El tablet market, quite peculiar in itself due to the concurrence of manufacturers specialized in mobiles and PCs, and the growing importance of Chinese low-cost (different in turn from those of smartphones), has evolved a lot in its still relatively short life . Who are the customer-experience leaders now? Which are the tablet brands booming? Which are the unknown that deserve more attention?
Apple: still the great reference
It is undeniable that Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), has lost a lot of ground to Android and increasingly also to Windows, but it is more because devices with Google and Microsoft operating systems helped open new niches than because their tablets have lost charm, and there is no better proof of this than the one that they continue being the most imitated. We must also recognize that they are not only continuing to open new paths that others end up following, but they have also known rectify when he played and learn from what his rivals were doing better. It is also undoubted that they are raising the bar in the high range and that their iPad Pro 10 es one of the best tablets of the year.
Samsung: the triumph of versatility
Samsung is still today the only manufacturer capable of standing up to Apple and, in fact, at certain times and on the market it has even managed to surpass it in sales. It is also the manufacturer that offers us a more diverse catalog with proposals that are always among the best both in Android as in Windows y both in the high end and in the middle and basic. In addition, you have been accused at some time of following in the footsteps of those from Cupertino, but in reality it is one of the companies that does the most for innovate and who else has experimented with different formats and concepts, as the range proved in its day Galaxy Note, or more recently the Galaxy View. Even in the most conventional Galaxy Tab S and the A Galaxy Tab there are a few details that distinguish them. And if all that wasn't enough, just the Galaxy Tab S3 in itself, it would earn it a place in this top 5 for us.
Huawei: the quality / price ratio that enters through the eyes
If Apple and Samsung are the established leaders in the tablet market, Huawei he is, on the contrary, one of the most successful newcomers. Actually, it is not fair to say that he is a newcomer, because his presence in eĺ goes back several years, but it seems that from above all the great MediaPad M2 10 This is when you have started to find your site. The key has undoubtedly been to always offer a great quality / price ratio, adding a design care that has brought the metal casing down to the basic range even. And it cannot be said that it lacks variety, with Android tablets under 100 euros and Windows tablets of around 1000 euros.
Lenovo: the cover of the race
Speaking of brands with good quality / price ratio, It seems to us that in recent times Lenovo is also gaining many integers, although it may still take time for it to gain the notoriety that others have. What cannot be denied is that, apart from original proposals but maybe not too popular, like the Yoga range itself or the most recent Yoga Book, with his last Android and Windows models has made it clear that it is an option that we always have to take into account if we do not want to spend a single euro more, and regardless of what our preferred operating system is.
Microsoft: still the benchmark for professional tablets
Although with its iPad Pro Apple is managing to conquer more and more buyers, the 2 in 1 Windows they are still the leaders in the field of professional tablets and among them there is little doubt that Microsoft is still the reference. Even if the latest Surface Pro It has been a relatively discreet renewal of the range and it seems that they have stopped trying to even offer a good alternative for the mid-range, those of Redmond have marked the way forward when it comes to building tablets that can really replace our laptops and we are confident that they will continue to do so in the near future.
Xiaomi: the king of low-cost
Unlike what happens with most of the other brands that we have highlighted (and with the trend that its own catalog of smartphones has followed in recent times), in the case of Xiaomi, everything is played to a single card, but this has been so interesting in each of its generations that it should always be taken into account. Of course, if we could one day find that a 2-in-1 Windows of a certain level is added to its offer, it would earn even more points, but for now its Mi Pad 3 It is worth having an extra hole in this top 5, like outstanding leader of the low-cost. Even your Mi Pad 2 is still an interesting option to this day.
Several honorable mentions
A selection with only 6 brands is necessarily something unfair, because it forces us to leave some very interesting ones out (some of which would enter the top 5 (+1) for many of you, surely), and we want to repair a little the damage by doing an honorable mention to the popular mid-range tablets bq and ultra-cheap tablets from Amazon's Fire range. Regrettably, Nvidia y Google are taking their time to renew their tablets, but their Shield Tablet K1 y Pixel C, respectively, they are still one of the most interesting that we can find and without a doubt we would like to have new arrivals. Adding these four, in fact, could perhaps complete a top 10.
Brands that are missed
We have talked a lot about the brands that have maintained their relevance or that have increased it in recent times, but the other side of the coin is those that seem to be missing from the map. LGfor example, it keeps releasing interesting devices, but not as bright as its LG G Pad 8.4 and increasingly difficult to find here. HTC, unfortunately, disappeared after collaborating with Google in the Nexus 9, but given its renewal in the field of smartphones it would be interesting to discover what it could do with larger screens, and the same can be said of Nokia. The presence that is most missed on our part, however, is probably that of Sony, whose absence we have already commented on other occasions that we find one of the most difficult to fill.