Tablets have been around us for quite some time now, but the most popular and commonly used ones are the iPads. It’s not like Android tablets don’t exist. They are out there in the market, yet fail to attract consumers. In this article, I discuss the key factors that resulted in the downfall of Android tablets, and the importance of UX in their revival.

Why did Android tablets fail?

The concept of tablets became popular when Apple released the first iPad in 2010. And the iPad lineup has grown since then, and has attracted numerous consumers across the globe. Following the initial success of the iPad, Android OEMs also tried to enter this segment. However, Android tablets couldn’t compete with their Apple counterparts, and soon witnessed a downfall.

Tablets are not meant for everyone

It is evident that tablets do not pose the same use cases for all consumers. In fact, tablets as personal devices are meant only for specific people. That’s because smartphones satisfy most of the general requirements. And with phones getting bigger every year, general public doesn’t necessarily need tablets. Further, for any specific advanced tasks, there are laptops and PCs. Thus, tablets need to provide something truly compelling.

UX is the key

One might then question — how did the iPad find its path to success? The answer is “by focusing on certain segments of users”. There’s no doubt that the iPad lineup rose to fame due to its great overall design and ease of use. Though the iPad has gradually evolved to fit a wider set of use cases, the primary reason behind its success is that Apple delivered specific features useful for certain people. For example, modern professional artists and content creators see a huge value in using an iPad because it helps them get the stuff done more easily than a laptop or a phone. Today, iPad has become more of a general device which can be used by anyone. For instance, an iPad can be used for recreational and entertainment purposes. Even for such a simple and generic use case, Apple has particularly implemented features in the software in order to provide an amazing experience. The optimisation of apps for the iPad makes it a great device.

Android tablets didn’t have the right focus

On the contrary, Android tablets didn’t do this. OEMs simply built large screen devices running on Android, which wasn’t enough to stand a chance in front of the superior iPad. Consistently poor designs and lack of support from the developer community further made Android tablets almost unusable. As a matter of fact, Google did put in its fair share of efforts by rolling out Android Honeycomb (which was dedicated for large screen devices, particularly tablets) and launching the Nexus tablets. But the vast variety of devices in the Android ecosystem made it difficult for Google to optimise the OS. Samsung was one of the key players in producing good Android tablets, but the company indirectly killed its tablet segment by introducing the Galaxy Note series (which was referred to as “phablet” at the time). It can be assumed that Google didn’t support the tablets either, as the focus naturally shifted to Pixel Slate and Chromebooks. Today, there are companies which still make Android tablets, but they have a very small market share because these devices are nowhere near to the iPad.

Is there any scope for Android tablets?

Probably, yes. Android tablets have missed out on the user experience that any tablet should ideally provide. This is the exact thing that iPads have been great at, since so many years. By tapping into the opportunity to improve UX, I believe there is still a good chance that Android tablets can be revived.

Responsive design for software

The native Android OS should be optimised to be responsive at all levels for different screen sizes. Android already does this for phones (since we have phones with several aspect ratios), and widening the scope will only make it better for the tablets to take advantage of the responsive UI.

Dedicated tablet mode apps

While this might be difficult to achieve, it can do wonders for the world of Android tablets. Developers should provide tablet specific versions of their apps that leverage the huge screen size and deliver a promising experience. Developing apps tailored to suit certain use cases can further increase the adoption of Android tablets.

Tablet specific features

Making the UI responsive and having optimised apps doesn’t necessarily cut it. Android tablets need to take a step further and offer tablet specific features natively to increase productivity. For example, Apple’s iPadOS comes with features that are handy and useful on the iPad.

Conclusion

To be honest, there is a need of collaborated efforts to make Android tablets great again. These devices have to go a long way to match the standards of the iPad. With the importance of UX consistently growing in today’s world, OEMs have to grab this opportunity to reposition Android tablets in the market.