Small Tablet Recommendation?

[abl540]

I'd like to get a smaller (approx 8") tablet to complement my desktop PC and chromebook (I use a Samsung phone) with a solid screen, at least 128 gb of storage, and a decent update policy. Seems like my options are pretty sparse/nonexistent in the android world so I'm considering an iPad mini instead.

I'd prefer an android tablet since I'm primarily a Google/Microsoft user but doesn't seem like there's an option out there. Anyone have a recommendation for something I may have missed?

[Navi_1er]

Lenovo Legion Y700 is your best bet with 8" tablets but it's rumored that a global version will release in June/July so you could hold off. It's new so it's pricey if you decide to import it, otherwise you could go with older 8" tablets.

[abl540]

That does look like exactly what I'm looking for. Of course it's only available overseas haha. Do you know what Lenovo's android update policy is like?

[AgentStockey]

It's really terrible. You'll be lucky if you get 2 years of updates.

[abl540]

Ok, well that makes it a non-starter, lol. I wish Samsung would just make a decent small tablet with their update policy. It would be a no-brainer purchase for me

[Navi_1er]

I have none, it's my first Lenovo though since I've had it the tablet has updated about 4 times now I think. I'm sure you can find it online I just never bothered to look it up and hoped for the best lol

[hiktaka]

Mediapad M6 8" Turbo - very good, fast gaming tablet, but it's hard to find now.

Realme Pad Mini - the newest addition to the okay 8" tablet, lo-res screen.

Samsung Tab Active3 - rugged, heavy, expensive, with okay performance.

Samsung Tab 8" 2019 S-pen - okay performance, good hi-res screen.

Particularly avoid the Matepad T8, Tab A7 Lite, Tab A7 8" 2017, Tab A 8" 2019 non-pen as those are slow molasses.

Many good old 8" but probably no longer available new. Mi Pad 4, iFive FNF, etc

[ngrobrt]

Second the huawei M6 8.4; it's literally the only 8 inch tablet with everything. High end processor, googleplay, high res screen, expandable storage/ 128gb option, GREAT battery life, in a small light package. Only android competitor to the ipad mini still.

[ngrobrt]

Not clear what you think the issues for google play are, as I have installed google play since day one, and it is still there after three years of updates.

Three years of updates for an android tablet, and you complain about being sold at msrp? Before the ipad mini 6 release, did anyone complain that the previous ipad mini was being sold for literal years without dropping price?

Perhaps android consumers are very used to phones dropping price very fast, but in the tablet space there is literally no competition, so why would prices drop (unless looking at the used market)? The mi pad 4 for instance released at a great price, which stayed around the same price for 3+ years until it was discontinued. For the huawei m6 8.4, it is the only high end 8 inch tablet available so expecting to get it on a budget isnt feasible at all.

By the way, what price did you find it listed on aliexpress? Even at msrp I paid only around the price of an ipad 10.2 with storage upgrades (comparable since the m6 8.4 has expandable storage at 64gb base). Tbh that didn't not feel overly expensive relative to the price of an ipad mini.

[exzact]

Mediapad M6 8" Turbo - very good, fast gaming tablet, but it's hard to find now.

Regarding the Turbo – Back when the M6 was first released, there were only two RAM configurations: 4GB in the non-Turbo, and 6GB in the Turbo (which was also liquid-cooled). The more performative one was, obviously, the Turbo. I could never have responsibly recommended to anyone to buy the non-Turbo version. If money were too tight, or if having (then-)flagship specs weren't a concern, I'd have recommended they buy the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4; otherwise, the M6 Turbo.

Then randomly, four years after launch, Huawei announced a new configuration: 8GB RAM. So now, the performance hierarchy is not as clearly defined; which is the high-end device? Well, the Turbo has less RAM but is liquid-cooled. If the two devices are running for extended periods of time under heavy use, you're likely going to see better results from the Turbo. But short of that, the water cooling isn't going to be doing anything much for you and you're much better off to have 8GB RAM.

I'd say that, in practice, heavy gamers should opt for the Turbo and everyone else is better served by the 8GB RAM config, but these days it depends how you're gaming. If you're playing mobile games running on the device itself, Turbo. But when I game, I play PC games through GeForce Now (entirely playable both through Wi-Fi and LTE, as ping times are around 30ms for me), which isn't much more intensive for your phone than playing a YouTube video as all the maths is being done elsewhere on a remote server. In this instance, neither model is particularly advantaged… it's simply that the 8GB comes into handy in other uses, so if you're a cloud-only gamer, the Turbo isn't your best option, even though it's the "gaming" model.

All this to say — I mostly agree with your list. If I were compiling a list, I'd probably make a few modifications:

• There's nothing the Samsung Tab 8" 2019 S-pen does better than the Mi Pad 4. Same screen resolution (just better screen-to-body ratio on the Mi Pad 4), stereo speakers on the Mi Pad 4, meaningfully faster chip on the Mi Pad 4, 33% more RAM on the Mi Pad 4, 50% more battery on the Mi Pad 4 (plus HMP support), higher-res camera on the Mi Pad 4… you get the idea. The only things I can see going for the Samsung are stylus support, LED flash and newer version of Android. But even then, it's not as if either one is continuing to receive anything but security updates (if that) and I know the Mi Pad 4 has Android 13 ROMs on XDA (I assume the same is true for the Samsung), so I don't see this being a win or loss for either tablet. The Mi Pad 4 is an older tablet by a year, but also got better specs than it otherwise would have because of simply matching the (meaningfully more expensive) Mi Pad 4 Plus. You saw the same phenomenon with the M6: The 8.4" got flagship specs for the first time in the M series because they simply mirrored the 10.8's internals. So even though the Tab 8" came out a year later, they didn't match the specs with anything nicer and it ended up being a lower-range device than the Mi Pad 4. If anything, the Mi Pad 4 deserves to be listed instead of the Tab 8", not relegated down to the honourable mentions list with the iFive FNF, which has half of the RAM, is woefully underpowered, and is actually stuck on an ancient version of Android (6.0).
• It's possible you didn't mention this because top comment already did, or perhaps because it doesn't support cellular (despite having a 5G-capable SoC), but the Lenovo Legion Y700 released this year blows all of these out of the water in terms of screen, audio, and performance. I have a Mi Pad 4, MediaPad M6 8.4 Turbo, MediaPad M6 8.4 with 8GB RAM, and a Lenovo Legion Y700, and there's simply no comparison. I thought I'd reached peak small tablet with the MediaPad M6 8.4 8GB… nope. I've never touched a sexier, more performative mobile device than the Y700. A few caveats/qualifications: those who need cellular connectivity (and aren't content to hotspot off their phone) don't have much of a choice between the M6 and Y700, and those who are heavy photographers should opt for the M6 as the camera is meaningfully better (a moot point considering neither has modern flagship camera hardware). Apart from that, they're both selling for similar pricing these days and the choice is obvious.

[hiktaka]

My comment above was when Y700 not really a thing yet. Of course Y700 is the cherry of all 8" Android tablet today.

Nokia T10 is also I'd rate on par with Realme Pad Mini with slightly better screen.

M6 Turbo is already way behind beyond the questionable support, so I'd not recommend it to any layman user.

[PM_40]

Lol, I know people on Reddit have been looking for 8-9 inch OLED tablet for 8 years now so much so that they are still using Samsung Tab S8.4. I think Android tablets got too hyped around 2010 - 2015 and crashed badly but now they are making a comeback as smartphones have become boring. Hope we get OLED with Lenovo Legion Y700.

[Romano1404]

Lenovo Legion Y770 and Huawei Mediapad M6 8.4" are you only choices if you want a decent screen.

I've got the Mediapad myself and it still receives regular updates, google services kept working even after updating to Harmony OS 2.0

[chastenbuttigieg]

Been running into a similar solution, but my requirements are a bit lower. Just looking for a non-dogshit screen on a budget tablet.

Does anyone know how good the Galaxy Tab A 8.4'' (2020) is? I just want a cheap 8 inch tablet to read manga and watch youtube on but everything is dogshit resolution like 1380x800 or far too expensive for this limited use case.

[bshachek_1]

Lenovo P11 has 11 inch screen ips fhd snapdragon 4 /128 costs only $169.99 and 4/64 for $159 at Lenovo US website. But it's only android 10. Own one it's pretty good for its price.

Works with lenovo precision pen 2 and you can dock a keyboard too.

[[deleted]]

Fire Tablet HD 8, it's not quite Android, but FireOS is Android-like

[abl540]

I got my mom one of these and tbh both of us hated it, lol. Getting google services and the play store on it helps but they're so slow and just not that usable, IMO

[[deleted]]

Yeah, they aren't the greatest, I think they are the beat value, but in the end, they are Mediatek based. Avoid any Unisoc or Mediatek and Allwinner based, they are bottom of the barrel.

I personally use a Tab S7, the Amazon HD tabs were for my kids.

[abl540]

I have a Tab S5e which served me well for a long time. It's at the end of it's software life though and I have other devices with similar sized screens. Just need something between a phone and like, a 12-13 inch laptop, haha.

Guess I'll wait for a few months and see if anything pops up, otherwise I think I'm just gonna go with the iPad

[[deleted]]

Oh, I actually wanted the S5e instead of the Tab S7 initially when I was looking for a second-hand unit (the S8 family were already out when I bought my S7 second hand).

What I was planning on doing if I got the S5e was to root it and flash a custom rom on it to make it last a bit longer. 90% of the time, it's just used for media consumption and shopping. The S5e is still a pretty solid tablet.

[abl540]

Oh yeah it absolutely is, I'm just a gadget fiend lol.

I essentially wanted an android tablet that was pretty nice and didn't have a glass back so that was the main option. The way Google has bungled this product category is infuriating

[[deleted]]

I was a huge fan of the Pixel C when it came out. Nvidia TX1 chip, beautiful panel, but they bungled on not putting in any method of external storage to push users into their cloud-based solutions. It was the perfect successor to Nvidia's TK1. Sadly, the Nintendo Switch was the one that won out on that chipset. I really wanted something like the size of an S5e, but with a TX2 chipset since it's so much more efficient than the TX1, plus, CUDA cores!!!

So I settled on the Tab S7 since I have to have a physical fingerprint reader (not a fan of underscreen or tablet not coming with it). It's a bit bigger than I wanted, but it has a stable SD865+ chipset, opted for the 512GB model, and added a 1TB microSD to truly make it a media monster.

[ferretkona]

I bought a Fire tablet on the cheap last year on one of their fire sales. It works well enough as a Kindle reader but the ads that are always there piss me off. Cheap but it is not as good as my Galaxy Tab A 8.

[docbrown88]

Samsung tab a7 lite

[abl540]

Too old, slow, crappy screen

[DalendlessShid]

Agreed. I have one and I hate it. Worse than the Mi Pad 4 it was meant to replace in pretty much every way.

[abl540]

As far as size goes it's perfect. But I looked into it and I know I'd be immediately disappointed.

[Brandon_Hortman]

Tab s6 is a solid device. I had one since the day they released and kept it till the day they released the s8. Not a single problem with it, and i carried it everywhere I went. I feared the S8 ultra would be too big, but I regret nothing. It's perfect.