毫不夸张地说，笔记本电脑实际上已经扼杀了台式电脑。由于价格大幅下降和性能与非移动计算机相当，对于大多数人来说，购买这些一体机比一台大而嘈杂的台式机更有意义。
尤其是超极本很受欢迎，因为它们体积小、重量轻，而且由于缺乏风扇而通常很安静。它们也足够强大，可以为大多数用户完成这项工作。
(Tablet)另一方面，平板电脑让即使是最小巧的 13 英寸超极本也显得有些笨拙。典型的 13 英寸超极本重约 3 磅，而12.9 英寸 iPad Pro(12.9” iPad Pro)的重量不到该重量的一半。当然没有键盘盒。
平板(Tablet)电脑是一种非常方便的外形，但您真的可以用一台替代台式机或笔记本电脑吗？你可以只(only )使用平板电脑作为主要设备吗？
平板电脑与平板电脑(Tablet Computers vs. Tablet Computers)
在我们对这两种流行的计算机类型进行详细比较之前，我们必须弄清楚一些术语。
当人们使用“平板电脑”这个词时，他们通常指的是一种使用手机的移动硬件的设备。这些平板电脑大部分时间运行 iOS 或Android ，本质上是巨型智能手机。(Android)
但是，也有使用 PC 硬件并运行 PC 操作系统的平板电脑。很明显，这些计算机实际上可以替代台式机或笔记本电脑，因为它们在内部是相同的。它们运行相同的软件并以完全相同的方式工作。只要满足应用程序的最低规格，就可以了。
这种类型的平板电脑最近的一个例子是Microsoft Surface Pro 6。与使用移动硬件构建的平板电脑相比，此类平板电脑各有优缺点，但这是另一篇文章的讨论。
从这里开始，当我们说“平板电脑”时，我们指的是非 PC 类型的平板电脑！
硬件透视(Hardware In Perspective)
首先比较传统计算机和平板电脑的原始硬件是有意义的。
今天典型的笔记本电脑有一个“x86”处理器。也就是说，Intel 8086 CPU的(CPU)直系后裔早在 1978 年就一直发布。不管(Regardless)是谁制造的，x86 处理器都说同一种“语言”。最重要的是，它们是“CISC”处理器，是复杂指令集计算(Complex Instruction Set Computing)的缩写。
基本上他们擅长高效地执行复杂的计算任务。但是，这种CPU设计基本上是在没有考虑功耗或尺寸等因素的情况下创建的。X86 CPU(CPUs)往往很大而且很耗电。这是您为性能付出的代价。
使用智能手机硬件的平板电脑几乎普遍基于“ARM”设计，这是一种RISC架构。这是减少指令集计算(Reduce Instruction Set Computing.)的缩写。这些处理器体积更小、能效更高，但过去的功能却不那么强大。
现在，现代ARM处理器与主流笔记本电脑和台式机中的芯片一样强大，用于日常计算任务。这(Which)就是为什么我们首先要进行这场辩论。
一切都与操作系统有关(It’s All About the Operating System)
最后，您可以购买一台硬件功能强大到足以满足大多数需求的平板电脑。对于绝大多数用户来说，这不再是一个真正的问题。真正的问题是这些平板电脑运行的软件。
具体来说，Android和iOS是两大移动操作系统。给定相同的硬件平台，操作系统的选择对您可以使用设备做什么具有重大影响。
与Windows(Windows)或MacOS相比，Android和 iOS 最初都是非常有限的操作系统。然而，这种情况正在改变。在苹果(Apple)方面，iPadOS为这些计算机带来了以前传统计算机领域的主要功能。
Apple清楚地将 iPad 视为计算的未来，甚至未来的Mac(Macs)也将成为基于 ARM 的设备，这实际上意味着MacOS和 iOS 的合并。
对于运行 iPadOS 的 iPad，用作您的主要和唯一计算机绝对可行。真正的多任务处理、对外部驱动器的支持以及与台式机同类产品相当的应用程序在很大程度上使入门级 iPad 成为可行的主计算机。
Android更像是一个混合包。最新版本的Android适用于大多数休闲计算用途，但由于几乎每个平板电脑制造商都实现了自定义界面，因此您需要逐个产品评估它们。
现实用例(Realistic Use Cases)
平板电脑是否可以取代笔记本电脑或台式电脑与您的特定用例有很大关系。如果您是作家或进行大量写作，那么键盘的存在是必不可少的。这意味着只有在与外部键盘或键盘盒配对时，平板电脑才是可行的替代品。
如果您主要使用计算机来消费内容，那么平板电脑已经几乎是您所需要的。
“高级用户”呢？(What About “Power Users”?)
虽然平板电脑能够为大多数用户处理一般计算任务，包括一般生产力，但有一类笔记本电脑或台式机用户可能不适合进行这种转换。
高端平板电脑，例如新款 iPad Pro，可以处理 4K 视频编辑等繁重任务。如果您需要工作站级的电源，您现在还可以依赖基于云的服务(cloud-based services)。您的平板电脑只是强大数据中心系统的远程窗口。
移动桌面环境(Mobile Desktop Environments)
虽然如今移动操作系统的底层核心相当稳固，但平板电脑界面并未针对桌面使用进行优化。因此，如果您想要桌面体验，您将不得不做一些额外的工作。
当连接到键盘时，iPadOS 在桌面设置中运行良好，但鼠标支持目前是一项实验性的辅助功能，所以不要指望它感觉像MacOS。
Android具有本机鼠标和键盘支持，以及传统的鼠标指针。然而，Android桌面体验仍有待改进。Android Q 的桌面模式看起来很有前途，并且有各种第三方Android桌面应用程序可以帮助弥合差距。
最有凝聚力的桌面模式必须是三星专有的 Dex 应用程序(Samsung’s proprietary Dex application)。某些(Certain)平板电脑，例如Galaxy Tab S4，可以通过点击图标切换到Dex模式。从基于触摸的界面迁移到基于鼠标的界面。这些桌面解决方案中的任何一个是否可以帮助您轻松地用平板电脑替换笔记本电脑或台式机是主观的，但重要的是要知道该选项是否存在。
那么平板电脑真的可以取代台式电脑或笔记本电脑吗？(So Can A Tablet Truly Replace a Desktop Computer Or Laptop?)
您可能已经意识到这个问题的答案不是一个明确的“是”或“否”。相反，它是一个上下文案例。这意味着答案实际上是一组条件的结果：
- 平板电脑的硬件可以处理您需要的工作吗？
- 操作系统可以做你(YOU)需要做的事情吗？
- 您需要的应用程序是否存在用于相关平板电脑？
我们怀疑，对于过去会购买主流笔记本电脑或台式机的绝大多数用户来说，这三个问题的答案可能都是“是”。就目前而言，其余的最好还是坚持使用更传统的外形尺寸，但随着技术的进步，这个问题当然值得不时重新审视。
不要忘记，今天的平板电脑比过去充满房间的超级计算机要快，所以不要对这些先入为主的观念感到太舒服。
Can A Tablet Truly Replace a Desktop Computer Or Laptop?
It’s not a stretch tо say that laptops hаve virtuallу killed off desktoр computers. Τhanks to big pricе drops and performance on-par with non-mobile computers, for most people it mаkes more sense to get these all-іn-one PCs than a big, noisy desktop machine.
Ultrabooks in particular are popular because they are small, light and usually quiet thanks to a lack of fans. They are also powerful enough to do the job for most users.
Tablet computers, on the other hand, make even the daintiest 13-inch ultrabooks look a little porky. The typical 13-inch ultrabook weighs about three pounds, whereas a 12.9” iPad Pro comes in at under half that. Without a keyboard case of course.
Tablet computers are a very convenient form factor, but can you actually replace your desktop or laptop computer with one? Could you live with only a tablet computer as your main device?
Tablet Computers vs. Tablet Computers
Before we tackle a detailed comparison between these two popular computer types, we have to clear up a few terms.
When people use the term “tablet computer”, they are generally talking about a device that uses mobile hardware meant for mobile phones. These tablet computers run iOS or Android most of the time and are, essentially, giant smartphones.
However, there are also tablet computers which use PC hardware and run PC operating systems. It should be obvious that these computers can in fact replace a desktop or laptop computer, since they are internally identical. They run the same software and work in exactly the same way. As long as the minimum specifications of your applications are met, you’ll be fine.
A recent example of this type of tablet computer is the Microsoft Surface Pro 6. Tablets such as these have their own set of pros and cons compared to ones built from mobile hardware, but that is a discussion for another article.
From here on, when we say “tablet” we mean the non-PC type of tablet!
Hardware In Perspective
It makes sense to start of by comparing the raw hardware of traditional computers and tablet computers to each other.
The typical laptop today has an “x86” processor. That is, a CPU that a direct descendant of the Intel 8086 CPU released all the way back in 1978. Regardless of who makes them, x86 processors all speak the same “language”. Most importantly, they are “CISC” processors, which is short for Complex Instruction Set Computing.
Basically they are good at efficiently executing complex computing tasks. However, this CPU design is fundamentally one that was created without things like power consumption or size in mind. X86 CPUs tend to be large and power hungry. This is the price you pay for performance.
Tablets using smartphone hardware are almost universally based on the “ARM” design, which is a RISC architecture. That’s short for Reduce Instruction Set Computing. These processors are much smaller and more energy efficient, but have been less powerful in the past.
Now modern ARM processors are just as powerful as the chips you’d find in mainstream laptops and desktops, used for daily computing tasks. Which is why we are having this debate in the first place.
It’s All About the Operating System
In the end, you can buy a tablet computer with hardware more than powerful enough for most needs. That’s no longer a real issue for the vast majority of users. The real problem is the software these tablet computers run.
Specifically, Android and iOS, which are the two major mobile operating systems. Given the same hardware platform, the choice of operating system has a major impact on what you can do with a device.
Both Android and iOS started out as very limited operating systems compared to Windows or MacOS. That’s changing however. On the Apple side of things, iPadOS has brought major features to these computers that were previously the domain of traditional computers.
Apple clearly sees the iPad as the future of computing and even future Macs are set to become beefed up ARM-based devices that effectively mean a merger of MacOS and iOS.
In the case of an iPad running iPadOS, it’s absolutely feasible to use as your main and only computer. True multitasking, support for external drives and apps that have parity with their desktop counterparts go a long way to make even the entry-level iPad a viable primary computer.
Android is more of a mixed bag. The latest version of Android is good for most casual computing uses, but since virtually every tablet maker implements a custom interface, you’ll need to evaluate them on a product-by-product basis.
Realistic Use Cases
Whether a tablet can replace a laptop or desktop computer has much to do with your specific use case. If you’re a writer or do significant amounts of writing, then the presence of a keyboard is essential. This means a tablet is only a viable replacement when paired with an external keyboard or keyboard case.
If you mainly use your computer to consume content, then a tablet is already pretty much all you need.
What About “Power Users”?
While tablets are more than capable of handling general computing duties for most users, including general productivity, there is a class of laptop or desktop user for whom the time might not be right to make such a switch.
High-end tablets, such as the new iPad Pro, can handle heavy tasks such as 4K video editing. If you need workstation-grade power you can also now rely on cloud-based services. Where your tablet is just a remote window for powerful data center systems.
Mobile Desktop Environments
While the underlying core of mobile operating systems are pretty solid these days, tablet interfaces are not optimised for desktop use. So if you want the desktop experience you’ll have to do some additional legwork.
iPadOS works well enough in a desktop setting, when connected to a keyboard, but the mouse support is currently an experimental accessibility feature, so don’t expect it to feel like MacOS.
Android has native mouse and keyboard support, with a traditional mouse pointer. However, the Android desktop experience leaves something to be desired. Android Q’s desktop mode looks promising and there are various third-party Android desktop apps that can help bridge the gap.
The most cohesive desktop mode has to be Samsung’s proprietary Dex application. Certain tablets, such as the Galaxy Tab S4, can switch to Dex mode at the tap of an icon. Moving from a touch-based interface to a mouse-based one. Whether any of these desktop solutions help ease you into replacing your laptop or desktop with a tablet is subjective, but it’s important to know that the option exists.
So Can A Tablet Truly Replace a Desktop Computer Or Laptop?
You’ve probably realized that the answer to this question isn’t a clear “yes” or “no”. Instead it’s rather a case of context. Which means the answer is actually the result of a set of conditions:
- Can the tablet’s hardware handle the job you need it to?
- Can the operating system do what YOU need it to?
- Do the applications you need exist for the tablet in question?
We suspect that for the vast majority of users who would have bought a mainstream laptop or desktop in the past, the answer to all three questions is probably “yes”. The rest are, for now, better off sticking with more traditional form factors, but this question is certainly worth revisiting from time to time as the technology advances.
Don’t forget that the tablet computers of today are faster than the room-filling supercomputers of yesteryear, so don’t get too comfortable with those preconceptions.
