Samsung Ativ Q

By some estimates, as many as 7 million Australians currently use a tablet. And tablets could make up half of first-time computer purchases by 2017, according to new Gartner research. But the real question is: what shiny new tablet will you be streaming 2014’s World Cup on? Let’s preview upcoming tablets — known and rumoured — along with the processor, display and operating system technologies that will drive them.

Also: Next Year’s Smartphones: What Should We Expect?

Top Image: Shutterstock

The Brands

Google

The new Nexus 7 2013-edition is unstoppably good, despite some niggling touch problems.

And the 32GB 4G model has finally come to Australia.

What’s next? A refresh of the 10-inch, Asus-made Nexus 10 is next up — possibly as early as the end of October, along with Google’s Nexus 5 smartphone. We’re expecting (hoping for?) Android 4.4 KitKat, a super high-resolution display, Tegra 4, and a quad-core processor.

Apple

We won’t have to wait long for the next batch of Apple tablets if the latest rumours are to be believed. According to recent speculation, Apple will be holding a tablet event on 22 October to refresh the iPad range. We’re expecting a new iPad that looks a lot like its smaller counterpart in terms of design, as well as an updated iPad mini with a high-resolution Retina display.

That Retina display may turn out to be more trouble than it’s worth, however, with stock shortages set to play havoc on the launch.

More: Apple iPad Mini Rumour Roundup: Everything We Think We Know.

Asus

Samsung isn’t the only one announcing large and fast tablets at IFA. Alongside its new Zenbooks, Asus also launched the Transformer Pad TF710T, its latest and fastest Android tablet.

Running on a Tegra 4 processor with a quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU 1.9GHz with 2GB of RAM and a 2560 x 1600 pixel IGZO-TFT display, the Transformer Pad TF710T will, so Asus claims, run for 17 hours when docked. The mobile dock isn’t just key to its battery power, which otherwise is claimed at 13 hours, but also adds USB 3.0 and SDXC ports.

What’s really interesting is the upcoming Transformer Book Trio, a dual processor-weilding device that staking its claim to tablet, notebook, and desktop territory. The 11-incher packs an Atom processor behind the glass to run Android 4.2.2 as a tablet with 64GB of flash storage. Then, when you plug it into the keyboard dock, you’ll be treated to a Windows 8, a 4th generation Core i7-4500U, 1TB of hard drive space, and a larger battery.

And don’t forget about Asus’ 11.6- and 13.3-inch Taichi convertibles, 6-inch Fonepad Note FHD, 7-inch Fonepad and the Padfone 2. The latter is a 4.7-inch Android phone that docks into a 10.1-inch tablet.

Samsung

Samsung isn’t afraid to throw a bunch of different tablet sizes at the wall, with different form factors ranging right up to a rumoured 12.2-inch monster tablet. The enormous tablet has appeared within the Bluetooth SIG database, where it’s known as the Samsung Mobile Tablet (SM-P901). The P900 series has previously been mentioned by internet leak god EVLeaks, who suggested the model range features a huge 12.2-inch tablet running on Samsung’s eight-core Exynos 5 chipset, with the S Pen stylus and a 2560×1600 resolution display. Now it’s been through the Bluetooth certification process, all that’s left is for Samsung to tell us about it and get it into the shops so we can marvel at its enormous madness.

That one’s just a rumour at this point, however. Tablets that are real enough to touch include the new Galaxy Note 10.1 2014. Announced at Samsung’s Unpacked IFA press conference, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 2014 model ditches cheap plastic in favour of premium leather and stitching, along with more grunt than ever before.

Samsung is interested in more than just the simple slate tablet, however. The new ATIV series was announced this year, including the ATIV Tab 3. The Tab 3 has a 10.1-inch screen, and runs, of course, Windows 8. At 8.12mm thick, it is, “the world’s thinnest Windows 8 tablet,” and it weighs only 544 grams. It also boasts a 10 hour battery life, which is rather sweet. The other big feature, Samsung’s S Pen Stylus. The refresh of the ATIV model to make it look quite a lot like the old Galaxy Note 10.1. Actually, it’s exactly like it, except for the fact that it comes with Windows 8 rather than Android.

Joining the Tab 3 is the weirdly beautiful ATIV Q: a frankendevice that bends in weird ways to help you get stuff done. It has a keyboard that is connected by a rather versatile hinge. It can fold all the way flat against the back so you can use it as a straight up tablet, you can use it as a normal laptop, you can type with having the screen magically floating above your fingers, or you can use it as a stand.

But why is it a double-hybrid? Because it runs Windows 8 AND Android. I guess that’s one way to solve the lack of good tablet apps in the Windows 8 ecosystem. The tablet can switch back and forth between modes, and while it won’t share settings or apps, at least you can share files and folders back and forth. It will be running a full version of Windows 8 (not RT) and Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) with the Google Play Store and all.

Switching back and forth between operating systems looks lighting fast. Just the press of a single button. No booting or anything. It looked extremely seamless. You can also add Android apps to the Windows 8 homescreen for quick access, which is handy.

The other highlight on the ATIV Q is the touchscreen. It’s at 13.3 inch gHD+ display, which comes in at 3200 x 1800 pixels. At 275 pixels per inch that bests even the screen on the Google Pixel (239 PPI). Samsung claims that it’s “the world’s highest resolution display,” has a 170-degree viewing angle, and is clearly viewable in bright sunlight. Very impressive looking.

Meanwhile in frankendevice-land, Samsung is harnessing next-generation chip technology to power its slates. Expect Intel hardware to make its way back into the line-up at some point.

Microsoft

We’re even closer to having new Microsoft toys than ever, with the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro set to make their Australian debuts on 22 October. We’ve been hands on with them before the launch date and it’s great to see a measurable improvement in these two products.

The Surface 2 SKUs aren’t the only two tablets Microsoft is backing if you believe the hype. Not only is Microsoft reportedly working on new Surfaces with multiple aspect ratios, it’s also reportedly started work on a 7.5-inch Surface Mini. Cute!

We’ll also list Nokia under the Microsoft umbrella. New Lumias are coming, and soon. Six new devices are rumoured to launch at Nokia World in Abu Dhabi on October 22. We’ll very likely see the rumoured 6-inch Lumia 1520 phablet and 10.1-inch Lumia 2520 Windows RT tablet.

Sony

The Xperia Tablet Z is Sony’s current flagship slate tablet, and there’s a 4G model. It also has 11- and 13-inch Duo sliders with Haswell chips. Coming soon: The sleek aluminium-finished Sony Vaio Fit with a ‘multi-flip’ screen that switches between laptop and fold down tablet. The Fit also has a third ‘viewing mode’ that flips the screen onto the back, Asus Taichi-style.

Dell

Along with its new ‘Venue’ line of tablets — including its Surface Pro rival, the Venue 11 Pro — Dell is also introducing another hybrid Ultrabook in its XPS range. Unlike the XPS 12 Duo’s weird back-flipping hinge, this 11.6-incher uses a more common rotating/flip-over screen to go from laptop to tablet. This gear doesn’t arrive in Australia until November, so it’s hard to tell what comes after.

HP

Like Dell, HP has a few more tablets available overseas than Australia. Still, in the detachable notebook space we get the 13.3-inch Split x2 (Windows 8), the older ENVY x2 (Windows 8), and the SlateBook x2 with Android and Tegra 4. HP also has a swivelling screen EliteBook Revolve 810, and its Windows 8 ElitePad slate. Again like Dell, HP should directly benefit from Microsoft ending technical support for Windows XP in April 2014, triggering a rise in companies replacing laptops.

Acer

Acer is crazy about tablets. Seriously. In Australia, we currently have the 7-inch Iconia B series and the 7.9- and 10.1-inch Iconia A series — all slates, all running Android.

Acer’s Windows 8 tablet family is even larger. Choices include the 8-inch Iconia W3, 10.1-inch Iconia W5 (with detachable keyboard), 11.6-inch Aspire P3 (with sliding keyboard/screen cover or keyboard desktop dock) and the 11.6-inch Iconia W700 with sliding keyboard cover. If size matters to you, Acer will also soon launch its mammoth 15-inch Aspire R7 laptop that converts into a tablet.

What’s next? More of everything, apparently. Stay tuned for CES and Computex announcements as Acer pushes to out engineer its Taiwanese rival, Asus.

Also Look out For…

By Christmas, we’ll see the new 8-inch LG Optimus G-Pad (Android), the 8-inch Toshiba Encore (Windows 8) and maybe — just maybe (probably not) — the 7-inch Kindle HDX will arrive in Australia.

We’re also excited for some of the lesser known tablet development taking place. From Nvidia’s own $US199 7-inch Tegra Note to Wacom’s self-contained Cintiq Companion tablet/stylus to experimental tablet stylus from none other than Adobe.

Tablet Displays

Screen tech continues to improve, with manufacturers packing more and more detail into each and every square inch. First there was Apple’s Retina display, and moving forward we’re likely to see more super high-definition panels than ever before. And the pixel-per-inch ratio continues to improve.

Your tablet’s screen will also be increasingly more resilient to bumps and scratches. A range of current tablets – Including the Nexus 7 2013 — use Gorilla Glass for screen protection. But corning has an upcoming version of its ultra-tough glass called Gorilla Glass NBT, designed specifically for touchscreen tablets and notebooks. The benefit: more scratch resistance and less scratch visibility.

Shapes And Sizes

As we mentioned in our look into next year’s laptops, it’s only going to get harder to draw the line between notebooks and tablets.

Sony, LG, Acer, Lenovo and MSI now have their own ‘slider’ style convertibles. Many big names, including Asus and HP, also use both detachable and swivelling designs. Plus: Microsoft and Dell have tablets with Surface-style cover keyboards. Most unique, however, are the Asus Taichi, Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga and Lenovo Helix (with second screen on the lid) and the back-flipping display of Dell’s XPS 12 Duo. The Sony Vaio Fit (above) also combines several of these mechanisms.

And with smartphones only getting bigger and tablets getting smaller, where do ‘phablets’ end and slate-style tablets begin? 2014 will blur the definition and present lots of choice.

Tablet Processors

Intel’s 22nm Bay Trail (‘Silvermont’) processors — officially the Atom Z3770 line — represent its latest and greatest system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed for specifically for tablets and longer battery life. Competing directly with ARM-based chips from Qualcomm (Snapdragon) and Nvidia (Tegra), these cost-effective quad-core processors are set to arrive inside Android and Windows 8.1-based hybrids / tablets with force for Christmas this year.

More: Intel Bay Trail — Laptop-Tablet Hybrids Might Actually Keep Up Now.

According to Taiwanese tech newspaper, DigiTimes, 2014 will see Intel succeed its Silvermont series with the 14nm “Cherry Trail” family in time for Computex in June — followed by its 14nm “Willow Trail” line (using Goldmont architecture) in the fourth quarter of the year. However, Intel hasn’t publicly confirmed its road map for next year. We do know that Bay Trail will help upcoming 2-in-1 detachable and hybrids come closer to regular laptop performance. And on the cheaper side, the chips also support sub $US200 fanless tablets.

Arm’s latest and greatest Cortex A53 and A57 chipset designs for phones and tablets are coming in 2014. Designed for single core or multi-core configurations, the products made from these designs will be the first mobile chipsets to support 64-bit processing. This puts ARM in a prime strategic spot as tablet devices are popping up with the intention of replacing a laptop. Apple, Texas Instruments, Nvidia, Samsung, and plenty of other companies use ARM’s reference designs for their own CPUs.

Samsung is likely to debut 64-bit chips in its phones come-2014, after the debut of the 64-bit A7 chip from Apple landed inside the iPhone 5s this year. Soon after the Cupertino-launch, Samsung promised it was also working on 64-bit devices. Separately — and only after some back and forth — it’s also likely Samsung will make Apple’s A8 chips for 2014.

In 2014, Qualcomm is planning its move to 20nm manufacturing, and Nvidia will likely fine tune its ‘Project Logan’ next-gen Tegra 5 mobile graphics.

Finally we have AMD. In September, the company officially launched its 2013 Elite Mobility processor line (code-named Temash) touted as “the world’s first quad-core x86 system-on-a-chip designed for tablet and hybrid PCs.

Windows 8 And Android

It’s possible we’ll see the next major versions of Windows and Android previewed at big mid-year developer events in the US, like Google I/O and Microsoft Build. You just never know. What we do: We’ll have Windows 8.1, and possibly Android 4.4 alongside the new Nexus 5/10 by the end of October.

Windows 8.1 will let you boot to the desktop. The start button returns (but only) to jump you to the start screen. There are smaller tiles and you can group them. DPI scaling should be improved. You’ll be able to keep the start screened pinned to one monitor and use new gestures. Search has been also overhauled. Microsoft will be requiring certified Windows 8.1 laptops to include a 720p webcam, higher quality speakers and microphones, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

More: Windows 8.1: Everything You Need To Know.

It looks like Microsoft is also sticking it out with Windows RT for ARM-powered tablets. Hopefully that means a fully-touch optimised version of Office is still in the pipeline.

The Surface 2 is the best current RT example, though Nokia is likely readying a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet to show the world next week. For its part, Asus has expressed disappointment with RT-based sales and said its future tablets will the full version of Windows 8 on Intel chips.

Just to keep us guessing, some pundits are also suggesting that Windows Phone 8.1 might introduce support for 7-inch and 10-inch devices; technically at least.

For Windows 9 (or whatever the next release gets named), 2014 could see Microsoft merge the Windows / Windows Phone app stores, support Kinect-like gestures aided by the cameras discussed above, deeply integrate the Xbox One experience, and introduce ‘Fast Access Login’ using face plus voice, the latter in partnership with Intel. Microsoft is also said to be building a Siri-like personal assistant named Cortana after the artificially intelligent character in Halo. On that front, Android already has Google Now.

If rumours Android 4.4 KitKat rumours are to be believed, you could soon be able to activate Google Now simply by saying “OK Google” from the home screen. Plus (maybe): transparent notification and navigation bars, save images to PDF, native wireless display integration via Chromecast, and speed tweaks. Time will tell.

As for Android 5.0 Lassi or Lemon Meringue Pie — or whatever sweet gets the nod — it’s simply too far out at the moment. One obvious possibility: a milestone Android release with a milestone product in the form of Google Glass next year.

Keep An Eye On…

More Dual Operating Systems: What’s really cool is that some brands like Samsung (ATIV Q) and Asus continue to experiment with dual Android/Windows machines. In Australia, we’ll hear more about the availability of hot new Asus Transformer Book Trio in the next couple of weeks.

More: Asus’ New Three-in-One: Crouching Windows PC, Hidden Android Tablet.

Asus has also been mixing Android and Windows in the same device with its bizarre but intriguing 18.5-inch Transformer All-in-One touchscreen desktop.

Category 4 LTE Tablets: Category 4 refers to a specific speed profile on an LTE network that allows devices to pull down a theoretical maximum speed of 150Mbps. Category 3 devices are only capable of 4G speeds up to 100Mbps, but a Category 4 device charges that right up to 150Mbps down. Vodafone currently has Category 4 coverage enabled in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, unlike Telstra which only has Cat 4 in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.

That’s why Vodafone is now selling the Huawei MediaPad 10 Link 4G tablet: a Category 4-capable 10-inch tablet packing a quad-core 1.5GHz processor a 1280×800 pixels (149 ppi) screen and 8GB of storage, expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. Keep an eye out for more Cat 4 phones and tablets in 2014.

Eye Tracking Gestures: Intel is really pushing motion-tracking for laptops at tablets. At IDF in September, the chip giant demonstrated Kinect-style motion tracking camera that will be integrated into Intel-powered portables from the first half of 2014. Check out Gizmodo’s hands-on from Computex.

Fingerprint Tech:Apple wasn’t the first to introduce biometric sensors on a phone. But now that it has, others will follow – and that could extend to tablets. According to some rumours, the 6-inch HTC One Max could be next.

Also: Next Year’s Smartphones: What Should We Expect?