Brightness
The maximum brightness in nits provided by the tablet screen.
The brighter the display, the more readable the picture remains on it under intense ambient light. Also, high brightness is important for the correct display of HDR content. However, a large margin for this indicator affects the cost and power consumption of the screen. Manufacturers can specify standard, maximum, and peak brightness values. At the same time, an equal sign cannot be put between the maximum and peak brightness. The first indicates the ability of the screen to produce the specified brightness over its entire area, while the peak one - in a limited area and for a short time (mainly for HDR content).
TÜV Rheinland certificate
TÜV Rheinland certified for reduced screen emissions and good eye protection.
CPU
The model name of the processor installed in the tablet.
The processor is the “heart” of the device. It is he who is responsible for performing all the computing operations necessary for the normal operation of the tablet, and largely determines the overall performance. Knowing the name of a specific processor model, you can easily find detailed information on it, incl. and comparison with other models.
The most popular chips these days are from
Qualcomm(in particular, the top solutions
Snapdragon 800 series and
Snapdragon 8 series),
MediaTek(budget and “mid-range”
MediaTek Helio processors and the line of advanced
MediaTek Dimensity chipsets with 5G support), and among Windows tablets
Intel processors (mainly the
Intel Core family) are often found. Quite a rarity are branded
Kirin processors from Huawei and Honor.
CPU speed
The clock speed of the processor installed in the tablet is actually the maximum number of operations performed by one processor core per second. This indicator is important for the speed of the system, but a high clock frequency in itself does not guarantee speed. The actual speed of the processor also depends on its architecture, the number of cores and many other features, and the overall speed of the device also depends on the amount of “RAM”, the installed OS, etc. Therefore, situations are not uncommon when
powerful advanced tablets have a lower CPU frequency than more modest models.
Graphics card
Model of the graphics card installed in the tablet. The graphics card in such devices is not a separate device, but part of the processor; however, she still has a clear specialization and is responsible for graphics.
Accordingly, the graphics capabilities of the tablet directly depend on the characteristics of the video accelerator. Theoretically, knowing the name, you can find detailed specifications of a graphics card, reviews, test results and other information and evaluate how it suits you. At the same time, in most cases there is no need to delve into such details — all system components, including the graphics card, are usually selected in such a way as to correspond to the general class of the tablet and the capabilities necessary for this class.
RAM
The amount of random access memory (RAM) installed in the tablet. This memory is used for direct data processing, and therefore its volume is one of the main indicators of system speed and power. However note that the optimal amount of RAM strongly depends on the OS used — different systems and even different versions of the same "OS" can vary greatly in terms of consumed resources. But models on the same OS can be compared with each other in terms of the amount of RAM.
As for specific values, indicators in
1 GB or less in our time are definitely a sign of a weak tablet.
2 GB and
3 GB can be called the entry level,
4 GB and
6 GB are middle class, and in the most advanced models,
8 GB, or even
16 GB can be installed (or even more) RAM.
RAM type
The type of random access memory (RAM) installed in the tablet.
All modern devices use LPDDR format RAM (
LPDDR4,
LPDDR4x,
LPDDR5,
LPDDR5x). In addition to its miniature size, it differs from regular computer RAM by supporting special data transfer formats (16- and 32-bit memory buses). But the versions of such memory can be different:
— LPDDR3. The earliest generation of LPDDR of the current ones — presented in 2012, implemented in devices since 2013. Standardly operates at speeds up to 1600 MT/s (megatransactions per second) and a frequency of up to 933 MHz; the “enhanced” version supports speeds up to 2133 MT/s. Nowadays, this standard is rare, mainly among outdated devices.
— LPDDR4. The successor to LPDDR3, officially presented in August 2014 (although the first hardware developments were released back in late 2013). The operating speed, compared to its predecessor, has doubled — up to 3200 MT/s; the frequency has grown to 1600 MHz; and the power consumption has decreased by 40%. In addition, the data transfer format has changed — in particular, two 16-bit buses are used instead of one 32-bit, and some security improvements have been introduced into the standard. — LPDDR4x. An improved version of LPDDR4 with reduced power consumption — the standard uses a voltage of 0.6 V instead of 1.1 V. In addition, this type
...of RAM has some improvements aimed at increasing the speed (it reaches 4266 MT/s) and general optimization of operation — for example, a single-channel mode has appeared for undemanding applications. Thanks to such characteristics, this version of memory has become much more widespread than the original LPDDR4.
— LPDDR5. Further development of "mobile" RAM, officially announced in early 2019. The operating speed in this version has been increased to 6400 MT/s, a differential signal format has been introduced to improve resistance to interference and errors, and dynamic frequency and voltage control has been implemented to reduce power consumption.
— LPDDR5x. A more energy-efficient and faster version of LPDDR5 RAM. Its data transfer rate has been increased to 8533 MT/s, and the peak throughput indicator has been increased to 8.5 Gbps. The number of memory banks per channel in LPDDR5x is always 16.Storage capacity
The volume of the tablet's own built-in storage. The larger it is, the more information (programs, games, movies, photos, etc.) can be stored on the tablet without resorting to removable media, rewriting to other devices, etc. At the same time, the amount of built-in memory significantly affects the cost. Therefore, some models are available in several versions, differing only in the capacity of the drive. And the variety of built-in memory is quite wide: from
16 GB to
1024 GB with a 2-fold increase (
32 GB,
64 GB,
128 GB,
256 GB,
512 GB).
Note that this paragraph indicates the total amount of internal memory. The operating system and default programs also take up space in it; therefore, the volume of the drive actually available to the user will inevitably be less than the total.
Many tablets allow you to add memory cards to the built-in drive (see below). Such cards are relatively inexpensive, but they are much slower, and the ability to work with them may be limited by the manufacturer — for example, not all tablets with this function allow installing applications on removable media.
Storage type
The specification primarily determines the memory speed and, accordingly, the overall flow Rate of the device (especially when working with large amounts of data or resource-intensive applications). Nowadays, there are two basic specifications - eMMC (embedded Multimedia Memory Card) and UFS (Universal Flash Storage); each of them has several versions. In general, the fastest and most advanced drives today are those with
UFS 3.1 and
UFS 4.0, but they also cost accordingly, and therefore are used mainly in premium tablets. A more detailed description of these standards looks like this:
— eMMC. One of the simplest and most accessible solid-state memory standards — for example, this is the specification used by most flash drives. In tablets and other portable gadgets, this standard was generally accepted until 2016, when UFS began to be introduced; however, it is still quite common — mainly due to its low cost and low power consumption. eMMC speeds are noticeably lower than UFS. Thus, in the current version of eMMC 5.1A (2019), the read speed is up to 400 MB/s, and the earlier and more common version of eMMC 5.1 provides up to 250 MB/s in read mode, up to 125 MB/s in sequential write mode, and only up to 7.16 MB/s for random write (in other words, in application mode).
— UFS. A solid-state drive standard created as a faster and more advanced successor to eMMC. In addition to increased data
...exchange rates, UFS also changed its operating format — it is fully duplex, meaning that reading and writing can be done simultaneously (while in eMMC these processes were performed in turns). Efficiency in random read and write mode was also significantly increased, which had a positive effect on the quality of work with applications. Specific data exchange rates and operating features depend on the UFS version; these days, the following options can be found on the market:
- 2.0. The earliest version; it was released back in 2013. Provides data transfer speeds of up to 600 MB/s on one line and up to 1.2 GB/s on two lines, the maximum available in this version. The newer version 2.1 has the same indicators, but it is supplemented with a number of important innovations. Therefore, UFS 2.0 memory is very rarely used in tablets.
- 2.1. The first of the widely used versions; it was released in 2016. In terms of speed, it is no different from the version 2.0 described above, and the main differences are in some improvements. In particular, UFS 2.1 introduced a drive status ("health") indicator, the ability to remotely update the firmware, and a number of solutions aimed at increasing overall reliability.
- 2.2. An evolution of the UFS 2.x standard, introduced in summer 2020. The key improvement is the introduction of the WriteBooster feature (originally introduced in UFS 3.1); this feature allows for a significant increase in write speed and, therefore, overall flow Rate in tasks such as launching applications.
- 3.0. Version released in 2018 and implemented in hardware a year later. The throughput was increased to 2.9 GB/s on two lines (1.45 GB/s on one), new versions of the electronic protocol M-PHY (physical layer) and UniPro based on it were implemented, the reliability of data handling was increased, and the temperature range of the controllers was expanded (in theory, it can range from -40 °C to 105 °C).
- 3.1. The successor to the UFS 3.0 standard, officially introduced in early 2020. It is positioned as a specification created specifically for high-flow Rate mobile devices and aimed at increasing operating speed while minimizing power consumption. To this end, UFS 3.1 implements a number of innovations: a non-volatile Write Booster cache to speed up writing; a special DeepSleep power-saving mode for relatively simple and inexpensive systems; as well as the Performance Throttling Notification function, which allows the drive to send signals to the control system about overheating. In addition, this standard may additionally provide support for the HPB extension, which increases the read speed.
- 4.0. UFS 4.0 doubles the bandwidth per lane (23.2 Gbps per lane) and improves power efficiency by approximately 46% (compared to the previous 3.1 specification). UFS 4.0 memory modules provide maximum read speeds of up to 4,200 MB/s and write speeds of up to 2,800 MB/s.