It’s been many years since Apple stopped being present at conferences, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to attend major tech events like the Mobile World Congress. For four days, Barcelona becomes the technological capital of the world and we have the opportunity to get closer to see what new features Apple’s rival brands present.
What we saw at MWC 2024 clearly shows us that each competitor is going their own way, but there is one sector where we see that there hasn’t been a lot of innovation lately. Yes, I’m talking about tabletswhere Apple can surprise us this year.
All tablets are identical on the outside
A visit among the exhibitors at Mobile World Congress shows us some interesting innovations: Lenovo presented a laptop with a transparent screen and the Samsung Galaxy Ring clearly shows that there is interest in smart rings.
But what has been observed regarding tablets clearly shows one thing: the sector has been stagnant and without ideas for some time. The vast majority of what we’ve seen are tablets that have simply sought look as much like the iPad Pro as possible.
An example could be the Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro, which at first glance can hardly be differentiated from the current iPad. The design is identical, the keyboard follows the same system as the Magic Keyboard… perhaps what is most different is the pencil, which turns black. Even the operating system itself is almost an iPadOS clone. In Xataka you can read the analysis of its little brother, the Xiaomi Pad 6.
Perhaps one trend we’ve seen that differs from Apple (at least for now) is size. Tablets from brands like Xiaomi or Samsung reach enormous sizes, exceeding 14 inches. Here is a waiter holding the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra in his hands:
It seems gigantic and it is: Samsung’s most professional bet is the screen of a MacBook Pro converted to touch. And I will say one thing in its favor: it may not be the most portable device in the world but it is very attractive to be able to play with your fingers on such a large panel. And Samsung has managed to make something like this quite lightweight too.
But also in this bet by Samsung we still have the same: a tablet almost identical to the iPad Pro, without anything extraordinary that surprises. The only thing that has changed is that these tablets They are larger and their keyboard/trackpad is more generous.
Among them, a much lower thickness (and therefore a little more lightness) is envisaged, and a new Magic Keyboard with metallic finishes and a larger trackpad. Perhaps this will lead to new features in iPadOS, which would bring this system even closer to what macOS is today.
We’ll be paying attention, as we could see these new tablets throughout March or April. Whether at a new Apple event or with a simple web launch and with all the details in press releases.
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