For the best part of the decade tablets such as the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab have become increasingly popular and taken off a small chunk from the laptop market. While current laptops are portable and powerful, tablets are even more portable and are just as powerful. This is great for consumers but also makes the decision harder. For those who need such equipment to work off, we?ll give you the pros and cons of both, and help you decide which is ideal for you.
Size
With current iterations, modern laptops and tablets are light and portable, easily slipping into a normal-sized handbag or backpack. The tablet, however, is usually more portable and is just like an oversized smartphone with more power. For general work tasks, you will have to consider portability and screen size. Smaller, lighter devices will usually have smaller screens which may make it less uncomfortable to work on for long hours, especially if dealing with spreadsheets or graphics.
Keyboard
If your work requires a lot of typing, you will certainly want a physical keyboard for that and a laptop will fit the bill. However, most tablets are compatible with wireless keyboards and so the typing issue can be resolved very easily. There are also many cases with built-in keyboards that add almost no extra weight or bulk to the tablets themselves.
So while a laptop will have a built-in dedicated keyboard, tablets do have the option to type on the screen as well as connect to wireless keyboards, so this is important to consider.
Processing power
Tablets have been getting steadily more powerful, even sharing the same processing units as some laptops, however, laptops usually have larger batteries allowing them to run hard, for longer. If you require a lot of processing power for photo or video editing, for example, a laptop would be a better option. If your work uses lower power-consuming apps such as meetings planners and communication apps, then a tablet should be more than sufficient.
Battery life
Purely because of their size, laptops tend to have bigger and therefore a better battery life overall, but as they also consume more power due to their increased processing. Take for example the iPad Pro and the Macbook Air models that are both powered by Apple?s M1 processor, however, the Air has a battery life of around 9 hours. That?s crazy! If your work requires you to be mobile and you find yourself away from a power source for extended periods of time, the laptop would be a better option.
As you can see, in terms of hardware specifications, tablets can certainly hold their own against laptops. However, their smaller size inevitably means sacrificing battery life and occasionally, performance. Depending on what your work requires, either could serve you well; it may just come down to a matter of preference.