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Companies have long been hypeing their new tablets as substitutes of the laptop computers. It has the potential to offer great power with its processors and a diverse range of operating systems and an ecosystem of accessories. But what about these devices in the real-world of being your workhorse over an extended use period? In order to provide the answer to this question, we decided to undertake a month-long test, during which we will use multiple leading tablets as the only computing devices.
The Test Approach
The test approach that we used was modeled to reflect the actual professional environment. We tested the various tablets on a variety of dimensions such as compatibility of app with desktop-grade software, and the capability of integrating accessories such as keyboards and styluses and the overall functionality of the workflow. The idea was to lift to a better plane than spec sheets and marketing claims and get a clue of the reality of using a tablet in serious work.
The App Economy: Desktop Strengths or Mobile Weaknesses?
The software is one of the most important elements to consider in deciding whether a tablet can be used instead of a laptop. Among millions of applications that come with the apps, having full-fledged, professional-quality software is a major point point of differentiation. Creative professionals, such as with Adobe Photoshop being available on iPad or LumaFusion to edit videos has bridged major gaps. In other applications such as software development, data science, or detailed financial modeling, however, tablet app selection remains limited in comparison to the huge catalog of desktop applications on macOS or Windows.
On top of crude supply, use experience in the apps takes precedence. Numerous productivity and office packages are currently being made with powerful tablet versions, yet many of these packages do not have the sophistication, keyboard shortcuts, and access to multiple screens that power users are trained to appreciate. Even affected by the shift to a touch-first interface rather than a mouse-driven one, some tasks may become less efficient with the transition, but this is where a good stylus may work to compensate the loss of precision in work.
Building an Accessory Mobile Workstation
A tablet in itself can hardly substitute a laptop. Accessories unlock its potential. We tried different keyboards including smooth folio cases and keyboards that are larger and actually detachable among other stylus models. Comfort typing can now be converted to the right keyboard allowing long typing or code writing to be possible. The feature of stylus, especially the usage with a tablet as iPad Pro or Samsung Galaxy Tab S series, is great to use in taking notes, creating digital art, or marking up the documents with high accuracy.
The problem of accessory dependency however brings its own difficulties. Leaving your keyboard at home will put a stop to your creativity in one day. The extra price of the quality accessories also adds to the overall investment greatly bringing the price near to a competent laptop. On top of that, the manual control of dongles to either use them with external monitors or storage could be more burdensome than the automatic selection of ports available on the majority of laptops.
Workflow Efficiency and Battery Life
The results of our test during the past month showed that efficiency in workflow is the main factor that depends on the type of work that you are engaged in. The modern tablets are not only sufficient with regard to content consumption, communication, in respect to light content creation, they are usually superior in respect of portability and capability to start using instantly. The battery life of these devices and in particular when optimized is often better than many laptops, making them portable or able to be used all day even when one is off-line.
Who Should Make the Switch? Profession-based recommendation
On the analysis we are able to make certain recommendations. The well-suited professions to a tablet based workflow are:
- students
- journalists
- artists
- photographers on the go
- consultants who tend to work in cloud based platforms and only require the maximum portability
To these users, a powerful tablet is likely to be complemented by the use of a stylus to take notes or draw images, a portable keyboard, which can make it a very efficient and lightweight system.
On the other hand, the professions that still need a traditional laptop include:
- software developers
- video editors on long term projects
- architects with heavy CAD through complex software
- data analysts operating specialized desktop applications
Such workflows require the raw strength, large software library, and the accurate input methods that laptops presently offer with greater predictability. To them, a tablet is highly a productive second device to be applied in a particular activity and not their main replacement.
Conclusion
After all, it is not about whether tablets have become more powerful or not, they certainly have. It is whether or not your particular workflow has been adjusted to the paradigm of the tablet. The yes is getting more and more yes to many, particularly as cloud services and cross-platform applications make us less and less dependent on local software that is desktop only. The difference between tablets and laptops is as small as it has never been before, although there remains a gap in some professional areas.
We learn at the end to be cautiously optimistic. Tablets are not a universal laptop replacement but make primary devices to a ever-increasing number of users. It is important to appraise frankly about your needs in the applications and tolerance in accessories, and mobility needs. To the appropriate individual with the appropriate workflow, not only is it possible, but can be very freeing and productive to place the laptop aside in favor of a high-end tablet.
