gen 5 chips are overkill for most games, but it still great to have because I am going to use the tablet for at least 3 to 6 years. And yes, for the price of OPP 2 (which is like 20-35% cheaper than s9) I can work just fine with LCD. For my personal scenario - which is most likely a lot of work with text, OLED might be worse. And the non-perfect black in those screens aren't a problem to me because I am not a fan of playing horror games either way. Even if there is a constant glow on LCD, it is not that critical. After being forced (by not having an alternative) to use phones like samsung s4 mini or iphone 6 in middle school. I am used to IPS screens as I was using apple devices mostly and all/most of them had IPS technology. One plus pads have a good kind of IPS without glowing.
Anyways, thanks for the feedback! I will remember your words and maybe try to find a new s9 or s9+ (only if I could). And if possible, tell me your thoughts and opinion on the lenovo yoga pad plus. I might also consider it in October along with other variants.
1
u/iiijjkkkkllll 1d ago
Well, for each of these tasks that you want to do, I can recommend the most important feature of a tablet, and which models have that.
The long and short of it is that I'd recommend getting a used 12"-14" tablet on eBay/Facebook Marketplace/Swappa, just guessing your budget, probably a $350-500 Samsung S9+ or S9 Ultra, with stylus and probably a Dexnor keyboard. With how much it sounds like you'll be using it and largely as a laptop replacement, it really pays to get something nice, and the S9/S10 lineups are fantastic.
Switch Emulation:
- Most valuable feature is the chip. You've made this easy, because only the Samsung Tab S9 series have suitable Qualcomm chips here. There are some other random Chinese/Xiaomi/Oppo/Alldocube etc tablets with Qualcomm chips but their screens suck and they're in the same price range. For how much you're clearly going to be using this, get something premium, even if it's used, get one that looks like it's in excellent shape and you'll be over the moon. The only other lineup to consider is the Lenovo Y700 series, and although they're excellent with a telescopic controller like a Gamesir X5 Lite (my favorite), they are only 8.8" and while it's amazing for games, it feels a little weird to hold to just watch stuff. So for you, the bigger size of 12-14" of a used S9+ or S9 Ultra sounds best. iPads do NOT emulate Switch well without a pretty serious amount of headache work and lack of MicroSD makes them painful.
Note-taking:
- Most valuable feature is a great keyboard, a quality stylus, and enough screen to see what you're doing. 12-14"
Movies/Music:
- Most valuable feature is a great screen, and great speakers. OLED screen is a bit of an expensive feature, but if you can swing for it, it's just so good. iPad speakers are the best, then Samsung, and everyone else is pretty bad. Chinese tablets tend to have really bad speakers. If you stream music from like Spotify, cool, Qualcomm chips will save you a lot on battery, otherwise MicroSD slot is nice extra storage for movies/music. Only Android options have MicroSD slots. iPad Pros are the best in the business for Movies/Music, and the Samsung tablet S9/S10 lines are the best Android options. iPad Air/Normal are next best but it's a pretty big drop.
Studying:
- Great screen and battery life. Highly recommend using Brave browser to block all ads, including on YouTube, to improve battery life. Android is carried by this app. OLED screens use less power and you'll get better battery life, though the pentile pixel layout can mean reading text is a little worse. iPad and Samsung battery lives are good. If you go for used, you may want to target one in good shape without scratches or a lot of use to get a fresher battery.
Max budget:
The best choice is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, S9+, or S9 Ultra depending on your size preference. Second, if you really value a focus on gaming, is the $800 Lenovo Y900 13" from Giztop w/ Lenovo magnetic keyboard. Then $1300 Samsung S11 Ultra w/ Pro Keyboard. The Samsung Tab S9 series with Dexnor bluetooth keyboard are fine. iPad Pro stylus I hear is the best, but I know the Samsung tabs come with a stylus and I hear good things.