Which gaming tablet is suitable for gamers who want to play “Call of Duty”, “Fortnite” and “League of Legends” and what do players who use cloud gaming need to consider? The comparison of the tablets reveals it.
Designated gaming tablets are a rarity. The chip manufacturer Nvidia, known for graphics cards, dared an experiment years ago with its Shield Tablet K1 – and failed. In the meantime, tablets for gamers have become quiet, but that doesn’t hurt mobile gaming, on the contrary: more and more players are dueling in the mobile versions of “Fortnite”, “Call Duty” and “League of Legends”. If you want to play performance-hungry games smoothly at full detail, you need a powerful tablet.
With Samsung and Apple, two manufacturers are dueling for the performance crown. Gamers can ignore the front or rear camera when choosing a gaming tablet, but a large screen and a high refresh rate do no harm so that the games run smoothly on the tablet. A lot of RAM is nice, but not necessarily a must, and if you want to keep the system memory free of videos, pictures and music, you can also use small amounts of memory.
Gaming on the Apple iPad Pro
A package of strong hardware and lots of memory combined Apple’s iPad Pro. The gaming tablet uses the first generation M2 processor, which is also installed in the MacBook Air 2022. The processor’s integrated graphics unit displays games on the 11-inch display. Nice: It offers a refresh rate of 120 Hertz. Anyone who throws themselves into battle without a headset can hear their opponents via four loudspeakers. 8 gigabytes of RAM assist the processor in its work. It doesn’t sound like much, but it doesn’t harm the performance of the iPad Pro when playing games.
Why? Apple is one of the few tablet manufacturers that develops hardware and software itself. This means the Californians are able to better tailor their iPadOS to their in-house processors. In matters Apple is thus able to escape the competition in terms of speed, although the technical data on paper may speak a different language. When it comes to system memory, gamers can choose between 128, 256, 512 gigabytes or 1 terabyte of storage space. By the way: From 1 terabyte of memory, the RAM increases to 16 GB.
Controllers connect to the iPad Pro via Bluetooth. If you have a PlayStation 4, switch on yours Dualshock controller easily with the tablet. The same applies to Xbox controller. However, the Pro version of the iPad is not cheap: players shell out around 900 euros for the 11-inch version with 128 gigabytes of storage space without a 5G module. Apple promises up to 10 hours of battery life for its Pro tablet. The tablet probably won’t be able to do this under gaming load, but it should be enough for a gaming session lasting several hours.
Gaming tablet: Apple causes trouble
But Apple wouldn’t be Apple if the company didn’t still put obstacles in the way of its gamers: The tech giant is in a quarrel with game developer Epic Games and has thrown its hit game “Fortnite” out of the App Store because of the payment system. If you want to play the battle royal thriller on the go, you have to use an Android tablet.
However, if you plan to play games on your iPad via Microsoft’s Game Pass, you can do so. Of course, you need a monthly Xbox subscription for this, but then all you need to do is download the app from the Aplle app store and log in to your Xbox account there. It is recommended to connect a Bluetooth controller to the iPad.
Alternative: iPad Air 2022
If the Apple quarrels haven’t frightened you yet, you’ll find it here iPad Air 2022 a cheaper alternative to the Pro versions. Compared to the 11-inch version of the iPad Pro 2022, the Air is slightly smaller with a 10.9-inch screen diagonal. The display still has a resolution as sharp as the Pro versions in terms of pixels per inch ratio.
Small drawback: The iPad Air does not offer a refresh rate of 120 Hertz. In terms of performance, the tablet doesn’t have to hide: Apple’s M1 chip is at work in it. It is a little older and less powerful than the M2 chip in the Pro versions. It has 8 gigabytes of RAM. When it comes to storage space, buyers of the iPad Air only have the choice between little or mediocrity: at least 64 and a maximum of 256 gigabytes of games, photos or videos can be stored in the storage, depending on your choice.
64 gigabytes is really not much. If you get the smallest version of the iPad Air 2022, you will “only” pay around 700 euros. By the way: Apple’s gaming offering Arcade runs on Pro and Air, as well as on Mac and iPhone. The tech giant charges 4.99 euros per month for the subscription. Anyone who is already at home in the Apple world can’t go wrong with the iPad Air as a gaming tablet.
Apple has another restriction in place for the Air and Pro: the mouse and keyboard can be connected to both tablets via the USB-C interface dongle or connect via Bluetooth – but only to operate the tablets. If you’re thinking of playing shooters like “Call of Duty Mobile” with a mouse and keyboard, Apple will disappoint you. That doesn’t work either.
More freedom with Android
Gamers who choose an Android-powered tablet enjoy a little more freedom. In terms of performance, this is in the upper class Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus. An OLED display with a pixel density of 266 pixels per inch stretches across a screen diagonal of 12.4 inches – two more than the iPad Pro and Air. In other respects, too, the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus is in no way inferior to Apple’s Pro versions: The display offers a refresh rate of 120 Hertz.
When it comes to RAM, Samsung is on par with its competitors from Cupertino: the South Koreans have given the gaming tablet 12 gigabytes of random access memory. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor also does its job in the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus. Its eight cores clock between 2 and 3.36 gigahertz. Samsung offers its upper-class tablet with 256 and 512 gigabytes of storage space.
Cloud gaming
The memory can be expanded by 256 GB via microSD. Apple iPads don’t offer that. Processor, RAM, display and storage space – all of this is easily enough for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus for the mobile versions of “Call of Duty”, “Players Unknown Battleground” and of course “Fortnite”. The tablet flexes its muscles when streaming games: Microsoft Game Pass customers stream their favorite titles directly to the tablet if they have a subscription.
Depending on the variant, the Galaxy S9 Plus also has 5G. Anyone who streams games on the go in the future will want faster mobile internet on board. The iPad Pro’s Android competition is not cheap: Samsung charges 1,119 euros for the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus without and 1,269 euros with 5G. Apple and Samsung agree on one point: the Galaxy Tab S9 Plus also reacts allergically to the mouse and keyboard used for gaming. Bluetooth controllers, on the other hand, are happy to receive them, just like iPads. Samsung is silent about the battery life.
Galaxy Tab S8 Plus: The Android alternative
Android gamers get it cheaper with this Galaxy Tab S8 Plus of that. At 12.4 inches diagonally, it is the same size as the in-house top model. It also offers a refresh rate of 120 Hertz and even uses the same display technology, i.e. an AMOLED display. You have to make compromises when it comes to RAM: Unfortunately, the smallest version of the Tab S8 Plus only offers 8 GB of RAM. Samsung also allows less leeway when it comes to storage space: gamers can choose between 128 and 256 gigabytes for videos, photos and apps.
Nice: Although the built-in Snapdragon processor is a little older, it should last for games for the next three to four years because it only has a slightly slower clock speed than the newer Snapdragon in the S9 Plus. If you rely on 5G and want to save, you can choose the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus, because you currently pay 836 euros for the 5G version (as of May 2024). Without 5G the price is even noticeable 759 euros in the smallest version.
Are previous models worth it?
For Apple users, it’s worth taking a look at the iPad Pros from 2021 – at least if you don’t necessarily want a gaming tablet with a 120 Hertz refresh rate. They’re not easy to find. Usually only the remaining stocks are sold off. The M1 chip, which also works in the current iPad Air, works in them.
Android gamers are also well advised to use previous models. Like the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus and Tab S9 Plus, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus has an OLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hertz, offers decent processor and graphics performance and, depending on the version, 6 or 8 gigabytes of RAM. However, the tablet is no longer available.
Stream over home network
By the way: If you already own a tablet, you can let your home gaming computer do the math and stream PC games to the tablet. However, this requires a fast home network with a fast internet connection and stable WiFi reception. The private cloud gaming service is made possible by apps like Rainway or SteamLink. However, gamers can only be happy within their own four walls.
Another negative point: Not every computer game can be enjoyed on the tablet. Shooters like “Counter Strike – Global Offensive” run via stream, but cannot be played properly with a mouse and keyboard. Advantage Steam: The provider shows its customers which games via SteamLink app work on the gaming tablet. Most of the time these are games that are optimized for controller operation. Rainway advantage: The app enables game streaming with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz.
Editor’s note: Prices may vary from time to time.
Note: This article was first published in January 2021 and updated in May 2024.
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Sources: Chip.de, Chip.de, T3N.de, Netzwelt.de
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