Small Android tablet; lost cause?

[raysablade]

I'm increasingly conscious that my excellent Nexus 7 2013 tablet hasn't had an OS update for over year and will not get one in the future. It seems that the latest android version is 8.1 i'm stuck on 6.1

There is noting else wrong with the Nexus it is a great travel companion and along with a hotspot generated by my iPhone has all the functionality i need. I just feel that an OS that hasn't been updated for 2 years isn't a secure home for my data,

I've been looking at the current market for a replacement and to say it is underwhelming is an understatement. I was thinking that Android 6 would make my Nexus archaic but many tablets being sold new are still on this or even earlier versions.

The cheapest iPad mini is over £400 so i'm reluctant to bite the bullet with that, so I'm i'm leaning towards a regular iPad and a bit of extra weight. Before i take a trip to the Apple store am i missing a 7 or 8 inch android tablet that gets regular software updates?

[Plug]

I have to say I think this is an issue with Android; a few years ago I bought my first smartphone (a Sony), running Android 1.6, which was already old hat. I got a "free upgrade" to 2.1 when that came out and, er, that was it.

I used the phone for several years afterwards, but as you say, out of date OSes aren't great from a security point of view. I jumped ship to iPhone eventually, first with a 4S, then a 5S, then an SE. The Apple walled garden may not suit everyone, but at least it makes it easy to provide updates. The 4S can't be updated any more, but I think the 5S supports iOS 11, and it's a good few years old now.

What about a refurbished iPad mini? Have a look at the Apple store. My wife had her iPad mini 2 stolen in Prague last year, I got a replacement (mini 4, good as new, with full Apple warranty) for c. £260 IIRC. Should be good for a while yet.

Cheers,

Plug

[raysablade]

What about a refurbished iPad mini? Have a look at the Apple store. My wife had her iPad mini 2 stolen in Prague last year, I got a replacement (mini 4, good as new, with full Apple warranty) for c. £260 IIRC. Should be good for a while yet.

Thanks for reminding me of the refurbished store. They do have a Mini 4 for £319 but it seems that this latest version was released in 2015, i'm guessing that they don't see the mini format as a priority.

In contrast the cheapest ipad is £289 and this version was released in 2017, feels like i'm being boxed into a corner.

[jwillans]

Have you considered an Amazon fire tablet? The 10.1 is around £150 and seems to get favourable reviews. My sons have the 7" versions and they work really well.

[raysablade]

Have you considered an Amazon fire tablet? The 10.1 is around £150 and seems to get favourable reviews. My sons have the 7" versions and they work really well.

I hadn't, i guess that Amazon will be on top of security updates and they do seem wonderfully cheap. I will have a look at these at the weekend, thank you.

[Tony]

There's still plenty of people producing up to date firmware ROMs for the N7.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nex...13/development

[Dave S]

The small fire tablets are often on sale at around 35 quid. Practically disposable at that price. We’ve got a couple and one of the larger ones. SWMBO doesn’t like them, they are not iPad enough- they work like android if you see what I mean. I quite like them.

Dave

[Mr Tetley]

I hadn't, i guess that Amazon will be on top of security updates and they do seem wonderfully cheap. I will have a look at these at the weekend, thank you.

The Fire 8 HD seems to be very good value at £79.99 or £89.99 (without special offers being sent to your device).

[raysablade]

There's still plenty of people producing up to date firmware ROMs for the N7.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nex...13/development

Its an admirable effort but i'm not convinced that home-brewed software could address my security concerns

The small fire tablets are often on sale at around 35 quid. Practically disposable at that price. We’ve got a couple and one of the larger ones. SWMBO doesn’t like them, they are not iPad enough- they work like android if you see what I mean. I quite like them.

Dave

The only issue here is that I'm guessing that i can't simply import my Android apps and setting to the fire OS, as i would with a true Android device with the full play store. Will I have to start from scratch?

[Gruntfuttock]

Amazon Fire HD 8 or 10. Google Play store can be installed with a little fiddling.

[imb1]

I bought the 8" Fire as my old iPad was getting a bit slow. Fire OS is OK and gets updated but it really comes into its own with Amazon Prime. You can add Google Play onto it as well if there are apps that are not in the Amazon apps. The 8" has Alexa as well although you have to hold the button down to summon Alexa. The 10" will respond to voice wake ups like an Echo. Saw a good Youtube video of a reviewer hurtling the 10" around the room with no problem. If you did that with an iPad it would not have survived. The only trouble I am finding with the Fire is that it does get a bit unresponsive after a while and needs a reboot.

[spud767]

Samsung S2 8" ?? I've got the bigger one and I'm happy with it. I've also got the nexus and this will replace it.

[raysablade]

Samsung S2 8" ?? I've got the bigger one and I'm happy with it. I've also got the nexus and this will replace it.

Thanks, i'll add that to the ones i am looking at tomorrow.

[dice]

Its an admirable effort but i'm not convinced that home-brewed software could address my security concerns

Its usually not difficult to find one that is open source, meaning anything "baked" into the OS is totally transparent by anyone willing to compile it and have a look. These custom ROMs are also based on newer versions of Android, so a tablet that had a last update of Android 5 can theoretically run Android 7 with a few extra tweaks.

[kace]

They're still selling tabs with 6.01 as long as your apps are up to date I doubt there is a huge security risk.

[jwillans]

I hadn't, i guess that Amazon will be on top of security updates and they do seem wonderfully cheap. I will have a look at these at the weekend, thank you.

I bought an Amazon Fire 10 over the weekend for £150 - straightforward install of Google play store, an additional £10 to switch off the adverts and this is one of the best tablets I have used.

[PickleB]

My 8” Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has updated to Android 7.0 Nougat (link). I have no idea whether or when it might get to Oreo.