These days the sales figures say that tablets are much more sold than PCs and how all the major manufacturers are competing in this market sector rather than in the classic one of notebooks and desktop computers. While tablets are certainly useful items and a lot of fun to use, they are however, they cannot yet replace PCs or a traditional notebook in many of the activities that can be carried out in the professional field.So let’s see together the reasons for whom a tablet cannot completely replace a well-equipped PC yet, also showing you a comparison between a high-end laptop and a high-end tablet PC, so you can better understand the differences between the two devices.READ ALSO -> Best 2-in-1 Tablet-PC with removable keyboard
Can the tablet replace the PC?
The tablet, in the vast majority of cases, is bought by people who already have a PC and is used not so much to replace it, but to accompany it and use it when it is not possible to use the laptop, such as we are in bed or traveling without being organized in time with a notebook bag. But the reasons that go in favor of notebooks are quite different, as we will see here in the following chapters.
Computing power
Let’s start with the most obvious feature, which is computing power. While modern tablets are extremely fast at running optimized apps (i.e. apps designed for use on tablets), for those who work with heavy programs such as AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, and others the power of modern tablets is not enough: in these cases, you need a processor with traditional architecture (x86-64), at least 4 physical cores (without logic cores or energy-saving cores) and a frequency of at least 2.5 GHz (minimum value), all values which cannot be reached by any tablet, otherwise the external body will overheat.
If we need a lot of computing power to work, the tablet is not good and we will necessarily have to consider a new generation notebook.
Screen size
Modern tablets come to offer 13-inch screens, which represent a sort of limit to correctly identify the technology: beyond this size they are in effect notebooks, regardless of the removable keyboard. Still on the subject of work, many use Microsoft Excel, which requires a very large work area to be able to manage all the cells well: in many areas, therefore, it is necessary to focus on a notebook with a 15.6-inch or larger screen, making small tablet screens useless.
Tablets are still excellent for visiting websites, opening social networks, or opening the most popular apps, but it is not possible to focus only on them when we work or have to study at the university level.
Autonomy
Here the challenge becomes much more interesting: since laptops provide more computing power, the batteries will obviously last less than a tablet, with a Windows notebook that barely reaches 5-6 hours of average battery life (against the tablet that reaches 15 hours continuously).
The speech is always based on our needs: if we have to work a lot outside the home but a lot of computing power is required, we aim for a notebook with at least 6 hours of autonomy, with the possibility of always recharging it anywhere. If, on the other hand, a great deal of computing power is not required, it may be a good idea to focus on a tablet for light work, so as to be sure to always arrive at the end of the day even without having to be tied to an electrical outlet.
Confronto tablet vs notebook
But if we wanted to compare two excellences in the world of tablets and notebooks in the field, which devices should we compare? For this chapter, we will compare the HUAWEI MateBook D 15 2021 With the Apple iPad Pro, which is placed in a similar price range (under € 800).
As a notebook, we have therefore chosen the HUAWEI MateBook D 15 2021, available on Amazon for less than € 800.
This laptop features a 15.6-inch FullView display with 1080P resolution and Eye Comfort mode, 11th generation Intel Core processor, Wi-Fi 6 module, 16GB DDR4 RAM memory, 512GB of internal NVMe memory, retractable webcam, 42 Watt-hour battery, the weight of 1.56 kg, and Windows 10 Home operating system.
As a tablet rival, we have chosen the Apple iPad Pro, available on Amazon (without keyboard) for less than 800 €.
On this tablet, we find an 11-inch edge-to-edge Liquid Retina Display, ProMotion technology, True Tone and wide color gamut P3, A12Z Bionic processor with Neural Engine, 7MP TrueDepth front camera, face ID for secure authentication and Apple Pay, Wi-Fi 6 support, four-speaker audio and five professional-quality microphones, and iPadOS operating system.
Conclusions
To answer the question of the title we can say that tablets won’t kill classic PCs or powerful notebooks, even more, now that the culture of smart working and videoconferencing has increased Zoom due to the Coronavirus pandemic: today all large companies have switched to smart working and considerable computing power is required to work from home, all scenarios where a laptop performs much better than any tablet.
Tablets are not devices intended to replace PCs for their main function and this also applies to the iPad which can be considered number one. The use of tablets occurs mainly in the evening, sitting on the sofa in the living room or even lying on the bed, while PCs are used more during the day, perhaps sitting at the desk in the study. Certainly, many people use tablets during the day for leisure or for commercial reasons (e.g. commercials use tablets instead of notepads or journals), but I think this trend is real.
There are also many things the Tablet does better than the PC, but there are many others for which the traditional computer remains irreplaceable, especially for office work.
In another guide, we can read how to Transform and use your tablet as a portable PC (Android and iPad).
If instead, we want to take a look at other powerful laptops or tablets, we invite you to read our article Guide to buying a new tablet e How much is it worth spending on a laptop?