Shopbot’s Official 2020 Buying Guide for Tablets

Key Points to consider:

·         What will you use the tablet for?

·         Operating Systems

·         Screen

·         Cameras

·         RAM

·         Chipset

·         Storage

·         Battery

·         Connectivity

·         Features

What will you use the tablet for?

Home use allows you to choose any tablet on the market.
Work use requires a more powerful tablet as you need it to be a PC replacement, so get something with a large screen and RAM to provide better multitasking abilities.
This is where a 2-in-1 tablet will best fit your needs.
For high-end gaming, you would generally be looking for a powerful CPU as well as GPU to power a 1920x1080 high refresh rate screen for a smooth and fun gaming experience.
For kids, you would be looking for a more durable option as well as a larger battery life and storage to keep them entertained for longer with fun learning games. You may also want an option of a parental filter on the device. 

Operating Systems

When choosing an operating system for your tablet, you will have three choices.

Apple iOS offers more flexibility with split-screen multitasking features. The downside of Apple is that you are limited with hardware as you can only choose from their line up. The apps have been designed with tablets in mind but come at an extra cost.

Android OS tablets have the upper hand in both hardware and software. This gives you a broader choice of brands, with regular software updates. Some don’t do these updates, so keep an eye out for that when making your purchase.

Windows OS is a lot more seamless with large touch-friendly controls, buttons and touch-screen gestures. They are more mouse and keyboard orientated, making this a better choice for convertible tablets.

Screen

Screen sizes for tablets range between 8-inches and 13-inches, the most common range being 10-inches. Your budget affects the screen size you choose, as screens in the 8-inches range from around $200, whereas a screen from 10-inches and up is over $350.

Screen resolution on tablets range from HD to UHD this mostly matters when driving a larger external display but the key point to look at is the PPI (pixels per square inch) so look for a screen that has a PPI of 264 or higher as this provides you with the best sharpness.

A bezzeless design is more favourable as it looks and feels better when using it for work gaming and at home, but for a child, a bezzle helps them hold the device in their smaller hands.

Cameras

Tablets don’t focus much on this feature, as most smartphones have taken the place of high camera quality. The average tablet has an 8MP camera, and this is perfect for essential functions such as video calling.

RAM

RAM plays an essential aspect of the performance of the device. Most applications and games require more than 3GB of RAM to work on your smart device.

Chipset

Chipsets mostly make a difference in the overall performance of the device, getting the latest chipset on the market provides you with high functionality, but it only matters when getting a tablet for work and gaming usages.  

Storage

Storage on tablets comes in two forms: internal and external. When you use a lot of storage for apps and images, it is best to look for a tablet that has both. The base models of tablets have 64GB of internal storage where higher-end ranges offer up to 1TB of internal storage.

Battery

The battery life on a tablet depends on the screen size. If you want long battery life, you will need to either get a small screen or a large battery tablet. For an 8-inch screen, you will want to look at a 5000mAh battery, for a 10-inch screen and larger, look for 7000mAh or larger battery.

Connectivity

All tablets offer WiFi connectivity, higher-rated tablets access cellular data networks, including 4G LTE. This is often made possible with a sim card and can add to the price of the device.

Other features

Other features on a tablet can make it a lot more helpful in a work environment. The most common are 2-in-1 tablets as it can fold out into a laptop, but this can also be done with an addition of a keypad or keyboard attachment. Some of these attachments even double as a protective cover.

Stylus pens make a large difference with tablets as they allow more versatility and makes work more manageable, and when doing graphic design work, a stylus is critical.

Connecting your tablet to other smart devices is an added benefit; just make sure the OS allows for this. An example of this is with Wireless printing using WI-FI to print from your iPad or tablet.

Some tablets can read USB flash drives adding to their versatility for work. Just note that with iPads, you’ll need more specific cables for this, and they don’t have memory card slots.

To wrap it up, Shopboters, take a look at what you need from your tablet and have fun shopping.