Tablet (Technology) Experts

[Leon103]

Are there any experts with Tablets?

I want to buy a tablet that will soley be used to run the Zwift cycling app.

The app's minimum recommended requirements are:

Device	Requirements	Notes
Android®	Android® 7.0 or higher Arm64-v8a ABI (Arm64 architecture) At least 1 Gig of Ram OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher Bluetooth version 4.0 or higher	If you're not able to find the Zwift app in the Google Play Store from your Android® device, it's not compatible with Zwift.

I have had a look at some, listed below. They all seem similar. As far as i can see they meet the requirements. Any thoughts?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08WRCYD8M/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09HV7H3GX/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A2ZNKCSENH0PPF&psc=1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09FJMZN46/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A2WQ69GIVXX5BC&psc=1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B096KVBN9M/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4?smid=A35VVNIQ1RMVB2&psc=1

 

[Galena]

Do you intend to use the screen for the viewing or send it to a large screen TV via HDMI (which is what I do)?

 

[Leon103]

Do you intend to use the screen for the viewing or send it to a large screen TV via HDMI (which is what I do)?

View on the tablet, not that I spend much time looking at it.
The plan is to build a pain cave with tv and Apple tv for the zwift but I am in no rush for that

 

[Galena]

I mistook you meant tablet and thought laptop, and I have no experience with tablets so sorry I can't help.

 

[Leon103]

I mistook you meant tablet and thought laptop, and I have no experience with tablets so sorry I can't help.

Did think laptop but I think tablet will be enough just for zwift.

 

[dwhite60]

I bought a Lenovo Duet Chromebook that meets those specs. Very inexpensive for what it is. Detachable keyboard so it easily becomes a tablet. Now, it's not near top of the line but easily adequate for my needs. The keyboard with this device is actually quite usable for its size.

I bought a Lenovo M10 HD for my mother and younger brother. Both are very good machines. M10HD might be a bit better than my Duet.

 

[Graz]

I bought a couple of these for my kids earlier on in the year: Alldocube iPlay 40 UNISOC T618 Octa Core 8GB RAM 128GB ROM 4G LTE 10.4 Inch 2K Screen Android 10 Tablet

Amazing value for money. Would be very surprised if they weren't capable of running the Zwift app, next time I go downstairs for a cuppa I'll have a look on the play store and see if it comes up.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I want to buy a tablet that will soley be used to run the Zwift cycling app.

I've no specific expertise - other than we did briefly have a Zwift setup in the house before the boss decided that a 20kph treadmill wasn't fast enough for her (!), and I used it once I think (as a 12kph-is-plenty jogger). And it was a non wireless one so we couldn't do all of the clever stuff.

One thing you can pay a lot for with tablets is weight, or lack of it - but obviously that is less relevant for this application.

As you're finding, bog standard tablets these days have plenty of juice for running Zwift, the things I'd look at would be :

Screen - they do vary, although even the cheap ones these days seem to be reasonable. Depends what you want to do, whether you're just using Zwift for the stats or whether you want to get into the "VR" side of it - personally I can sort of believe the VR on a 10" screen when I'm on a bike, but I'd want a bigger screen on a treadmill where you're further away from it (particularly since I'm tall). You can always combine the pain cave with a home cinema....

Sound - not relevant if you just want stats, but I guess if you're into the VR thing it might help?

Wireless - check what the Wifi signal is like, Wifi ac will definitely help if the signal is a bit dodgy. And think about adding a booster if necessary.

Black Friday (26 Nov) can be a good time to get this kind of stuff, especially if you're OK with "last year's model" which in this case will be fine.

 

[Leon103]

I've no specific expertise - other than we did briefly have a Zwift setup in the house before the boss decided that a 20kph treadmill wasn't fast enough for her (!), and I used it once I think (as a 12kph-is-plenty jogger). And it was a non wireless one so we couldn't do all of the clever stuff.

One thing you can pay a lot for with tablets is weight, or lack of it - but obviously that is less relevant for this application.

As you're finding, bog standard tablets these days have plenty of juice for running Zwift, the things I'd look at would be :

Screen - they do vary, although even the cheap ones these days seem to be reasonable. Depends what you want to do, whether you're just using Zwift for the stats or whether you want to get into the "VR" side of it - personally I can sort of believe the VR on a 10" screen when I'm on a bike, but I'd want a bigger screen on a treadmill where you're further away from it (particularly since I'm tall). You can always combine the pain cave with a home cinema....

Sound - not relevant if you just want stats, but I guess if you're into the VR thing it might help?

Wireless - check what the Wifi signal is like, Wifi ac will definitely help if the signal is a bit dodgy. And think about adding a booster if necessary.

Black Friday (26 Nov) can be a good time to get this kind of stuff, especially if you're OK with "last year's model" which in this case will be fine.

Thanks. I won't be playing around with VR, didn't know you could do that on zwift

 

[Chico1980]

I’ve not used any of the devices you’ve searched out but…. I have used Zwift occasionally on my approx 2015 IPAD 3, which when browsing the internet feels like it’s using a dial up connection. But Zwift is fine as long as I don’t choose HD graphics.
I think what you need to think about is whether your going to be only using blue tooth or want to add in ANT+. My previous smart trainer’s power meter (Bluetooth ) was a joke so used my 4iiii ANT + crank with a dongle on my laptop for power. My tablet couldn’t connect to this as it was Bluetooth only.
If your using Bluetooth connections most of those tablets should have better specs than my old IPAD.
Personally a laptop with a ANT+ dongle is the way forward. Bigger screen, better connection to your trainer with ANT+.
I use Zwift several times a week and neither my laptop or tablets particularly modern. But my experience is always positive/painful!

 

[Chico1980]

This is a screen shot from my basic laptop

 

[Leon103]

Thanks both. I had been using my wife's laptop but she always needs it, so recently it's been via my phone. No issues apart from small screen. Bluetooth seems to work fine.

I am now thinking of a Lenovo p11 plus tablet.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Thanks. I won't be playing around with VR, didn't know you could do that on zwift

Just for clarity by VR I don't mean the full headset thing (although Zwift have been demonstrating headset compatibility for 5+ years without AFAIK actually going live), just the "pretend you're in a race" thing on screen - the boss was just using it for the stats for her running club during lockdown rather than the virtual race feature.

But Zwift is fine as long as I don’t choose HD graphics.

All these things are reasonably demanding of graphics hardware, which is an argument against using the bottom-end specs.

I think what you need to think about is whether your going to be only using blue tooth or want to add in ANT+. ...Personally a laptop with a ANT+ dongle is the way forward. Bigger screen, better connection to your trainer with ANT+.

I think these days the balance is tipping towards going all-Bluetooth.

(for those that don't know, ANT+ is the lightweight wireless standard that was designed in 2003 for the low data rates and extra-low power consumption needed for talking to exercise kit as opposed to Bluetooth which is designed to cope with higher data rates needed to stream music etc, and in the noughties had rather higher power consumption. ANT+ is now an open protocol owned by Garmin, but low-power versions of Bluetooth and Bluetooth's ubiquity on phones/tablets and huge economies of scale mean that it's encroaching on applications that used to be the preserve of ANT+. Although you can get ANT+ dongles for both laptops and tablets, if you're starting from scratch I'd be tempted to go all-Bluetooth.

I've got an old bit of kit that is ANT+ only, it does have a Bluetooth upgrade available but it costs enough of an arm and a leg that I'd be eligible for the Paralympics. So I've ended up buying a £30 dual-mode chest belt which means I can use the ANT+ to show my heartrate in realtime, and Bluetooth it to my phone record it and work out averages etc. It's not as slick as having the Bluetooth upgrade to the machine which can then do a single upload of the session, but it's good enough for my purposes - I have a standard session that I do, and all I need to know is the total distance and average heart rate.

If it wasn't for the legacy kit, I'd go all-Bluetooth.

 

[Galena]

I think these days the balance is tipping towards going all-Bluetooth.

Most power meters use Ant+ though, so if like me (and many other users) using a dumb trainer with power meter, I think you will need Ant+

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Most power meters use Ant+ though, so if like me (and many other users) using a dumb trainer with power meter, I think you will need Ant+

Power meters are a good example of how things are changing - to take a random example, the 3 cheapest offered by Wiggle all support both standards. So the options are there if you're buying new - and if you're using one on a road bike, it's handy to be able to use it with your phone without having to faff with dongles.

Yes it will depend a bit on exactly what kit you use and how you use it, but generally the world is moving to at least dual-mode.

When I bought my kit, Bluetooth wasn't an option, but whilst I'm very happy with it, I wouldn't buy it if I was buying today just because it's so Bluetooth-hostile (whereas a competitor is much better on all that side of things - hardware and software).