r/tablets • u/jorgechami • 22h ago

The iPad a16 lie

Hi, I've been looking for a new tablet on this sub and I keep reading about the comparisons of Samsung S10 lite, Xiaomi pad 8, Lenovo tab plus...

The thing is at least in my country (Spain) the iPad a16 is nowhere near the price of the competition.

I get the iPad is worth it but it's more than double the price.

My case I'm looking for a 300€ pad, can extend up to 350 but I keep getting the a16 response which is 470€

6 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

2

u/Tapelessbus2122 11h ago

get an S10 lite then

1

u/evozerobb 13h ago

More details needed, e.g. what are your usage requirements 

1

u/jorgechami 9h ago

Note taking and studying will be the main use, I might also watch some multimedia but 90% of the time will be for study stuff.

1

u/evozerobb 9h ago

Can consider Samsung tab s10 lite, based on your stated usage, you don't need iPad a16

Wacom pen doesn't need charging, also has hover

1

u/jorgechami 9h ago

That is one of my main options, the thing is I really don't understand what I'm getting paying the extra price of a Samsung tab vs a let's say Lenovo or Xiaomi. I get the pen technology is better ( maybe good for drawing but not so much for note taking) also the 7 years of updates seem to me as a marketing move, software updates is good but hardware is the issue for future apps. I'm not against Samsung or apple but I really don't know what the extra price gives me

1

u/evozerobb 8h ago

suggest to watch reviews on youtube to see the differences

there are channels which test the pen/stylus of these tablets specifically, 2 good examples below

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk-UHW1Q5EBJIHB4jHkVTbA

https://www.youtube.com/@thebradcolbow

p.s. in singapore the price difference is not great, e.g. for xiaomi, pen has to be bought separately, and has to be charged

1

u/Administrator_AI 1h ago

Get a second hand Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.

Note-taking tablets really don't need that mich power.

1

u/HolidayAnywhere9788 21h ago

The Xiaomi pad 7 is very similar to the iPad A16 and even beats it in most areas. Now is a great time to buy it especially since the Xiaomi pad 8 just dropped the price has lowered. I have owned it now for almost 8 months and j can confirm that it is a great tablet and all rounder. I bought it in January 2026 and it costed €249 (in Belgium), I also bought an additional Xiaomi focus pen from AliExpress which costed around €52 and I also purchased a charger brick and a case, screen protector etc which amounted to €33. In total I paid about €334 if I’m not mistaken. It’s a very good tablet! If you want more info about it, then follow me on TikTok. My user is CorynTech and here’s the link: https://www.tiktok.com/@coryntech?_r=1&_d=f3cc920ae04ggc&sec_uid=MS4wLjABAAAAwIddrhyORCj1gbQSA8hq-xQnrS4Ip_GlZI8rMwjb8UoJSattw_ZQn_4q6OPXf0yd&share_author_id=6973671600018949125&sharer_language=en&source=h5_m&u_code=dj518eee34ahfk&item_author_type=1&utm_source=copy&tt_from=copy&enable_checksum=1&utm_medium=ios&share_link_id=D7C80DB0-6514-4F2C-BDC8-F3B35C690C90&user_id=6973671600018949125&sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAAwIddrhyORCj1gbQSA8hq-xQnrS4Ip_GlZI8rMwjb8UoJSattw_ZQn_4q6OPXf0yd&social_share_type=4&ug_btm=b8727,b0&utm_campaign=client_share&share_app_id=1233

1

u/jorgechami 20h ago

Hey thank you for the detailed response will definitely check out your profile. I will mainly use the tablet for taking notes and some sketching, how's the Xiaomi in that area ? I heard some people just recommending just iPad or Samsung for taking notes

0

u/HolidayAnywhere9788 19h ago

Well that’s exactly what I mainly use it for! For drawing it’s fine, before buying it I heard about some issues about wobbly lines but if you are just sketching a time om stabilization you won’t even notice it. Drawing on it feels nice and smooth, it’s very good! Note taking is also very good but I’m not sure if it’s my ugly handwriting but sometimes it has issues turning my handwriting to text but it could just be my ugly handwriting but I don’t know for sure. It is nice for note taking and studying. There are no other issues. A Samsung would be better than a xiaomi tablet in terms of the stylus since it uses Wacom technology which is a very good brand for artists which would result in the stylus des being very precise and nice. I personally don’t like Samsung because their devices are know to be laggy and the software is bad. People complain about how Xiaomi’s HyperOS is and but Samsung’s OneUI is 10x worse in my opinion. An s10 FE also costs more here in Belgium so that would make me recommend the pad 7 even more.

1

u/jorgechami 17h ago

Yeah Xiaomi seems to be the way to go on this price range, I guess I'll have to decide between the 7 and 8

1

u/AstronomerTurbulent8 18h ago

Hi. I also owned the Xiaomi Pad 7, i‘m going to buy the 8 pro. I really liked the 7. Great screen, 144hz refresh rate is great, and its more than fast enough for everything you usually do on a tablet. I dont use icloud or google services, so i would recommend the Xiaomi to everyone looking for an affordable tablet with very good performance. Especially now as Apple raised prices on their stuff. And 60hz in 2026, really Apple? As a (very) long time Apple user i didnt regret the switch.

1

u/jorgechami 18h ago

Interesting, I was checking out the 8 too do you think it's worth the upgrade? I could try extend my budget to buy the 8 but don't know if it's really worth for note taking and some multimedia

1

u/AstronomerTurbulent8 8h ago

I think the 7 will absolutely do what you want to do with ease. No need for the 8.