7 long years have passed since Steve Jobs held the iPad original in front of the press and spoke of a device "for everything." In that period of time many things have happened. For example, right now Android It is the largest platform also in tablets and the Apple device is called iPad Pro nowadays, leaving aside its light essence a bit and creating certain links with the professional computer.
To begin with, I must admit that I am a faithful Android user. My current tablet is a Nexus 9 but, As I told you in this article, I am going to change it shortly for a Galaxy Tab S3. I have used the iPad a lot in the past and not everything is idyllic, it also causes me some annoyance. In fact, I think working on some points key, Apple would have a much more powerful product for the times. The reasons I would still claim that the iPad Pro is superior to its competitors as a tablet have more to do with the organization of the platform. iOS and how this device was originally conceived.
Here is a compilation of reasons, all of them debatable
Slower updates
It is true that some manufacturers like Samsung o Sony They are remarkably efficient at showering their fans with updates. However, both have a disadvantage, and that is that they must wait for Google to release a stable version of the code to start working on its own adaptation of the firmware. This generates lags of at least 3 or 4 months in the best of cases, if we do not have a Nexus or a pixel.
El iPad ProLike previous generations, it works like clockwork in this sense, although the updates in many cases do more harm than good, something partly inexcusable for a firm with so many resources. Apple offers (at least) 4 years support, while Android, depending in most cases on Qualcomm for its high-end, you can only assure us two years.
The App Store cares more about content
Problem of Google, fundamentally. Developers often complain about how picky they are in the App Store when evaluating an application and the changes and corrections that are imposed before it can be published. It can be annoying for them, but from a user point of view, the fact that an app has minimal monitoring and quality controls is a good thing.
In the Play Store We found thousands of applications that I would not recommend even to my worst enemy. Poorly optimized, full of bugs, advertising or sometimes crude copies of a successful app or game that reproduce like a plague. Google also has more than enough means to have a team that does a human evaluation of each app entering your store.
Optimized applications
This is, to a large extent, an extension of the above. It also has a lot to do with the history of how the iPad and how the Android tablets. In the first case, Apple took over the product and encouraged developers to create optimized versions of their apps. In the case of Android, tablets began to appear long before Google will worry about the format.
The consequence is that in the App Store there are, in particular, truly unique tools to iPad that on an iPhone would not work and, in general, more than half a million applications adapted to the format.
The high-end is not what it used to be
One of the things that I have always loved about Android is that in the high end one can choose from a range of different manufacturers, each with its own distinctive features: Samsung, Sony, Google, HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, OnePlus, Xiaomi, etc. More or less that scheme was reproduced three years ago, with the Galaxy Tab S, the Xperia Z4 Tablet, the Nexus 9, the MediaPad M2, the Asus Transformer Infinity or the Lenovo Tab 3 Pro, for example.
Today, there are only two tablets on par with the iPad Pro specs, the Galaxy Tab S3 and Huawei MediaPad M3 (in compact format). The others are either older or have chosen mid-range configurations on the processor, lagging a bit behind what you would expect from a true high-end.
Rooting isn't what it used to be either
In 2011 or 2012 do root on a tablet it was something quite advantageous if we wanted to make the most of the device. At the present time, the software is too well optimized and although projects like Lineage OS (heir to CyanogenMod) still make a lot of sense, it is not so desirable or necessary to release a terminal (exposing us to lose its warranty).
For my taste, it was one of the points that I could put some advantage in Android about iOSHowever, the fact that it is not so necessary in its basic function, that is, the performance-consumption ratio, is losing many of the customization options that he used to offer. These, on the other hand, are being assumed by the manufacturers or by developers who upload them to the Play Store, but they are not as deep as with root.
The iPad Pro is generally better, but I stick with Android
It may seem contradictory, however, each user must measure their circumstances. On a smartphone, personally and as long as they remain what they are, I would not opt for iPhone instead of Android, and that creates a correlation that I want to keep between platforms. The strongest reason why I choose one Galaxy Tab S3 In front of a iPad Pro is that, in addition to being at a similar technical level in most aspects, for me it represents undoubtedly the most advanced way (processor, screen, qualities, accessories) to have Android in the format of 10 inches and create a seamless, integrated smartphone experience.
I keep my iPad Air 2.
After having both systems in that format, I stick with the iPad Pro. While Android tablets match the performance of their mobile versions, iPads tend to be much more powerful than iPhones.
And as always the test: Open a PDF on Android.