Discussion Why did windows tablets fail?

[Order 66]

I used to have a Windows 8 tablet, and say what you will about Windows 8, this is about the only case where Windows 8 made sense. I used to use my Windows 8 tablet like I would my phone now, but I don't use it anymore because my phone can do everything it did but better. not to mention I can actually make calls from a phone, unlike a windows tablet.

 

[sizzling]

I would say it moved into a more professional market segment than consumer. Surface Pro and equivalent Windows tablets are used in many businesses.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You already answered your own question. They failed, just like for the most part android tablets have gone away for the most part other than for some task specific job related usage and as e-readers and are harder and harder to find these days aside from maybe Fire tablets, because phones can do basically everything they can, plus make calls, plus take very good pictures. And, that's why.

 

[Eximo]

A form factor looking for a purpose is how I have always looked at it. Once thin ultrabooks started coming along there just wasn't much utility in having a tablet only Windows experience. They all shipped with the keyboard covers or little docking stations that had keyboards/extra batteries. So for the rare use case where you needed like 9 hours of battery (back then, now it would be more like 16 hours) they made some sense. But in all other aspects they were slower than a slightly heavier/larger laptop that cost roughly the same and had more repairable components.

 

[USAFRet]

but I don't use it anymore because my phone can do everything it did but better

There ya go.

 

[punkncat]

IMO MS priced themselves out of competition. You could readily get a small touchscreen laptop or a much better Android/Apple device for much less.

 

[Order 66]

The only use I see for a Windows tablet is maybe content consumption, but even then a laptop will do the same thing with a bigger screen. I do think that phone screens are kind of cramped for content consumption. Do you think there is a use for a modern windows tablet anymore?

 

[punkncat]

In certain environments, certainly. I would think more along the lines of commercial use than enthusiast. With that said, I am not an Apple fan at all, but the iPad is a darned fine tablet and as far as I am concerned sets the bar for performance in that sector.

 

[Order 66]

IMO MS priced themselves out of competition. You could readily get a small touchscreen laptop or a much better Android/Apple device for much less.

I would much rather get an iPad than a similarly priced Windows tablet or surface. It is a much better content consumption device, and if I need a windows device, I would just get a full windows laptop.

 

[Order 66]

In certain environments, certainly. I would think more along the lines of commercial use than enthusiast. With that said, I am not an Apple fan at all, but the iPad is a darned fine tablet and as far as I am concerned sets the bar for performance in that sector.

So much so that some people refer to tablets in general as "iPads" even though it is not true.

 

[USAFRet]

I would much rather get an iPad than a similarly priced Windows tablet or surface. It is a much better content consumption device, and if I need a windows device, I would just get a full windows laptop.

If you're invested in the Apple ecosystem, then yes.
Otherwise, not so much.

I have a Surface 3 Go. Detachable keyboard, but I rarely use it in "tablet" config.

 

[kerberos_20]

windows as a tablet outside of productivity...hmm
i still see plenty of tablets with dual android/windows on it
so not dead yet

 

[punkncat]

So much so that some people refer to tablets in general as "iPads" even though it is not true.

This happens all the time. Loads of people call a reciprocating saw a "sawzall" because one of the best units of that tool is that name.

I got my hands on one of the semi recent iPad Pro. It was a very powerful and capable tablet. I don't use any other Apple products so a lot of the functionality and usability were lost on me. Just being fair, I also prefer not to do actual work or content consumption on my Android phone either. Just an old dog that likes his PC out of familiarity.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Do you think there is a use for a modern windows tablet anymore?

Certainly. Anywhere that you need access to information that you can EASILY display to a client, patient, customer, etc. where it is not a simple or acceptable matter to have to carry around a laptop. That could include some doctors office or medical applications, especially in very busy places where perhaps a nurse or assistant needs to walk around the room and input very basic information for triage screening or to share a result with a patient. Certainly many more just for this one industry.

And there are a good many applications out there for various industries or applications that require them to be run in Windows environments as there are either no Android or Linux equivalents or because the company has contracts with Microsoft so they purchase all their apps through them and get discounts for doing so. So many reasons why ANYTHING might be a necessity.

Another example might be for inputting information in the long lines, like there were when there were Covid shot locations set up in places like fairgrounds, etc. Sure, for the most part those things could be done on non-Windows tablets as well, but only IF the specific software you need to use is not Windows based. Consider there are still many companies, including some government facilities, running crap on XP, Vista or 7 still, so the idea that places like this have the common sense to move to something other than Windows based software is kind of a running joke in some cases.

 

[Darkbreeze]

This happens all the time. Loads of people call a reciprocating saw a "sawzall" because one of the best units of that tool is that name.

I got my hands on one of the semi recent iPad Pro. It was a very powerful and capable tablet. I don't use any other Apple products so a lot of the functionality and usability were lost on me. Just being fair, I also prefer not to do actual work or content consumption on my Android phone either. Just an old dog that likes his PC out of familiarity.

This too. I much prefer using software in the Windows environment and I only use android or Linux based apps and devices if I have to. And that is because I am much more familiar and experienced on that platform, not because I CAN'T use these other options, but because I PREFER not to. And I'm likely an outlier, but there are many of us outliers who make the decisions about what devices and OSes get used for a given location, company, business, facility or application.

 

[USAFRet]

This too. I much prefer using software in the Windows environment and I only use android or Linux based apps and devices if I have to. And that is because I am much more familiar and experienced on that platform, not because I CAN'T use these other options, but because I PREFER not to. And I'm likely an outlier, but there are many of us outliers who make the decisions about what devices and OSes get used for a given location, company, business, facility or application.

Exactly.
I REALLY wish I could use the Surface for controlling my UAV.
But no...only iOS or Android.

 

[Order 66]

This too. I much prefer using software in the Windows environment and I only use android or Linux based apps and devices if I have to. And that is because I am much more familiar and experienced on that platform, not because I CAN'T use these other options, but because I PREFER not to. And I'm likely an outlier, but there are many of us outliers who make the decisions about what devices and OSes get used for a given location, company, business, facility or application.

similarily, I could probably use linux, but because I am a gamer and I just like that things on windows just work, I just use it out of familiarity.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Right. Unfortunately, the asshats that run the companies that decide what kind of devices they are going to TRY and push on us all, want to push whatever gives them the biggest profit margin and considering that Linux and Android can basically be used for free, it isn't Windows. And THAT my friends, is the BIG reason Windows didn't fly on tablets. It's because other OSes offered higher profit margins on a device segment with very small profit margin. Not because people "preferred" other options. Not even marginally. Few people even HAD any experience on those OSes other than on their phones, maybe, at the time when that train went off the rails.

 

[lvt]

Too expensive.

 

[Order 66]

Too expensive.

At what price point would you be willing to buy a windows tablet, assuming it had decent specs?

 

[Darkbreeze]

For the use cases that I personally, still, use tablets for? About 100-200 bucks depending on how powerful the hardware is. Because otherwise a person CAN find ways to live with a sub 100 dollar 10" Fire tablet, or 180-ish 11" Fire max tablet. But the problem is, Microshaft wants that much just for the OS license, which as I said, completely kills any chance of a non-Microsoft tablet manufacturer being able to make enough profit off the margin to be worth doing, even assuming they get bulk licenses for half that. Now, if it was MS themselves making and selling the device, since they of course could include the OS at no cost to themselves, they might be able to do it but for what the majority of people do on them these days it just doesn't make much sense to spend money on an additional device to do things your phone can already do.

So, it basically MUST be a situation where you HAVE to run a Windows-only application otherwise it simply doesn't make sense and even when that's the case, as has been mentioned, there are other very light and far more capable devices that run Windows which just make more sense these days. Not to mention the fact that, like USAFRet said, a LOT of devices out there that can or must be remotely controlled will only work with iOS or Android apps, which further reduces the need for that type of Windows device.

 

[Order 66]

For the use cases that I personally, still, use tablets for? About 100-200 bucks depending on how powerful the hardware is. Because otherwise a person CAN find ways to live with a sub 100 dollar 10" Fire tablet, or 180-ish 11" Fire max tablet. But the problem is, Microshaft wants that much just for the OS license, which as I said, completely kills any chance of a non-Microsoft tablet manufacturer being able to make enough profit off the margin to be worth doing, even assuming they get bulk licenses for half that. Now, if it was MS themselves making and selling the device, since they of course could include the OS at no cost to themselves, they might be able to do it but for what the majority of people do on them these days it just doesn't make much sense to spend money on an additional device to do things your phone can already do.

So, it basically MUST be a situation where you HAVE to run a Windows-only application otherwise it simply doesn't make sense and even when that's the case, as has been mentioned, there are other very light and far more capable devices that run Windows which just make more sense these days. Not to mention the fact that, like USAFRet said, a LOT of devices out there that can or must be remotely controlled will only work with iOS or Android apps, which further reduces the need for that type of Windows device.

What do people even use tablets (in general, not specifically windows tablets) for nowadays anyway? I understand the appeal of a bigger screen, but a phone does pretty much the exact same things, not to mention that phones have fairly large screens nowadays.

 

[Eximo]

The most common place I see them is point of sales, kiosks, medical/patient data entry. Though larger business still go for the modular approach of desktop/screen since it is cheaper in the long run.

I think people that have them find uses, and many of those uses are cross compatible with a lightweight laptop.

I can also see a lot of people with less than perfect vision preferring them to starting at a 6" screen.

 

[USAFRet]

What do people even use tablets (in general, not specifically windows tablets) for nowadays anyway? I understand the appeal of a bigger screen, but a phone does pretty much the exact same things, not to mention that phones have fairly large screens nowadays.

Things I've seen and used:

Tablets:
Finalizing the sale of a car at the dealer
House gutter sizing and pictures
Running the Harmony Hub to control TV and stereo


A phone can do all of that, but it is MUCH better on a larger screen.


My phone is by far the smallest screen I have.


Phone:
Flying my UAV. I would MUCH prefer it to be on the Surface tablet. But even on the Fire Tablet, it loses some GPS functionality.

 

[Order 66]

Things I've seen and used:

Tablets:
Finalizing the sale of a car at the dealer
House gutter sizing and pictures
Running the Harmony Hub to control TV and stereo


A phone can do all of that, but it is MUCH better on a larger screen.


My phone is by far the smallest screen I have.


Phone:
Flying my UAV. I would MUCH prefer it to be on the Surface tablet. But even on the Fire Tablet, it loses some GPS functionality.

I do much prefer using tablets for consuming content because the larger screen makes videos and websites significantly easier to view with my less-than-perfect eyesight.