Hello everyone. I'm looking for 7" to 8" size tablets. Currently, I'm using a Nexus 7 (2013 version) tablet and I some apps that I use no longer support the android 4.4.4 OS so I want to find a new one I can use keep updated at the newest OS. Price isn't an issue since I will make the final decision but size is. No Apple sorry since I have quite a few paid apps.
WOW! Someone is in the exact same state as me with a nexus 7 tablet their trying to upgrade. So far I've been looking at galaxy tablet series. Pretty decent so far. Stalking thread...
Well, I like my Acer R13 Chromebook, from a couple of years back. It's a bit bigger, but it runs android apps, can fold into a tablet, and run 16+ hours on a charge. OK, it's a LOT bigger. But I can't personally get past not having a physical keyboard. So, there's that. I have a whole pile of tablets from my game development days that I should probably just donate away, before none of them can run anything, because that's how the whole mobile phone and tablet market works, and Microsoft is following suit with Windows, crippling PCs as fast as they can, chasing Apple's tail. Anyways. for less than $300, a notebook-ish, tablet-ish thingy. There are chromebooks that have the cellular junk built-in, but I just use the phone's 'hot spot' for that. My $0.02, and probably not helpful if you're dead set on an itty bitty tablet. You could also just go the 'phablet' route, and get an oversized smart phone. My Google Pixel 2 XL is almost usable. But the same can be said of every tablet I've ever laid hands on, so there's that. Maybe I'm just too much of an old man.
Android tablets have been dying a slow death these past few years (especially in the 7-8" range). It's getting harder and harder to find a quality Android tablet. If you like your current tablet, you can unlock your bootloader and load a custom ROM. You can find custom ROMs that support up to Android 8.1 here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-7-2013 If you want a new tablet, there are still a few OK options in the 7-8" category: Huawei MediaPad M5 Huawei is known for not updating the firmware for their tablets, so you'll probably need to find a custom ROM in a year or two when updates from Huawei stop Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 Same as above. Poor record on updates. Galaxy Tab S2 8" The screen is nice. Otherwise, it's so-so. Fire HD 8 Bootloader can't currently be unlocked in the newest model, so you'll have to stick with FireOS until someone figures out how to) Nvidia Shield Tablet K1 My goto for the last few years. Nvidia finally announced they were stopping firmware updates, and it's getting a little long in the tooth with its 2 GB of memory Like @evildave said, if you don't mind losing a bit of screen realestate, you can get a good phablet (god, I hate that word).
I'ma gonna disagree with @Jeebus on anything 'Fire'. Amazon really pioneered on making EVERYTHING adware in their shittier copy of Android, with the Amazon-only not-Android marketplace. Also, if you have an investment in apps, then you may as well have bought an i-thing, because it's a completely separate app store from Google's. But hey, if you don't mind having ads and other bullshit pop up in your face, whatever you do, like Microsoft's dream of how Windows should be, they're made just as well as every other touch-screen piece of glass. But if you block any ads, and maybe use a different 'mobile browser' than the default one, and don't like un-blockable ads from Amazon and friends always in your face, then give it a miss. You'll only be infuriated with every second you spend using it. And I hate the word 'phablet', too. But there are some sort-of good ones, if you have big, deep pockets, or don't mind walking like you have a peg leg, or carry a purse. It's serviceable for reading stories in a Taco Bell, anyway, and mobile companies will finance it and add it to your phone bill, and you can use it literally everywhere. Well, unless you're in a remote mountain valley where your car's stuck and coverage doesn't reach, and have to hike several miles to get a signal. But that's a different story.
I'm also looking for a tablet about 10" in size so that I can watch videos in bed with a larger screen. But I have to held myself back and postpone buying one next month because I just bought Vornado air circulator. I'm thinking of buying Alcatel A3 10" tablet because it is cheap and specs is satisfactory.
Not sure what you mean, I think the choices for tablets is better than ever. Just the market for tablets has shrunk as a whole and there isn't much reason to upgrade. I suggest overall look for 1 year old tablets on ebay, they go for a really good price there usually. Back when Galaxy Tab S2 was 1 year old, I bought one for $200 which I gave as a gift (to someone who wanted a light tablet). For myself, I didn't care too much about the weight and I wanted a stylus so I got the stylus version of Galaxy Tab A10 for $100.
I think you'd be pleasantly surprised with a decent Chromebook. Runs the android stuff, like a tablet. Most of them use the same SOC (processor/GPU/RAM all in one) as tablets and phones. Has screens that size, or bigger, some can run 16 hours on a charge, and just the same price as a tablet (around $300 for a decent one), and above all, in bed, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HOLD IT, to watch a video. Just stick it on your tummy, or prop it up with your legs, or put it on a night stand. It stands up on its own, stable. Then use it as a notebook, or some models even fold up into tablets and have touch sensitive screens. Also, if you like participating in forums, it has a real keyboard. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413071,00.asp