ANDROID: In the beginning most chose Android, Samsung was the brand that most migrated to. A Samsung running Android was cheaper than an Apple and it had far more options for apps. Android runs the JW App well and is quick and they are still far more affordable than an Apple. However that may be changing. Recently Samsung changed their naming method and when considering both the 8” and 10” there are a possible 98 different Samsung tablet names to choose from. In many of them the only difference is in what limits are placed on the OS. There are some lower priced Samsung tablets that do not have a rotation option if you go from horizontal to vertical. Some of the differences are hardware and then a combination of hardware and software features. When I was using Samsung I went from a Tab 2, to a Tab 4 to a 2013 Note. Each of those was a fully featured Samsung tablet in its time. The Tab 4 was my favorite, however to get those same features today will cost far more than I paid several years ago. Samsung has made their own tablet field so complicated that many give up and buy the most costly just because they believe they will get the entire package. In short Samsung has now become as costly as Apple. But using an Android for Theocratic reasons come down to will it run the JW App? Yes, so if you want an affordable tablet to run o nly the JW App a cheap Android will do.
APPLE: To start I am not a fan of Apple products, but only because they are locked into their own restrictions and Apple will charge you your first born child for those restrictions. (I am not speaking of any systems that have been jailbroke.) Apple tablets are costly and beyond the reach of many on budgets. They also do not have a large built in storage system so much of your personal data remains on the cloud. Another drawback is when Apple does a major OS update you will not be able to migrate all of your data to the new OS or a new tablet. I am aware of several who have older Apple tablets and used the provided ePub software to make notes and now they have learned they can’t migrate their notes to the latest Apple OS. These ones are at a loss. For a serious student this can be a very daunting and disappointing occurrence, in effect you lose all your personal study data. Also recently Apple lost their patient lawsuit against Android so the door is open to both Android and Windows to create similar versions of the same apps. Also Apple recently announced that they are requesting from the government to disallow owners or techs that are not Apple Certified to work on their own systems. If this request is granted than for every aspect that requires any work on an Apple device one would have to call a certified Apple tech. The cost can reach unaffordable quickly. However Apple products appear to be very easy for the elderly and tech challenged to manage easier. I have seen ones try to use an Android or Windows system and was unable to “catch on”. But when given an Apple device they were able to manage quickly. So it appears that Apple tablets are easy enough to learn that they work well for the elderly and challenged.
WINDOWS 10: As I mentioned above I started out on an Android system, but sooner or later we must give up the toys or go from milk to meat. I currently use a 11” Dell Venue. It runs Windows 10 Creator and Windows has come a long way with 10. It is as if Microsoft finally got it right. Windows 10 Creator is a fully functional OS, no RT or Windows S, it has the full features of a desktop OS. With the Creator update it has some toys that Apple has and Redstone will have more. Windows 10 has the same hardware features as a laptop so if you shop for one have the same mental attitude as if shopping for a laptop, because you can do far more with a Windows 10 tablet then you can with Android, also the last benchmarks between Apple and Windows, Windows based systems can out preform Apple in the hardware department. Windows 10 runs the JW App and very quickly, the response time is fast for opening, however in a recent update to all versions of the JW App, the App looks for an Internet connection when loading. This added feature causes a delay in all versions but if you attempt to tap anything in the App while it is looking for the connection it may crash. I am hoping this feature will be removed. Windows 10 also runs the full DVD version of the Watchtower Library that is the DVD disc with everything on it. So you get the JW App and the WT Lib all on one tablet. So when you study you can copy can paste notes straight from the WT Lib to the JW App, it makes studying so much more entertaining.
So in short