I love the tablet form factor.

In almost every futuristic sci-fi fantasy show I watched growing up, people were more often using some form of tablet-y computer. This left a huge impact on me. And if you consider the modern slab smartphone to also be a kind of tablet, as I do, then most of the world seems to enjoy this form factor as well. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I collect tablets, but I try to keep a representative sample of what’s out there. As I type this, there’s an Amazon deal for the Pixel Tablet for $399 USD. It reminds me that I just don’t understand Android tablets, as much as I try.

I’ve owned a couple of Android tablets over the years. The first was the Archos 5. This was a little before Google had “proper” tablet support in Android and at the time I was looking for an Android equivalent to the iPod touch. And it was terrible. Easily one of the worst devices I ever owned. I’m not sure why I never returned it. I kept hoping an update would come and make it usable, but it never happened. That device was a lost cause, but I really really wanted to love it.

My last stop on the Android tablet train was the venerable Nexus 7, second generation. It probably goes without saying that it was an order of magnitude better than the Archos 5. And while a 7 inch tablet was an appealing form factor, within a year or so I sold the tablet as it didn’t get a ton of use. Since then, I haven’t been able to justify pulling the trigger on another Android tablet, despite the very attractive hardware from Samsung. I mean, Samsung has been producing OLED Android tablets for years, and that is the biggest rumored feature of the next iPad Pro hardware refresh.

When I consider the reasons one might buy an Android tablet, I can think of three:

1. You want a relatively inexpensive video player for a child.

Android tablets dominate the lower end of the tablet market (think $200 and less). Amazon has a very strong presence in this market segment with its Fire tablets. A caregiver looking for a way to provide entertainment and educational content to a child is well served by a cheap Android tablet. The specifications don’t have to be particularly strong for this use case, and when it gets broken, the financial loss is minimal compared to a smartphone.

2. You want a non-Apple tablet

iPad dominates tablet mindshare, but that doesn’t mean it’s everyone’s cup of tea. Maybe you don’t like iPadOS and/or think iPad should be running a laptop OS like MacOS or Windows. Maybe you want a bigger screened device than Apple offers. Or a device with more open firmware. Or you tried an iPad and simply didn’t like it. A logical alternative would be an Android tablet…..if you ignore the Microsoft Surface completely. The Surface tablets run Windows, which means they support a wide selection of legacy software that’s unavailable on iPadOS (or Android for that matter). Surfaces can also run Android apps, either through a solution like BlueStacks, or Microsoft’s own Android subsystem . Surface (kind of) runs Windows games. Surface runs full Google Chrome. The only advantage an Android tablet really offers over a Surface is price. The cheapest Surface, the Surface Go, can’t complete with the many much less expensive Android tablet options. Otherwise, if you want a non-Apple tablet, you’d be hard pressed to go wrong with a Microsoft Surface.

3. You are heavily invested in Google services

You know all of those nice ecosystem benefits you get from using Apple devices these days? Universal Clipboard? Sidecar? Seamless iCloud sync? Android phone users can also take advantage of similar advantages with an Android tablet. With Google’s recent push to improve the Android experience on tablets and dual-screen foldable, the experience of Google’s first party tablet apps has never been stronger for those heavy users of Gmail and other G-Suite apps.

Android tablets have never really made sense to me, but that doesn’t mean they don’t make sense. I’m glad they exist as an alternative for those that want them. More choice is always better.