I made myself try a 14.5 inch tablet

Andrew Martonik/Digital Trends

Everyone has a tablet these days – whether it’s an Apple iPad or an Android tablet from Samsung, Lenovo, or even OnePlus. Tablets are great devices, as they allow you to be productive or stay entertained when your smartphone or laptop isn’t working. And in some ways, it’s easier to carry around than a full laptop.

But I think there is a limit. Tablets come in all kinds of sizes, from the ultra-portable iPad mini to behemoths like the Lenovo Tab Extreme and Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra.

I just reviewed the 14.5-inch Lenovo Tab Extreme, and while there are certainly benefits to owning such a large tablet, it’s also a double-edged sword in some ways, especially when it comes to portability.

11-inch tablets are the perfect size

Although I don’t upgrade my iPad every year like I do with my iPad iPhone, I’ve gone through various iPad models over the years. From the original 9.7-inch iPad to the iPad mini 4 to the second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, I’ve tried most iPad sizes at this point. And my favorite size is actually the 11-inch iPad Pro or even the OnePlus Pad. I think they are the perfect size.

Of course, I want my tablet to be bigger than my smartphone, but I also don’t want it to be so big that it’s hard to hold, which is an issue I have with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. I appreciate having more screen space when I’m out and about or just want to relax while watching a movie or streaming show, or even playing a few games or reading a book. More screen real estate also helps when editing photos, which I do often for work.

With that in mind, the iPad mini will suffice for a few of these things, but not all of them. But if I get a tablet, I want it to be much larger than, say, the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The iPad mini is too similar in size to be useful.

I didn’t have an iPad Air, but I still have the 11-inch iPad Pro for 2020, which is my favourite. The 11-inch screen gives me plenty of room to watch videos, read, play games, and check social media, email, and messages. If you need to write or edit photos, there’s enough space to do so comfortably too, without it being cramped or too big. I also like her to sign documents when I need to.

To me, the 11-inch iPad Pro is about the size of a Goldilocks tablet. It gives you plenty of room to do whatever you want without feeling like it’s “too much”. And it should fit easily into any bag you already use to carry your laptop without adding a lot of extra weight.

Need a big tablet? Why not use a laptop?

The Lenovo Tab Extreme is one of the largest tablets I’ve ever used, and to be honest, I’m not a big fan of it. While testing the device, I noticed a few things I didn’t like due to the tricky size.

First, it is huge. When I use tablets, I’d rather it be just a tablet than a laptop replacement. I use 27 in iMac for work, and I have a 13-inch MacBook Pro if I need to work on the go. Even with the iPad, I’ve never been a huge fan of replacing my laptop with a tablet with a keyboard attachment that turns it into a pseudo-laptop due to software limitations (with both iOS and Android) – I’d never be as productive with a tablet as I use a work PC macOS or even Windows.

With that in mind, I’d like to just lay on the couch with a tablet and check my email and social media, watch some videos, or play a few games. Because of the Lenovo Tab Extreme’s massive size, this is hard to do. And when I try to use it in the keyboard case it does So so heavy that I always feel it about to fall out of my lap; It is definitely one of those tablets that you need to use on a table or flat surface.

The idea of a large tablet might be appealing to some people who want to use it for work, and I get that. In fact, it may be cheaper than buying a laptop of the same size (15 inches). But I feel you could also sacrifice an inch or two and get a slightly smaller laptop for about the same price that would be better for productivity, with true multitasking desktop apps. No matter how good the tablet app is, the desktop versions never need to make compromises.

It’s just not my cup of tea

I can see why some people would be interested in these extra-large tablets, but for me, they’re just too big. One of the reasons I love tablets is that they can be more portable than a laptop.

But when you go to such large sizes, especially with a keyboard case that also adds some weight and bulk, it just defeats the purpose for me. At this point, if you want to try a laptop, why not just get a an actual laptop?

Fortunately, the tablet market is not flooded with these very large tablets. This niche corner of the tablet market only features devices like the Lenovo Tab Extreme I just reviewed or the Samsung Galaxy S8 Ultra, although Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S9 Ultra very soon.

I think an 11-inch size for a tablet is simply the perfect threshold, so I’ll stick to that. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but seriously, nobody truly It needs a huge disk.