Switching from Android to iPad - What should I know?

[bUU]

We are considering our next tablet purchase.

I've been using a Google Pixel C. Less that three years in (four years really - it was a refurb), the screen has failed. (The bottom half dances back and forth continuously.) This tablet has been disappointing from the start. It locked up regularly requiring factory resets. But now it is useless. We had a Nexus 10 before it, which lasted only two years before obsolescence made it little more than a brick.

We want at tablet that will last more than a few years. Is there such a thing?

I've looked into the Kindle Fire, and even bought a small one for $70. It's a decent e-reader and media device, but not much good for anything else, and the app store doesn't offer usable versions of dozens of applications I use, such as Wansview. I installed Google Services and Play Store but after a month or so it became clear that that's not a workable option. I found myself pressing buttons for three or four seconds just to have the button press acknowledged.

I briefly toyed with purchasing a Galaxy Note, but I fear that'll just lead to the same disappointment I had with the Pixel C - problems that the manufacturer will just string you along rather than fix, and quick obsolescence.

So I'm grudgingly considering turning to the dark side (Apple). I was surprised to find Wansview, and even Google Sheets, in the app store.

Is the grass greener?

Can I purchase a reasonably priced iPad (think iPad 10, not 11 or 12) and expect to get more than a few years of robust functionality, sufficient computing power, great battery performance, and regular OS updates?

 

[wrigley]

My wife's iPad is 6 years old and never had any problems at all. (Watch...…..it will sh^t the bed tonight ).

We are iPhone people as well.

Mike

 

[BoodaGazelle]

I was a long-time holdout, but now that I have the iPad, I rarely use Windows. And in my estimation, the iPad apps are much better than Android’s.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

My iPad Air 2 was released in 2014, has never given me a problem and still performs well for most anything I do with it. I use it daily for web surfing, financial apps, news reading, and a few fairly simple (graphically) games. I'm not jonesing to replace it anytime soon (yet). Eventually I'll have to, as I did with my original iPad. That one became almost a brick after one of the iOS updates; I forget the specifics, but if you get an older one wait to upgrade the OS when the time comes until after you read reviews of how it performs with older hardware.

 

[Golden sunsets]

I just switched from an iPad to a Galaxy Tab A 10.1. The iPad lasted a long time(maybe 8 years) but I have been running out of space for years, constantly having to delete apps in order to keep using it. So if you do go with the ipad make sure you get one with at least 128gigs. I find though that the Tab A is terrific. I have a huge number of apps on the device. It was also several hundred dollars less than the comparable ipad, plus I can add a 512 chip if and when I need additional space.

 

[walkinwood]

I just switched from an iPad to a Galaxy Tab A 10.1.

Could you share your experience with the Galaxy Tab? And android v/s ios on a tablet device. Any obvious differences when using the same apps?


Thanks.

 

[T-Minus]

I use my 12.9” iPad Pro as my mobile computing device...and, now that I’ve configured it the way I want, I love it. The only problem was I could not run a “real” version of Quicken on it, but I found a way to solve this issue. I had an old Intel NUC at home that was sitting unused, so I loaded Windows 10 on it and let it run headless, loaded Quicken and the Splashtop driver, so now I can remotely access Quicken on my iPad...and it works great even with a mouse! I had to play around with the display configuration a bit so that the resultant display perfectly matched that on my iPad, but now have that locked into a script so it just looks like Win 10 running at native iPad resolution. I use the Apple Keyboard cover and am now typing this on it. The keyboard isn’t the best, but I can cruise along at about 40 WPM without trouble. When we travel, we use my iPad to watch Amazon Prime or Netflix, I read books on this thing, disconnect it from the keyboard and use it to play a few simple games (solitare, etc.), read various websites, and use it to control my music (Sonos in our home). I could do some of this on my phone, but I need a bigger display because my eyes are getting worse. Typically, I used to keep a compute device for a couple years but, now that I’ve retired, I’ve changed things a bit. What we now do is I keep my iPad for about 12 months, then get a new one. My old one gets passed down to Wife, son then daughter-in-law. I get her old cast-off device and sell it on Craigslist. Son & DIL don’t make a lot of money, so the injection of 2 year old technology helps them out...plus I get new toys to play with. These things are built well and seem to last a long time, and have a pretty good resale value, so you might want to consider that.

 

[dirtbiker]

We are considering our next tablet purchase.

I've been using a Google Pixel C. Less that three years in (four years really - it was a refurb), the screen has failed. (The bottom half dances back and forth continuously.) This tablet has been disappointing from the start. It locked up regularly requiring factory resets. But now it is useless. We had a Nexus 10 before it, which lasted only two years before obsolescence made it little more than a brick.

We want at tablet that will last more than a few years. Is there such a thing?

I've looked into the Kindle Fire, and even bought a small one for $70. It's a decent e-reader and media device, but not much good for anything else, and the app store doesn't offer usable versions of dozens of applications I use, such as Wansview. I installed Google Services and Play Store but after a month or so it became clear that that's not a workable option. I found myself pressing buttons for three or four seconds just to have the button press acknowledged.

I briefly toyed with purchasing a Galaxy Note, but I fear that'll just lead to the same disappointment I had with the Pixel C - problems that the manufacturer will just string you along rather than fix, and quick obsolescence.

So I'm grudgingly considering turning to the dark side (Apple). I was surprised to find Wansview, and even Google Sheets, in the app store.

Is the grass greener?

Can I purchase a reasonably priced iPad (think iPad 10, not 11 or 12) and expect to get more than a few years of robust functionality, sufficient computing power, great battery performance, and regular OS updates?

I have a Google Pixel 2 XL. I've had Android phones and tablets for years, always Samsung. This was my first Google hardware, and it has been an utter disappointment. I'm on my 8th phone in a year and a half, all replaced under warranty due to various problems. I've heard and read elsewhere about a lot of people with problems with Google phones and tablets. This will be the last Google phone/tablet I ever buy.

This being said, I have a Samsung Tab A 10.1" that I've had for about 3 years that I love. I've had no issues whatsoever with it. It cost about $200 and I can use an SD card to expand the HD space. The iPads cost 2-3 times the cost (especially after figuring in larger HD models since they don't have SD card slots), so in order for them to make sense to me financially, they'd have to last 6-9 years+. And after that long, they'd be lagging behind in technology. I'm okay with replacing the much less expensive Android tablets more frequently (and I'm not convinced this is always the case). With Android backup, cloud storage, and the ability to swap my SD card, getting a new tablet (or phone) is easy with minimal interruption. And I'm on my second Android tablet, the last one replaced because I wanted a bigger screen and newer specs, not because the last one broke.

 

[Chuckanut]

My iPad 2 still runs well. The only issue is that a lot of the modern apps require the current iOS and the iPad 2 does not run it, or even the previous iOS. I think it is stuck on iOS 9.nn forever.

I use it for things like podcasts, audio books from the library and playing music.

 

[Golden sunsets]

Could you share your experience with the Galaxy Tab? And android v/s ios on a tablet device. Any obvious differences when using the same apps?


Thanks.

The only real differences I have noticed is it is much faster. That may be because the ipad was so old and I was no longer able to update to the latest Ios as there wasn't enough hard drive for the newer versions. I have a huge number of apps on the Tab and as I said I can add another chip with up to 512 gigs of space. I also think that there are more ways to configure this tablet in the settings, than there are on the ipad, although this ipad was very old as I said.

I had used an iphone for over 10 years and recently changed to a Galaxy S10. I was very leery of moving away from Apple and there was a pretty steep learning curve, but I am now glad that I did. The great thing about having changed to the Galaxy Tab A, is when I fired it up, it automatically loaded every app that I had downloaded from GooglePlay to my phone onto the tablet; a huge albeit one time help. It also asked if I wanted to transfer my contacts, music, photos and email from my phone and automatically configured the settings on the tablet to what I have my phone set to. The apps work the same as on ios.

I bought the Tab A on a one day sale at Sams, for a cost of $199, a savings of $100. I will bet that there will be another such event, probably on Black Friday. Tab A's with fewer gigs cost less, but as I've had issues with space and our world is relying on more and more apps, I felt that having more capacity is a no brainer. I also bought a lightweight ultra slim leather case for it with a removable keyboard with colored backlighting on Amazon for $40.

 

[Midpack]

I don’t have hands on experience with an Android tablet, but DW and I have 5 year old iPads we use daily, and we’ve never had any significant issues whatsoever. The battery charge doesn’t last quite a long, but still acceptable with the original battery. I suspect we may have to replace our iPads in a year or two for performance and/or legacy iOS support, so the useful life of an iPad may be limited by those factors more than basic operation. We’ve had 5 Apple devices so far without ever wearing one out...

 

[Music Lover]

My rule of thumb when buying a tablet or TV is to get an inexpensive one and use it for a few years. By the time it fails something much better will come along for less.

- Galaxy Tab A - $200
- Proscan 65" 4K Smart TV - $600

 

[Ian S]

I'm on my third Samsung Galaxy phone - a Galaxy S8+. Each of the three (including the earlier S2 and S5) were bought new with large rebates and performed well and without issues. I worried about the S8+ having no easily swappable battery but after over two years, the S8+ battery is still long lived. The phone still gets OS updates regularly and I see no reason to replace it. I thought I'd have trouble with the size but I got used to it. I love having the extra 128 GB of space available via a microSD card and have never filled up either internal storage or SD card. The S8+ takes up to a now-affordable 256 GB microSD but I have no need to go that high. However, without the microSD card, I would have filled the original internal storage. The lack of SD slot is a big drawback to Apple devices IMHO.



I would say that it's probably ideal to pick your ecosystem and not mix and match. That said, I've had no problem with having Windows for my desktop and laptop and Android for my phone and other portable devices. I've gone further and have stuck with Samsung for portable devices as for example, my Samsung fitness watch works far better with with my Galaxy phone than it would with an Apple phone. I suspect the same would be true for an Apple phone paired with an Apple watch instead of a Samsung watch.

 

[brett]

My desktop windows. I gave up my android device and my notebook and moved over to ipad. Never looked back. Easier, more intuative.

Picked up a replacement for my seven year old ipad last boxing day. The reason I replaced....orphaned OS version and I wanted a smaller, lighter ipad.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I have a Google Pixel 2 XL. I've had Android phones and tablets for years, always Samsung. This was my first Google hardware, and it has been an utter disappointment. I'm on my 8th phone in a year and a half, all replaced under warranty due to various problems. I've heard and read elsewhere about a lot of people with problems with Google phones and tablets. This will be the last Google phone/tablet I ever buy.

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the Pixel 2XL. My wife, my son, and me all bought Pixel 2XL's on the same day in December 2017. They have been the best phones we've ever owned and have been trouble free. The batteries are showing no signs of weakening and they had the best cameras available at the time.

As to the OP, you will need to get used to Apple iTunes for music and the general restrictions of the Apple prison related to their proprietary OS. Also forget about any (meaningful) customization of your home screen.

That said, iPads are wonderful devices and I'm sure you will love it.

 

[davebarnes]

Welcome to the light side.
Life is much easier when you let Tim tell you what to buy.
(2 iPhones, 2 iMacs, 1 MacBook, 1 Apple Watch, 3 Apple TV’s)

 

[Gotadimple]

If you must have a 10.2" Ipad tablet with more than 32gb then it will cost you $399. - assuming you have to have the 7th generation Fusion chip that lets you use an Apple branded stylus that will set you back another $100. So now you're at $400.

If you can live with the 6th generation Fusion chip and a tablet that is 9.7", doesn't support the Apple stylus, but will support others, and has 32gb of memory. That will cost you $249. A Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.2" at Best Buy is $229.99.

Samsung will only provide you with 2 iterations of android updates. Apple will keep going until the hardware won't support it. You do the math, hugely expensive? I don't think so. However if you want an Iphone - yes hugely expensive compared to even Samsung's top of the line phones.

If you want to blow dough, go for the Pro versions that are 6x the cost of the Tab A.

 

[Jerry1]

Can I purchase a reasonably priced iPad (think iPad 10, not 11 or 12) and expect to get more than a few years of robust functionality, sufficient computing power, great battery performance, and regular OS updates?

No. There’s not much about Apple that is reasonably priced. As has been mentioned, if you get one, you pretty much have to get one with as much memory as you can afford (are willing to spend). I wouldn’t bother getting anything less than an iPad Pro with 265GB memory (they don’t offer 128GB any more) and for that, you’re looking at close to a grand.

However, I like my iPad very much and like others have said, we have an older one that is still working fine. DW and I both upgraded to iPad Pros but her older iPad Air is working fine and we let the grand kids play with it. I expect to get more than five years from our current iPads.

It might help if you can give us some range in your budget and a better sense of what you will be using it for. For example, I pretty much only use mine for surfing and I’ve only used 30GB of my 256GB. I probably could have got away with 64GB, but running out of memory is a pain.

 

[davebarnes]

No. There’s not much about Apple that is reasonably priced.

iPad
128GB
Wi-Fi
$429.00

 

[Jerry1]

iPad
128GB
Wi-Fi
$429.00

Yes, that’s an option, but it goes to the question of how does the OP intend on using it. It has the least advanced screen and the older chip. Probably great for primarily surfing, but other things may require a next step up. It also has the potential to go obsolete sooner because of the chip.

However, if it were available when I was buying, I would have given it significant consideration for my use.

 

[dirtbiker]

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the Pixel 2XL. My wife, my son, and me all bought Pixel 2XL's on the same day in December 2017. They have been the best phones we've ever owned and have been trouble free. The batteries are showing no signs of weakening and they had the best cameras available at the time.

As to the OP, you will need to get used to Apple iTunes for music and the general restrictions of the Apple prison related to their proprietary OS. Also forget about any (meaningful) customization of your home screen.

That said, iPads are wonderful devices and I'm sure you will love it.

I do wonder if part of the issue is that once there is a problem with the phone, you get a refurbished one back, and then if there's a problem with that, you'll once again get one out of the refurbished pool. I was pretty pissed that I paid for a new phone and after about a month when it first broke, they would only give me a refurbished instead of a new one due to a manufacturer's defect.

 

[bUU]

And in my estimation, the iPad apps are much better than Android’s.

Just to be clear, I have Android phones that I'm very happy with, and the available apps are great, especially the ones I rely on most. Cross-compatibility with those apps that run in Chrome on Windows PCs is an unequivocal requirement for me.

I would say that it's probably ideal to pick your ecosystem and not mix and match.

That was my main concern and much of what I'm asking about: After my experience with the Kindle Fire (which is actually built on Android!) and its incompatibilities with those apps I rely on most, I don't want to buy a device that is incompatible with what is already working well for me. I'd rather live without a tablet than buy something that isn't reliable or doesn't fit with what we already have.

(That seems to be a consistent theme in retirement: Live with and love what we already have; buy only those things that we need AND will fit with what we have; don't go down a path that will invariably lead to buying a lot more stuff!)

 

[bUU]

My rule of thumb when buying a tablet or TV is to get an inexpensive one and use it for a few years. By the time it fails something much better will come along for less.

- Galaxy Tab A - $200

Hmmm... this sounds alternatively distressing ("use it for a few years") and encouraging ("get an inexpensive one").

Having said that, this thread has made clear that I skimmed past the Galaxy Tab too quickly, especially in light of Ian S's warning, above.

The more I read about the device, this morning, the more I think that's going to be the path I take.

 

[misanman]

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the Pixel 2XL. My wife, my son, and me all bought Pixel 2XL's on the same day in December 2017. They have been the best phones we've ever owned and have been trouble free. The batteries are showing no signs of weakening and they had the best cameras available at the time.

I agree, my Pixel 2 xl has been the best. I'm wondering about the possible problem with refurb units as well, and that may depend where the phone was purchased (carrier or Google) and whether it was replaced under an insurance plan.

 

[Music Lover]

Hmmm... this sounds alternatively distressing ("use it for a few years") and encouraging ("get an inexpensive one").

Well...I bought inexpensive ones (at the time) and they worked long enough to get what I consider full value or are still working.

I got a 67 DLP TV in 2009...it lasted 8 years. But at the time it was roughly half the price as other more expensive models. I replaced it with a 65" 4K Smart TV in 2017 for $600. So now I have a 2 year old Smart TV and the total outlay since 2009 was less than what some people paid in 2009 for inferior technology.