My Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 has lasted me well since obtaining it in Christmas 2014. However, it's seen some wear and tear over time, and I'm starting to wonder if now is the time to ponder an upgrade. One thing I haven't quite understood is the increased prominence of tablets using a 4:3 aspect ratio in lieu of 16:9. From what I've read, people seem to prefer that ratio when it comes to reading e-books or browsing the web. But I'm more likely to be watching videos or playing emulators/games on the thing. Won't I therefore be losing out somewhat by downgrading my screen ratio? The Tab S has been Samsung's last 16:9 effort to date, with both the S2 and S3 sticking to 4:3 - as a result, I'm not sure if sticking with Samsung (who have always served me well) is the answer this time round, as much as I'm currently considering a Galaxy S8 atm! Another thing I worried about up until recently was the increased abundence of companies dropping physical buttons/bezel touch buttons in favour of the on-screen equivalent. To me, it seemed like using on-screen buttons would mean less screen real estate, or make summoning sub-menus or going back a spot be more finnicky by adding the additional step of summoning the actual buttons first. But with even Samsung and Apple following suit in the pursuit of having phones be just plain screen all over the damn shop, it looks like my holding back on this aspect is a lost cause. Have companies tried at least to make it less of a hassle to navigate around without reliable 'hard' buttons? Another thing I've been thinking about is whether the time is right now to go for a 64-bit compatible Android tablet. I thought ARMv7 would be good for another decade at least but I was pleasantly surprised a while back to find - for instance - that the Dolphin emulator dropped support for 32-bit architectures some time back and thus my Tab S was stuck with using an older build that ran like molasses anyway. ARM64 at the very least might leave me better prepared for future Gamecube/Wii/Dreamcast/PS2/Saturn emulation. One more thing is physical size. I've always thought that "Bigger Is Better" when it comes to consuming visual and gaming content on the go, hence why I usually reserve my phone for audial stuff like calls, music and podcasts, and my tablet for the visual side of things such as YouTube, games and photo-taking. I already used a Nexus 7 in the past and moving on to a 10-incher like the Tab S felt like a major breath of fresh air. I'm not sure if it's worth going for an 8-incher even if it's supposed to fit easier into bags and possibly big pockets (I've never really had a problem cramming my tablet into my bag, mind you). So to sum up, my preferences are as follows: 16:9 (or even 16:10) screen display. ARM64 architecture. Reasonably big physical size like 10" or 9". Just WiFi-only should be good enough, considering I can tether from my phone if required. External storage expansion (a must, must, *must*, screw Google and its "only internal storage matters" mantra). Doesn't *have* to be Samsung, if better alternatives are around. Haven't thought of a budget for the tablet either. Just googling for good pages on tablets that aren't already 1 or 2 years old, or several months old, is difficult enough. Thanking ye!
