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  • UglyFrank - Friday, March 31, 2017 - link

    "Our current policy is to only recommend phones we've reviewed."
    Comment from the Q1: Android Phones article
    I guess this policy doesn't stretch over to the tablet market?
  • Ryan Smith - Friday, March 31, 2017 - link

    The tablet market is a bit different. The lack of competition means that at the high-end, you have a stable duopoly between Apple and Samsung, and MS too if you throw in x86/Windows. Even then, they're more stable platforms without the huge feature changes year-in and year-out that you see on phones.

    The only real competitive space is on the low-end. Which is unfortunate, because those are mainly used as glorified TVs.
  • ToTTenTranz - Monday, April 3, 2017 - link

    The X86/Windows 2-in-1 market isn't a Microsoft monopoly at all.
    Even without going into the old Atom models, there's the Lenovo Miix 500/700, the HP Spectre X2, Acer Switch Alpha et al. And their prices start below $400 nowadays:
    https://www.amazon.com/HP-Spectre-12-a001dx-Touch-...

    It's a shame they're not reviewed by Anandtech, though I get that your team can't have the time to properly analyse all types of markets.

    But what I don't get is how anandtech pretends these products don't even exist when it comes to release a "best tablets" list. That's just poor research IMO.

    There are pretty decent Windows tablets well below $800 carrying at least a Core M and 4GB RAM, and those have a productivity potential years above any Android or iOS offering.
  • Sarah Terra - Saturday, April 8, 2017 - link

    Gotta love the title followed by pictures of ipads.

    Wonder what the marketing deal with purch and apple is
  • SquarePeg - Friday, March 31, 2017 - link

    With all due respect to the author, the smartphone market is boring these days. The tablet market is comatose.
  • Cliff34 - Friday, March 31, 2017 - link

    It is boring bc the devices these days meet about 90% of our needs. I have a iPad mini 4 and S7 Edge. In terms of power wise i don't think i need anything faster or better. They provide all the devices i need for day to day productivity.

    Unless some new major enhancement like super long lasting batteries, this area will just be 'boring'.
  • Sttm - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    Yeah there is getting less and less reasons to upgrade. Things are good enough. I think mobile has now hit that point that PCs hit in the later half of the 2000s where your Intel Core laptop was good enough and stopped upgrading until Microsoft forced you.

    I did just pre-order a S8+, but I dont really have any issue with my own S7 Edge, it was more that I am on a lease program and its practically free so why not.
  • sonicmerlin - Monday, April 3, 2017 - link

    I'd really like an iPad with 4 GB of RAM. Add in a proper file system and I could use it as a laptop replacement.
  • aprilrussell - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link

    I agree. The tablet market is comatose.
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  • Sttm - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    "Its HDR-ready display and four external speakers that adjust audio response when the tablet is shifted between portrait and landscape makes it a "9.7-inch home theater solution," according to Samsung."

    Now if they had made it a 10 inch 4k HDR 16:9 Tablet, with 4 really good speakers and full Dobly Vision and Atmos support, with Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu supporting it at launch, then I could see that claim being true. But a 4:3 tablet... it is a laughable claim.
  • Lord-Bryan - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    I agree with you, watching hd videos on anything other than 16:9 is just sad, all that black bars on 4:3 aspect ratio is just distracting.
  • helvete - Tuesday, June 13, 2017 - link

    You can always crop that video a bit, can't you? Provided the device is used for something worth 4:3 as well
  • kruppin - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    If you want all that, buy a yoga tab 3 plus. Only tablet that fits all those things. Had some annoying audio sync problem at launch, but is fixed now. Unbelievable it had those problem to start with, since it was marketed as media device...
  • kruppin - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    most of those things*..
  • 0iron - Monday, April 3, 2017 - link

    Media consumption is great in 16:9, other than that it's worst. 4:3 is good in tablet for multi purpose
  • kruppin - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    I think the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus deserves a place here. It's a really great 10" android tablet for a great price. It had some software problem to start with but now it's perfect!
  • rubene66 - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    What! where is the Pixel C! Is one of the best android tablets
  • DanNeely - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    Presumably out due to buggy firmware at and shortly post-launch.

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/9996/revisiting-the-...
  • ZeDestructor - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - link

    Another year and still nothing to top the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 as far as a small, AMOLED-screened tablet goes...

    (For those wondering why I specifically care about AMOLED, that would be because I want an ereader that does light text on a black background, and doesn't have a backlight to make the black grey)
  • serendip - Sunday, April 2, 2017 - link

    The best Android tablet is a phablet ;) Anything over 6" is good enough to use as a tablet but without the lack of cellular connectivity and the size. I wish Android had a quick way to switch between phone and tablet UIs - Nougat lets you set a custom dpi using developer options but it's still a hassle.
  • yhselp - Sunday, April 2, 2017 - link

    I feel that Chuwi's Hi13 is too important for the market to not be present on your list. It's a tablet with the 13.5" 3000x2000 screen from the Surface Book that you can currently buy for about $340. It has the same specs as Chuwi's LapBook 14.1 that you recently reviewed, and also comes with Windows 10. Together with the keyboard dock and the stylus (1024 levels of pressure sensitivity) it currently costs $390. It's almost too good to believe.

    I hope that you manage to review it sooner rather than later.
  • yhselp - Sunday, April 2, 2017 - link

    Now that I've browsed Chuwi's website and read a few reviews, it seems that their Hi12 and Hi10 *Plus* (not the regular or Pro versions) tablets are pretty good as well - both have high-PPI 3:2 screens, all-metal bodies, 4GB/64GB, and Windows 10. The downside is they're powered by x5-Z8350, and not x7-Z8700 or even N3450 if possible at all in the smaller form-factor.

    I don't understand something. Intel's product page says x5-Z8350 only supports up to 2 GB of memory on a single channel. Can somebody, please, explain how has Chuwi managed to fit 4 GB, and does that mean it's dual channel?
  • yhselp - Sunday, April 2, 2017 - link

    Update: Upon further investigation, it seems that x5-Z8300/8350 is limited to single channel memory, but unlike Intel's product page suggests, it does support 4 GB, it has more PCI lanes, and thus native USB 3.0 support.

    Compared to other tablets powered by x7-Z8700, Chuwi's Hi10 Plus and Hi12 offerings have a lesser GPU - half the memory bandwidth, 4 less EUs, and 100 MHz lower burst; on the CPU front, you're looking at 500 MHz lower burst. Altogether, it would be harder to live with those tablets if used with the keyboard dock in desktop mode, but tablet use should be quite adequate, including multitasking.
  • Visual - Monday, April 10, 2017 - link

    I'm not sure why you excluded the Hi10 Pro, I honestly prefer its real laptop-like keyboard dock to the flappy "type-cover"-like misunderstandings that can't hold it up and you end up needing a kickstand.
    Anyway, back to the Hi13 hype - it looks great on paper, but the pen is not yet available, and from the fact that they say their older pen model is also working with Hi13 I conclude even the new one will be similarly disappointing. The old one's not an actual active stylus in the real sense of the word - you get no mouse-move by just moving the tip close to the screen without touching it like on wacom digitizers, and videos of people trying to use it show it is very inconsistent in registering strokes. It seems to me to be using the capacitive touch screen for determining the tip's location and somehow combines that with info from the pen just for the pressure levels.
    I hope Chuwi prove me wrong once the new pen's available, but even disregarding the pen I quite like the device. I'm on the fence, so to say, because while the price is certainly much lower than brand-name alternatives, I'm not sure I want to pay double the cost of previous-gen Atom based tablets, which are lighter and with more practical resolutions as well. Sure Apollo-lake brings in a performance boost, but is it enough?
  • sgmuser - Tuesday, April 4, 2017 - link

    Tab S3? Seriously? I own a ipad mini 2, ipad 2 and never used them both for work/productivity. They are all only for media consumption - video/games/browsing. But Surface Pro 4 is the real tablet with which I could do what ipad can not even think! I can edit photos/videos seemlessly just like I do in a laptop/desktop. I can do a Remote Desktop or even do Visual Studio development! All for less 1000 USD and ultra portability! ipad 12.9 is "I dont what I am doing here" kind of stuff!
  • UtilityMax - Friday, April 14, 2017 - link

    If you need to attach the keyboard and mouse to stay productive, then it's no longer a tablet. Please don't compare the Surface Pro with the tablets. The Surface Pro is a fancy ultrabook with a detachable keyboard. People call it the greatest tablet for productivity, yet I see the Surface series mostly being used as a laptop, and it's a very clumsy laptop.
  • UtilityMax - Friday, April 14, 2017 - link

    Anandtech is no longer qualified to advise people on the tablets because Anandtech stopped reviewing tablets and is giving its recommendations basically out of its arse.

    You haven't reviewed:

    Huawei Mediapad M3
    Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
    Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus
    Lenovo Yoga Tab 4 series

    Neither Anandtech has reviewed some of the latest budget smartphones, like the Moto G5 Plus or Huawei Honor 6X.

    If you haven't reviewed any of the latest Android tablets, yet you continue stubbornly reviewing every week either a mechanical keyboard or a power supply. Basically, Anandtech has gone into the toilet.
  • pvdw - Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - link

    Any thoughts on a good, reliable tablet review site? Really hard to find one.
  • Robbin3789 - Friday, November 3, 2017 - link

    On Android, I would admireHuawei MediaPad M3, or on Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
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