I've got a Samsung Android tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab S I can't even remember which number) which I primarily use for movies / games / web browsing / email etc when travelling. It's a few years old now but I haven't bothered replacing it since I haven't been travelling in recent years (for obvious reasons). Now that travel is potentially on the cards for me again early next year, I'm looking at upgrading to something new. I'm wondering if I'm better off just going for a new tablet or considering a Chromebook? From what I understand, the Chromebook should be compatible with my existing Android apps / games, and I should be able to download movies from my Google Play library to watch offline during flights etc. Is that correct?
A new Galaxy Tab S8 (wifi, 128gb storage) costs $969 on Amazon, plus add on about $75 for a keyboard case (or $329 for the official Samsung one wtf) to make it easier to write emails and post crap on OzB. So if I set a budget of around $1000 (can go a bit over if necessary - say I was going to buy the Samsung keyboard case so total budget for comparison purposes could be up to $1300), is there a Chromebook that would be a better option in terms of features, performance, screen, utility etc?
I did some reading and there were some good reviews of the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 and 713 (the 713 probably beyond my budget anyway), but neither of these seem to be available in Australia and I'd rather not get one from overseas in case of warranty issues etc. So it needs to be sold and supported through official channels locally. Only need wifi connectivity, don't have to be able to put a SIM in it. Ideally with touchscreen. Also not really interested in changing to an Apple / Windows / whatever device due to already having apps, games, movies etc (which are my main use for it) in the Android ecosystem.
Or am I better off just getting a new Android tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and basically stick with the new version of what I've already got, which was doing the job OK last time I travelled?
My experience:
Some android apps will work on ChromeOS. The one game I wanted to run would not start. The PlayStation app won’t start. Fastmail and mSecure work fine and those are the ones I really need.
You also have the option of Linux and that includes steam but it’s a lot of hoops to jump through to get steam working and then you have to deal with Linux compatibility with games and graphic performance. I realise you didn’t ask that but hey. You need a lot of storage space for Linux etc.
So if you absolutely need particular android apps to run, either test them out first (hard to do) or stick with a proper android device.