Recommend iPad mini for Samsung user?
 

I told my son I was going to buy an iPad for my DW and he said it would be a big pain to set up and enjoy since we are Samsung Galaxy phone users. My wife has a smallish phone, A10 e, and plays various games on it for a few hours every day. I thought a tablet with a bigger screen would help her out a lot. Thinking of a iPad mini and son says "stick with the Galaxy."
Your thoughts please.

PS Costco has the 128GB, A17 pro chip, on sale for $399. Affordable for us.(now back ordered)

I sync my browsing history, photos and notes across Windows, my work Android, my personal iPhone and my iPad by following these suggestions. It isn’t really that difficult with cloud storage and a common log in for apps.

@TGarza
My DW doesn't even use a computer, just her Galaxy phone & a Kindle. That would make using the iPad pretty easy then?
I'll be setting it up and all my computers (no tablets) have been Windows.

My MiL at age 70 moved from a candy bar phone to an iPhone. She learned to use what she wanted group messaging and a few games with family. Then she discovered speech to text messaging and learned to use airline travel apps to avoid the check in area. Ask your wife what she wants to accomplish using the iPad.

Apps and cloud storage are OS independent. YouTube TV recordings and recent viewings are visible on my Roku, Firestick and iPad apps.

my mother uses a samsung phone and an ipad. ipad for games and reading, the phone for calling and texting. no issues as she had no need to sync or link the 2 devices in any way. really depends on how you intend to use the devices. and i believe it should be quite easy to sync the devices as long as you are not using apple apps.

Thanks to both of you for the feedback. She has never asked for a tablet but I'm thinking it will be a lot easier to play various games/puzzles on a larger screen. So iPad or Galaxy Tablet?

Look at the apps she uses on her phone and if they are all available in the IOS app store, then I think she'll be fine. If any of them are paid apps, then you'll likely have to pay for them again.

Where you run into trouble is with the seamless integration that happens when you stick to the same ecosystem. Sure as others have said there's ways to deal with it, but it's a pain the ... for mortals to deal with.

-David

Makes sense, David. Will do. I think all her game apps are free. She's a cheap date. :) Makawao still the same as 10 yrs ago?

Makawao doesn't change that much, which is a good thing IMO.

When are you coming back to Maui?

-David

The Apple IOS is very intuitive, so that shouldnt’ be a problem.. having some syncing other than email will be limited unless one is using say google photos and other third party apps that work across platform.

I WILL say though, I wouldn’t really recommend the MINI, ANY mini at this point to a user UNLESS their ABSOLUTE higher priority is small physical size and or weight, and weight meaning ~ 1-2 oz overall. I would far more recommend a small form factor ipad 10th gen, or 5th gen AIR (preferably) for overall usability, UX, performance, content WATCHING satisfaction and to some extent price.. there is still a price PREMIUM on getting the “mini” but the price/features value is LOW and the overall price is HIGH and overall what is a teeny tiny bit more size for much more performance, screen size, functionality, etc..

I think there's a good case for a smaller tablet if one tends to use it lying down in bed, device above face, while falling asleep. The lighter the device, the less it hurts when it smacks you in the face when you accidentally drop it onto yourself. The other might be for wrist strain. I found changing over to the iPhone Pro from an XS Max (lighter than current Pro Max) was the right ergonomic choice for my aching wrists & forearms and use a few phone/ with my iPad mini.

If one wants bigger fonts, a 10-11"+ tablet is the better choice. Even more so if they don't use a laptop/desktop and a monitor.

I've been a Samsung Galaxy user for almost 10 years. Previously I have had HTC and LG Android phones. My current phone is an S24 Ultra.

In early 2023, I got an excellent deal on a 9th generation Apple iPad. I use it exclusively when travelling, mostly for FT moderation purposes. It replaced a 13" HP Spectre x360. I like the size and weight, it weighs a third a much as my old computer. It works fine and the battery seems to last forever; however, for a primarily Android and Windows user, the iOS user interface is a challenge; I don't find it at all intuitive. I have installed as many Google apps as possible, including GMail and Chrome, but I still miss certain Windows and Android features that I've gotten used to, especially the back button at the bottom of the screen and the ability to easily recall recently used apps.

ipad os doesnt have a back button, but sometimes 1 can appear at the top left hand corner. you can also recall used apps by using the fast app switcher. i believe the default is to double click the home button.

if op is open to ipados, i would choose an ipad for its size (android tablets trend larger in size and are unwieldy for gaming) and build quality (the ipads far outlast the windows and android tablet at my work place).

Not sure what your workplace is doing but I've had two Galaxy tablets going on 5 or 6 years now. Sure battery goes down faster now, but when I first got them, they would last forever. I also disagree with size. It depends on which ones you get. S series is premium so usually larger. A series is usually smaller (comparable to the mini).

you are using a sample size of 2 vs my much larger sample size. i would say that the quality of budget samsung products went downhill a lot. in the past, we used samsung, oppo, etc and they lasted a long time. nowadays, they dont. we issue phones and tablets to our drivers. one of the problems we often see is samsung phones with ip67 ratings not able to charge anymore or cant detect their sim card after being in a little rain. we also found that screens cracked at the higher frequency than before, so much so that we had to invest in some clunky tough protector case. in the past, we used whatever case came with the phone.

on samsung website, the only A tablet is A9+ and that is 11inch. an ipad mini is only 8.3inch. they are not the same. i found it cumbersome to use the original ipad (10.9inch)