A budget laptop versus a budget iPad – how to choose
If you are in need of a budget laptop, you may want to consider buying a budget iPad instead, unless you don’t want or not comfortable to use iOS device. There are plenty of solid reasons why the 10.2-inch $329 base iPad may be the safer, more reliable and higher-quality choice for you over any budget laptop. To simply watch YouTube and Netflix on, your better bet is the iPad.
Among the five budget laptops and Windows tablets over the last year, along with two iPads and two additional budget Android tablets, my conclusions would likely be useful to you, if you’re currently planning your next budget purchase.
You’ll be surprised how nice the 10.2-inch screen is on the budget iPad, and how surprisingly high-quality its speakers are. And you likely won’t be surprised that none of the laptops I’ve ever used that cost under $500 got even near that level of quality.
No laptop under even twice the price would perform as smoothly as iPad:
Don’t underestimate your valuable time, which would be promptly wasted if you’re relying on a budget laptop. Something even as simple as opening your Google Keep notes. All of this waiting time adds up. Would it really be worth it that you’re using a full-blown operating system, when it barely runs?
You’ll be surprised how nice the 10.2-inch screen is on the budget iPad, and how surprisingly high-quality its speakers are.
While the budget iPad flies through games and apps like a champ, and I’m barely seeing a difference between it and the much more expensive iPad Pro, the same can’t be said for budget laptops. Normally when it comes to budget laptops, although they will be running Windows 10 which theoretically can do much more than iPadOS, you’ll barely even be able to open 5 Chrome tabs or go full-screen on a YouTube video without solid lag
Most cheap laptops won’t last nearly as much on a battery charge. While the budget 10.2 iPad is advertised as lasting up to 10 hours on a single battery charge, I’ve been getting about 9 hours of screen-on time. Light users can well surpass 10 hours, if not even a few days.
On the other hand, budget laptops I’ve used would either die after 4-5 hours, or last up to 6 hours at best. And let’s not forget, a lot of that time is just me waiting for things to load.
As for budget Android tablets, they normally stop getting major software updates almost immediately, especially if you pick a lesser known brand. And I’ve had at least two that just stopped working one day – refusing to turn on or charge, without actually being damaged in any way, or even used that much.
conclusion:
If you think that you definitely need Windows even if it’s slow, and you can get by with a poor screen and build quality, or you really need a keyboard – then a budget laptop it is. But if what I shared about the budget iPad got your attention, you’ll be correct to assume that it’s the better, safer choice for you.
Just do keep in mind that iPad running on iOS would behave differently, it also comes with some software limitations that may or may not affect your workflow.
