In this guide, we will try to summarize what are the strengths and weaknesses of tablets and notebooks, so that we can always choose the right solution based on our calculation needs or our working needs.READ ALSO: Differences between laptops: what does Ultrabook or Notebook mean?
Better a laptop or tablet?
To answer this question it is necessary to understand what needs these two technological products cover, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Advantages of a notebook
The notebook has the following advantages:
- Computing power: the components of a mid-range notebook are the same as those of a desktop PC, so we will have a much higher computing capacity than any tablet on the market.
- Multi-window management: even if many tablet operating systems are optimized in this sense, we can comfortably manage two or more programs at a time only on PC, without losing productivity.
- Operating system: we can take advantage of Windows 10 and all its innovative features and, at the same time, delete everything and try a new Linux distribution, another version of Windows or an OS X (in case we decide to focus on a MacBook).
- Writing skills: even if on many tablets we can connect a keyboard, it will never be as comfortable as that of a laptop to write on a blog or to write any long document.
- Widescreen: laptop screens range from 12 to 17 inches, therefore I understand every need when we work or need a lot of space to open multiple programs.
- Expandability: even if to a lesser extent than a fixed PC, we can replace the RAM and the internal disk at any time, so as to enhance the notebook’s capacity after a few years.
- Connections: we will certainly find a greater number of ports and slots than any tablet, thus being able to connect many more things.
Disadvantages of a notebook
After seeing the undoubted advantages of a laptop, let’s see together what are the disadvantages of this technology:
- Weight: the notebook tends to be significantly heavier than a tablet, making it difficult to carry it around without a dedicated bag.
- Noise: even if modern notebooks have very silent fans, the required power generates heat and noise reflection, which over time becomes more annoying.
- User experience: even if there are models of laptops with the touch, it will never be exploited properly as on a tablet, making it an almost useless feature when we have a mouse, touchpad, and keyboard.
- Heat produced: as said before, power is heat, therefore notebooks tend to become so hot that they cannot be placed on the legs without feeling annoyed or worse burns.
Advantages of a tablet
If instead, we wanted to discover the advantages of a tablet up close, here they are listed below:
- Handling and weight: even the largest 10-inch tablets remain comfortable and light to hold for many hours, being able to carry them anywhere even without a carrying bag.
- User experience with touch: the management of the apps via touch is much faster and more practical than the keyboard and mouse, closely following what we already do on smartphones (but bigger).
- Ready to use: a good tablet starts much earlier than any notebook (even with SSD), making it very practical when we need to edit a document on the fly, work on the train, or when we are on the move.
- Heat: tablets hardly reach high temperatures and can therefore also be used on the legs or when we are in bed without any danger.
- Noise: the internal components of a tablet are silent and do not emit any hum or cooling noise, making it the ideal choice for those who want silence.
Disadvantages of a tablet
After seeing the advantages of a tablet, it is right to also illustrate the disadvantages of this technology:
- Low computing power: a tablet will never compete with a mid-range notebook, making it impractical when we have to perform certain tasks (3D, video games, advanced computing, design, etc.).
- Expandability: a tablet cannot be updated, so the hardware will be the one until the end (except for models that have a MicroSD slot, which we can replace).
- Connections: on a tablet, we can often connect only the charging cable and a USB device, without many alternatives (only some models have an HDMI-mini socket and other types of usable ports).
- Operating system: excluding iPads (which have long support), all other tablet models are born and die with the same operating system, often without even receiving security updates.
Best models by technology
Now that it is clear what the strengths and weaknesses of notebooks and tablets are, we will show you below some models on which it is possible to focus on technology, so as to always buy the best notebook and the best tablet out there.
As the best notebook, we suggest you take a look at the best-selling one on Amazon currently, the HUAWEI MateBook D 14 “(€ 570).
This laptop features a 15.6 “Anti-Glare monitor, AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor, 8GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, integrated graphics card, and Windows 10 operating system. This is an excellent compromise between quality and price.
READ ALSO: How to choose the new notebook
If we are looking for a convertible notebook (which can act as a tablet if necessary), we recommend viewing the Lenovo IdeaPad C340 (€ 888).
This hybrid features a 14 “Full HD Touch Display, Intel Core i5-10210U processor, 512GB of SSD internal memory, 8GB of RAM, Lenovo Active Pen 2 conductive pen, fingerprint access system and Windows 10 operating system.
READ ALSO: Best convertible tablet PCs
The best tablet we can buy is without a doubt the iPad Pro 11 “(€ 849).
This large tablet boasts an 11 “edge-to-edge Liquid Retina Display with ProMotion and True Tone, A12X Bionic Chip with Neural Engine, Face ID access system, 12MP rear camera, 7MP TrueDepth front camera, Four-way audio speakers, 802.11ac Wi-Fi connection and 4G LTE Advanced cellular networks, not forgetting the new iPadOS operating system.
If we are looking for a cheaper tablet, we can take a look at the Lenovo TAB M10 (179 €).
This tablet features 10.1 “Full HD IPS display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor, 32GB internal memory expandable up to 256GB, 3GB RAM, WIFI + LTE, 2 speaker and Android operating system.
READ ALSO: Best Android tablet: Samsung, Huawei or Lenovo?
Conclusions
In conclusion, it cannot be said that laptops are dying.
Even though I’m out of fashion today, notebooks are perfect to work and offer more computing power in all scenarios.
On the other hand, the tablets are handy, simple to use, they are perfect for surfing the internet, to write on Facebook and to play but are not suitable for work in the strict sense of the word.
To discover other models of tablets or notebooks to buy, we refer you to read the articles Guide to buying a new tablet is Guide to buying a laptop to avoid mistakes. To try tablet mode on Windows 10, simply follow the instructions on our article How to use Tablet Mode in Windows 10.