Now that we are already in the middle of the year we have talked a lot about the best that has left us in tablets, going through all the categories, but what about the different OS? With Windows 10 increasingly consolidated, the upgrade to Android O already quite close and that of iOS 11 pending to arrive only a little later, what is the best news that they have left us and what are the pending subjects?
iOS 11: making the iPad a better work tool
For a time when Apple seemed to be following Google a bit with some of the functions it was introducing, to the point that, a bit with the intention of provoking, we dared to say that iOS 10 seemed a bit like an Android customization, the emphasis with iOS 11, and especially with regard to iPad, is set on increasing our productivity options, in a clear effort to stand up to Windows, with an increasingly strong and very localized presence in a field with many possibilities for expansion yet.
At the very least, we must admit that they have listened to the criticisms and that many of them have been solved, including a native file manager and introducing various functions to improve the multitask (The application bar, the function for drag and dropThe new control center). Although most of those who will often use their iPad to type will do so with a physical keyboard, it does not hurt either the changes introduced in the virtual keyboard, which make the user experience more similar to that of others and more fluid.
Have your efforts paid off? We will have to wait to see what the feelings of the average profile users are when they can start enjoying iOS 11, because at the moment, only those who have dared to download the beta (a minority type of user, more advanced, usually) and the experts are having access to the update. The reception in any case and from what can be said for the moment, seems to have been quite good, but the reality is that there are still doubts. Be that as it may, it continues to be polished with each new update and it is possible that even before the end of the year we will have an iOS 11.1 that will convince the critics a little more.
Android O: attacking the fundamental problems
In the case of Android, it seems that Google's priority has been to tackle the problems created by what, on the other hand, is its great strategic advantage: diversity. One of the reasons that its operating system has grown as it has is because of its enormous versatility and the number of devices it brings to life, but this undoubtedly takes its toll on some key issues. The most obvious of it is the slowness with which the updates, and this is an especially serious problem in tablets, devices that we renew less frequently and that seldom get to know a different version of Android than the one they originally brought, as we have seen with the Android Nougat example. With Project Treble the situation should improve in the future.
But it's not the only problem Mountain View is dealing with. On many occasions we have been able to see how even when their hardware is inferior, Apple devices expire in autonomy y power, and this is undoubtedly a product largely of the advantage of having custom-developed software. With Android O We should also see important improvements in this regard, and from its very presentation Google put a lot of emphasis on that he would leave us performance and battery improvements important, with a specific version for devices with fewer resources.
What remains as a pending issue here, clearly, is to improve to make Android tablets also more capable devices as work tools. With Android O support improvements have been promised for keyboard and mouse, and we have seen options that will be greatly appreciated on tablets (such as the picture in picture), but we haven't seen too many features aimed at the productivity area. What we have seen of Fuchsia does make it clear that multitasking is a priority, but it is still something very distant in time. Will we ever see an Android tablet that can be presented as a serious alternative to Windows tablets? It seems that Motorola is working on it, but we do not even know if the project will come to fruition.
Windows 10 and the hole in the mid-range
The first problem that the operating system had since its arrival on tablets was more than any other a question of usability, since it was often difficult to operate with it on smaller screens and without the help of a mouse or stylus. In this sense, it must be recognized that with Windows 10 The situation has already improved a lot, but it is also true that despite this, its presence in the field of tablets of 10 inches and less and mid-range and basic, that is, of the more affordable tabletsNot only has it not grown, but on the contrary, it seems to be declining. And you can't blame the manufacturers when even Microsoft ended up canceling its own Surface mini.
Although not specifically aimed at the tablet sector, some of the novelties of Microsoft They could end up having a positive impact on him, in the medium term at least. Although his debut has been in the Surface Laptop, Windows 10 S, which limits us to applications in its store, but in return consumes fewer resources, could be the natural successor to Windows RT and seems better prepared to be able to have some success. Going even further, it is hoped that before the end of the year we will even see laptops with Windows 10 and ARM processors and we have even seen a demonstration of how the combination would work.
It must be said, however, that it seems that for the moment skepticism dominates and the reality is that if we think about the trajectory of Windows in the field of tablets, the easiest thing is to fall into pessimism. For now, it seems that we have to settle when we find the launch of one of those rare mid-range Windows tablets with a still reasonable price and not too short hardware, or turn to the Chinese tablet market that, fortunately, follows us leaving devices with a very interesting quality / price ratio.