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0 pointsNextgrid6y ago0 comments

iPad succeeds in these examples because it's a consistent environment with updates.

The problem with the cheap Android tablet is that unless the entire world standardises on a single model of tablet for these purposes you'd have all kinds of quirks around hardware, etc. Updates are also another issue even on premium-priced Android devices, so the cheap one is a lost cause.

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6 comments · 2 top-level

flixic6y ago· 2 in thread

Updates themselves are an assumption. I imagine a large percentage of cafe checkout and meeting room booking tablets are never updated once installed.

The distinction here is Appliance vs Computing Platform. And so far many tablets are seen as appliances, not computers.

Mindwipe6y ago

I doubt it's so much doing updates as it is about support. If they have a vendor app (like Square on a tablet to take payments) and that abandons older OS versions to lower technical debt or for security reasons then at least they can update.

On Android you'd sadly find the lack of kernel compatibility with the chipset means that ever happens.

samatman6y ago

If they're iPads, this is unlikely.

All one has to do is leave them connected to power and WiFi overnight.

It's more likely that the typical cafe checkout iPad is silently updated on a regular basis, after close of business, and the staff don't notice at all; since they're going to be password protected, they just punch in in the morning, as usual.

zozbot2346y ago· 2 in thread

Updates can be provided by the community in many cases. Buy cheap LineageOS-supported tablet, unlock the bootloader and put LineageOS on, you're done. (Then once pmOS gets good enough for your use case, your device will be software-supported for the entirety of its useful life, by a mainstream, desktop-like OS. You don't get anything like that on the iPad - the best you can do is reuse it as an additional screen for a Mac via Sidecar.)

NextgridOP6y ago

The community is not an acceptable answer for a business deploying thousands of these. With an iPad you are guaranteed X years of updates. With the community, you may or may not get an update, it might have quirks and installing it might be non-trivial.

zozbot2346y ago

If you're deploying "thousands" of these devices, you can standardize on a single model and even get custom support. The iPad might still be a good choice then, but it's definitely not the only one.

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