New tablet recommendations

Rusko187 · 4 Jan 2020 at 21:56

My current iPad mini is one of the first versions, and I'm thinking of getting something new. I'll be using this thing a lot for mainly watching YouTube, Netflix and watching football.
Recently been thinking about moving away from Apple on the tablet front as I've already done so with phones.
What's the general thoughts on Android tablets, and are there any recommendations? Given heavy use I'm looking to spend around £550 tops, can be negotiated slightly.

cheesyboy · 4 Jan 2020 at 22:01

Seems a lot to spend just to watch TV on it. I recently got a Galaxy Tab A for similar purposes and that was only £159.

Rusko187 · 4 Jan 2020 at 22:07

cheesyboy said:
Seems a lot to spend just to watch TV on it. I recently got a Galaxy Tab A for similar purposes and that was only £159.

Open to recommendations, I put that as a budget for a guideline as I've had an eye on Tab S6... but before committing I wanted to make sureit was the right purchase. Really as long as it's a crisp excellent display, I'd be happy with that.

Can the Android ones run IPTV?

Cookie12 · 5 Jan 2020 at 09:31

Have you thought about the tab s5e? I dont think you need all the bells and whistles the tab s6 brings but I've used a tab A and didnt think much of it. Slow and laggy to me. The tab s5e is a really nice device and is more than enough for your uses and is that bit more upmarket spec wise to do more if required.

cheesyboy · 5 Jan 2020 at 11:53

Cookie12 said:
Have you thought about the tab s5e? I dont think you need all the bells and whistles the tab s6 brings but I've used a tab A and didnt think much of it. Slow and laggy to me. The tab s5e is a really nice device and is more than enough for your uses and is that bit more upmarket spec wise to do more if required.

Laggy's not been my experience of it. It's as snappy as my much more powerful phone. But I've only used it for various TV apps, the basic android version of MS Word and, briefly, a small amount of Internet browsing. I'm sure its 2GB ram will slow it down if you want to do anything much more strenuous than that but for just TV... It's fine.

Possibly the higher dpi of the more expensive ones might be better but, again, I'm not sure TV watching will show that off much.

All that said, I don't watch much TV, and consider it more of a time filler, so a more keen consumer might prefer better kit, and OP has a decent budget.

Rusko187 · 5 Jan 2020 at 12:33

Cookie12 said:
Have you thought about the tab s5e? I dont think you need all the bells and whistles the tab s6 brings but I've used a tab A and didnt think much of it. Slow and laggy to me. The tab s5e is a really nice device and is more than enough for your uses and is that bit more upmarket spec wise to do more if required.

Been looking into it, looks perfect and there is a deal on the Rainforest which is very good... I'm going for it, wanted to get a bigger tablet which would be good for films, TV etc and the screen looks immense.

Thanks for all your help guys!

Cromulent · 5 Jan 2020 at 14:01

You could always get a Fire HD 7 or 8 and sideload the Google Play Store onto it.

ShiWarrior · 6 Jan 2020 at 14:49

i got a 2019 Samsung Tab A
i play games on it, watch prime, netflix, internet and emails, its great for my needs

Orcvader · 6 Jan 2020 at 17:09

Got the S5e and for media it's completely fine. Though I notice with some heavier games, it can struggle a bit with performance.

chrismscotland · 7 Jan 2020 at 00:18

I had an S5e (LTE version) and now have the Tab S6 256GB LTE version really just because I mainly wanted it for note-taking!
The S5e is an incredible media tablet, its got the same screen as the S6 and I really couldn't fault it for what I was using it for, it just didn't have stylus support!

zom247 · 7 Jan 2020 at 08:01

Like the OP I'm looking for an upgrade. I've got a Samsung Tab S (SM-T800) that I've had since 2014. Whilst it's been a great tablet it has become really slow for browsing etc. I mainly use the tablet for browsing with the occasional youtube video and don't play games at all.

I like the S5e but worry that it may be overkill for my needs so should I look at the Tab A (2019)? However, I like to buy something that will also be future proof (ish) so the S5e could be the better option. I'll also want to use it with a keyboard, I have the matching keyboard for the Tab S that folds into a case but not sure if the newer tablets have the same setup.

chrismscotland · 7 Jan 2020 at 08:07

zom247 said:
Like the OP I'm looking for an upgrade. I've got a Samsung Tab S (SM-T800) that I've had since 2014. Whilst it's been a great tablet it has become really slow for browsing etc. I mainly use the tablet for browsing with the occasional youtube video and don't play games at all.

I like the S5e but worry that it may be overkill for my needs so should I look at the Tab A (2019)? However, I like to buy something that will also be future proof (ish) so the S5e could be the better option. I'll also want to use it with a keyboard, I have the matching keyboard for the Tab S that folds into a case but not sure if the newer tablets have the same setup.

Not about the Tab A to be honest but the S5e certainly has the Keyboard Attachment

Smeghead · 7 Jan 2020 at 09:14

Is there anything recent that has front facing speakers and a half decent display?

koolpc · 7 Jan 2020 at 09:30

I got the older Tab A. 2mb ram. Its ok. More ram would be better.

ShiWarrior · 7 Jan 2020 at 13:07

Smeghead said:
Is there anything recent that has front facing speakers and a half decent display?

i just wish i had more RAM in mine, but I have a 2019 Samsung Tablet A, Front speakers with Dolby Atmos

zom247 · 15 Jan 2020 at 14:12

I end up going for the S5e 128 GB tablet and it's a massive improvement over my Tab S. However, I notice that the touch screen is not as responsive as my old Tab S. It takes several touches sometimes before a link opens so I'm not sure if there's something wrong with my screen. I'll keep an eye on it and if it doesn't improve I'll have to return it.

Squink · 15 Jan 2020 at 14:20

zom247 said:
I end up going for the S5e 128 GB tablet and it's a massive improvement over my Tab S. However, I notice that the touch screen is not as responsive as my old Tab S. It takes several touches sometimes before a link opens so I'm not sure if there's something wrong with my screen. I'll keep an eye on it and if it doesn't improve I'll have to return it.

A long shot but those tablets don't have a factory-fitted film screen protector do they?

Orcvader · 15 Jan 2020 at 15:24

zom247 said:
I end up going for the S5e 128 GB tablet and it's a massive improvement over my Tab S. However, I notice that the touch screen is not as responsive as my old Tab S. It takes several touches sometimes before a link opens so I'm not sure if there's something wrong with my screen. I'll keep an eye on it and if it doesn't improve I'll have to return it.

Mine's completely fine. No issues here. Is it on the latest update?

mulpsmebeauty said:
A long shot but those tablets don't have a factory-fitted film screen protector do they?

No screen protector preapplied, but as soon as I unboxed mine I applied a tempered glass one with no touch issues.

Dirk Diggler · 18 Jan 2020 at 05:39

I highly recommend the Tab S5e but get the model with 128GB storage and 6GB RAM.

Awesome tablet, I actually gave my iPad Pro to my wife after a couple of weeks as I hated it (the tablet, not the wife) and bought the Samsung.

KraniX · 7 Jun 2020 at 09:36

Dirk Diggler said:
I highly recommend the Tab S5e but get the model with 128GB storage and 6GB RAM.

Awesome tablet, I actually gave my iPad Pro to my wife after a couple of weeks as I hated it (the tablet, not the wife) and bought the Samsung.

How are you getting on with the S5e, still loving it?

I have a Tab S2 8" and just picked up a Mini 5 as like the small form factor. It's a great device and super quick but the screen is a killer as it's LCD not OLED, think I've got used to black actually being black. Didn't realise how much this would bug me.

The processors in the recent crop of midrange Samsung tablets seem pretty poor though, I don't usually game on a tablet so probably not a massive issue but Apple really are smashing it performance wise with all their devices.

The S6 Lite would be great but again no OLED, it's a TFT screen, can't do that... Think the S5e might be the best option for me since I'm not going to be able to get a decent 8" tablet.