Joe Maring / Digital Trends
It ’s an exciting time for Android tablet . Into the vacuum forget in 2023 by Apple ’s first - ever dearth of unexampled iPads step two raw contenders tender distinct takes on what a tablet should be , while Samsung ’s venerable Tab S9 lineup raised the Browning automatic rifle by cementing the emplacement of its large tablet and bringing AMOLED concealment to the entire family .
There ’s no ground to consider that this year will be any less interesting as Samsung continues to up its game while Google and OnePlus seek to refine their initial first - generation travail into more ripe product .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
While we have n’t discover much from the rumour John Stuart Mill about what to look from these company in 2024 , there ’s enough smoke to suggest that many of the usual suspects will be releasing new Android tab throughout the year . Here are the most prominent players and what we can expect from each .
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series
you’re able to almost mark your calendar when it come to Samsung ’s merchandise release . Most late years have kicked off with a raw lineup of Galaxy S - serial publication phones followed by a midsummer Galaxy Unpacked effect that unleashes new foldables , flippables , watches , and tablets on the world .
Two twelvemonth ago , Samsung shake up its tablet lineup when itintroduced the 14.6 - inch Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra , and it looks like that larger form factor is here to stick . TheGalaxy Tab S9 Ultragot a lighter conclusion , but otherwise featured the sort of twelvemonth - over - twelvemonth improvements we ’ve come to expect from Samsung ’s tablets . On the other hand , the Galaxy Tab S9 joined the OLED genesis , ditch its TFT LCD panel for the same AMOLED screen found on its larger siblings .
While there ’s a slender possibility that Samsung will skip new tablets this yr — it happened in 2021 — there ’s evidence that Samsung has something up its sleeve for later this year . That ’s not a foregone ending , though , as some analyst suggest Samsung has actuate to an 18 - calendar month cycle for its tablet releases due to a diffused market . The Galaxy Tab S8 lineup launched in February 2022 alongside the Galaxy S22 phones , but it ’s unclear if that resulted from a delayed 2021 launching due to pandemic - related chip shortfall .
Either way , do n’t expect any meaning design changes . Samsung seems to have shoot its step in footing of the looking and feel of its tablets , so at best , this year ’s S10 lineup will in all likelihood be the common readiness of spec excrescence . If Samsung postdate the rule establish in recent long time , that should mean Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips across the board in the same computer memory and repositing configurations as the S9 lineup . deplorably , we might also see higher prices for this year ’s S10 series , as Samsung has been raising the price of its tablets consistently over the past two geezerhood .
One interesting tidbit comes fromKorean blogger Hakui , who shared details on a roundtable discussion that Samsung rep held with Korean college students last fall to solicit ideas . hypnotism included improvements in the figure of the S Pen to make it more like the Apple Pencil , good document share-out , lower latency , an anti - contemplative finishing on the sieve , and improvements to the verbalizer , microphone , and tv camera . Whether Samsung will take any of this feedback to affection is an open inquiry , but the fact that it was looking for idea is a good sign that some possible improvements could be come .
OnePlus Pad 2
Enthusiast blade OnePlus has made great pace in diversifying its product portfolio . Last year was a twelvemonth of firsts , with theOnePlus Openbeing the society ’s first foldable sound and the OnePlus Pad check off a bold Modern entry into the pad of paper space .
TheOnePlus Padshook things up with an opinionated design that left no ambiguity about its provenance . This was a OnePlus product through and through , from its curvy design and Halo Green finish to the camera electron lens centered prominently on the back of the tablet .
OnePlus ’ debut tablet was powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chip , but ifa late rumor is precise , OnePlus could be trade to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for the OnePlus Pad 2 this year , convey it in business with the OnePlus 12 . Depending on when it launch , that could make it the first tablet to feature Qualcomm ’s late high - end silicon , beating out Samsung ’s Tab S10 in the same fashion that the OnePlus 12 issue forth out ahead of the Galaxy S24 — at least in China . Currently , generator say we can expect OnePlus ’ next - gen tablet to go far in the 2d half of this year , but there ’s little other information on what to expect beyond the buffalo chip upgrade . It ’s arduous to even hypothesize on what OnePlus might do here , considering that it has n’t yet established any trends for pill update .
Google Pixel Tablet 2
While OnePlus incline heavily on its intent chops , Google decided to take a whole different attack to its first Android pad of paper in well-nigh a decade by lean heavily into the home hub and chic video display aspects .
The result was theGoogle Pixel Tablet — a twist with a serious identity crisis . Perhaps this should n’t have been surprising , consider Google ’s last attempt , thePixel C , had a similar problem decide whether it wanted to be a tablet or a laptop . However , the compounding of a “ pad ” and a “ sassy show ” meant thatwe terminate up with a gadget that care neither undertaking in particular well .
Nevertheless , it was a bold idea , and we ’re seriously hoping that Google has learned enough from this comeback play that it canproduce a Pixel Tablet 2 that manages to smooth over the rough edge . After all , it pulled off a prissy turnaround with the Pixel Watch 2 .
Still , it ’s a taller ordering for the Pixel Tablet , at least with its current design philosophy . One of the lozenge ’s self-aggrandizing challenges is systemic ; without improve the Google Assistant experience on the back end , it wo n’t weigh how much more powerful or burnished the Pixel Tablet 2 turns out to be .
What do we know about this fabled second - generation Google pad of paper ? The answer is “ not much . ” In February , the kinfolk at9to5Googledug through some Android beta computer code and found some wind that another tab is in developing , but it also require reading a few tea leaf to add up to that ratiocination . The fortune telling here is in the form of two new codification names , Clementine and Kiyomi , which are hybrid citrus fruits in the Tangor kinfolk — one of two code names used while the original Pixel Tablet was in development .
Those code epithet seem to touch Google ’s whimsical path , so they could be related to a Pixel Tablet and might even indicate that two versions are coming . However , nobody has been able to glean any additional information about the hardware behind them .
On the software system front , there have been some ongoing clues that Google could bring itsLook and Talk featureto the tablet , which is a promising sign of the zodiac that it could be improving the Google Assistant experience . The code for this wasfound by 9to5Google in October , follow more latterly by references to a newLook and Signfeature . Since neither has plunge on the current Pixel Tablet , Google may be saving these for the Pixel Tablet 2 .
Amazon Fire tablets
If there ’s one matter you could seemingly count on , it ’s that Amazon will always have a young budget - friendly tablet or two on offer each year . While these have traditionally been downcast - capableness consumption devices — Amazon want you to read and watch its content , after all — theFire Max 11surprised us last twelvemonth by give up a capable workings experience . It still does n’t support a candle to what an iPad or serious Android tablet can do , but it ’s more than ok for light-colored study , especially generate its very approachable price ticket .
There have been few rumors about Amazon ’s plans for this year ’s Fire lineup , but we ’re hoping that the trend it started will continue with a new Fire Max 12 alongside its usual potpourri of Fire HD tablets .
Unfortunately , there is one slenderly upsetting report that look last fall . A November report fromLowPasssuggested that Amazon could be ditching Android sooner rather than later in party favour of its own operating organization . That ’s not necessarily a new rumour as reports of Amazon ’s work on its own oxygen go back to at least 2017 ; however , Amazon may be storm up its cause , with beginning state it ’s expected to embark this year ’s Fire TV devices with a Modern “ Vega ” OS .
It ’s harder to say how that will impact its tablet . Even if this transition occurs on the Fire HD , it ’s possible the Fire Max could remain Android - based . Amazon ’s App Store is confine enough already , and it ’s hard to conceive a whole novel OS is go to ameliorate the experience .
