Wow - thank you Steve for taking time out on Xmas day to give such a comprehensive answer. Very helpful.
Our mobile is a Motorola/Lenovo Moto G5 running Android so I will go with Android rather than Apple. Let me consider your other points more carefully and I will get back to you.
Thanks again and Happy Christmas.
one thing that I have noticed with Android is that some brands only seem to give you 2 software updates during the manufacturers percieved ânormalâ life of the machine e.g. I bought my Galaxy Note 9 Phone with Android 8 installed, It is now on Android 10 and I wont get any more Software updates ( apart from security updates ) .
My Note 10.1 2014 edition tablet is stuck at Android 6 ( or 7?) and now many apps are no longer compatible with it and I canât update it without rooting it. .
These were both current Samsung flagship products when I bought them new.
My ageing I phone 6S work mobile has just updated to the lastest iOS 15âŚ
One of the considerations that i would also consider is the charging port.
A single charger and cable that can top up all my devices is now important to me as it allows one to travel simple & light
The reason I bought my wife a new Samsung Tablet the iPad she has (old) they no longer supply updates. Itâs still perfectly useable but annoys her that itâs no longer supported.
Sheâs greedy, she now has a Fire tablet, the newer Samsung tablet and old iPad. The Fire tablet I fixed so she could watch Virgin Go or Sky Go (canât remember which) you have to tweak the settings. Anyways that was ok but I reverted it back to standard as it started freezing when streaming box sets on certain sites mentioned above, hence the Samsung purchase.
She has tried an iPhone too, only a year old one, donated from our daughter she gets through them on a regular basis. Wife canât get on with the iPhone so like myself she has an Android one.
I suppose it comes down to what you want to use it for? My OH has (and loves) her Ipad, but i find the screen too small, particulalry when having most of it taken uo with a keyboard if you need to type anything. I also âlostâ my latop the other week and struggled to find something to replace it with. A friend had recommended an Apple mac, but when I went to look at them I found the (14") screen too small after my laptop, and to get a larger screen apple was getting into silly money territory. I ended up with a Samsung 15.9" laptop which is large enough to house a number keypad (which I prefer). The laptop is very light, and having a SSD only takes seconds to boot up. I do spend quite a bit of time typing, so I prefer a ârealâ keyboard and larger screenâŚbut I guess each to their own.
I note some replies recommending an Amazon Fire tablet that are currently on offer and look like a cracking deal if you just need a basic tablet?
Firstly thank you to everyone who took the trouble to reply. Your input was very much appreciated.
I went with Android as our mobile is Android and, as a couple of people pointed out, it makes sense to have them both the same if we do want to share anything. Whilst I looked at both Fire and Chromebook I focused on Samsung and Lenovo. Both had some interesting offerings at decent prices and I ended up, as normal, with a very big spreadsheet detailing all the options and all their features. What did come out of that was that most of the offerings are using old versions of Android and, again conscious of some of the comments above, I therefore focussed on Android 11 devices. I didnât bother with a 4G/5G connection as that ups the price considerably and I donât really need one as pointed out above. Our current mobile is a Motorola/Lenovo and I have been very pleased with it, so in the end I went with a Lenovo Tab P11 Plus. I managed to get a cracking deal direct from Lenovo.
Thanks again for helping to steer me through the minefield.
If you want Android, then there really is only one manufacturer for all round quality and ease of use. That is Samsung. I would get the newest model that your budget allows and I would choose one of the Galaxy range. The extra user friendly features that Samsung add to the basic Android really make them easy to use.
I would have agreed with this two years ago.
I have two Samsung tablets, a Galaxy Tab S5e and an aged Tab S2 8.0. Both have AMOLED screens, both affordable (under ÂŁ300) and both are sadly discontinued. Once youâve tried an AMOLED screen on a tablet the other options are very much second best. Samsung now only offer AMOLED on their flagship S7+ which starts at c ÂŁ750.
The S2 8.0, from way back in 2015, upon which I am writing this, is now on its 3rd battery and android upgrades stopped at v7. But it is absolutely perfect for me - light as a feather, wafer thin (5.6mm) and, of course has the fabulous screen. I can use it one-handed for hours. It will be sadly missed when it finally goes to the big tablet cemetery in the sky. The S5e is my âupstairsâ tablet, used mostly in the morning and at bedtime for youtube or a movie where the larger screen is perfect. Again, wafer thin, light and AMOLED.
From what I understand, AMOLED screens are harder to manufacture, and therefore more expensive. But Samsung tablets, IMHO, are going backwards. I did try a Tab A7 10.4, and I suppose I could have lived with the screen, but it was noticeably heavier, and thicker, than the S5e, and I ended up sending it back after a week.
FWIW, I think the OP has made a good choice with the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus, itâs probably what Iâll go for when I have to, although the new Nokia (yes, Nokia!) T20 is getting good reviews in the sub ÂŁ200 price range.
Lots of good advice posted above.
It really is a case of selecting the right horse for the course, and it should help most of us with making an informed decision.
A case in point. Hon No 1 Daughter has just gone through a similar decision process, and moved from her Samsung J530 phone with super camera but only 16GB internal storage (now full of un-erasable nothing, how?) to a (Xmas present no.1) Motorola G50 with 64GB internal and much less âsurplus softwareâ than Samsung. Both have extra slots for memory and SIMs.
And she also needed a bigger device, but after trying four different tablets of varying ages scattered around the family she has bit the bullet today and bought (present no.2) a new Dell Vostro 5510 in their sale at 50% off the non-VAT price, ie paid 682 (inc VAT).
Why? Armâs length viewing on a big enough screen with a decent keyboard, it can run a flavour of Office she is familiar with and she doesnât have to learn yet another flavour of annoying Android.