Products · Broad category
Tablets
Raised as a usability problem by 100 people on Hacker News over 18 years (2009–2026), in 96 threads.
This is a broad category rather than one product, so its issues aren't ranked on the home page.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Pen drawing lags with slow latency and buggy softwareUnreviewed
20092026- Pen-to-pixel latency and slippery glass make handwriting confusing and strain-prone2026-05-28
- Tablet stylus feels odd, device heavy, low resolution, poor battery life2023-09-25
- Slow zooming, input lag, palm rejection problems, and slow pen color switching and page flipping2023-09-25
Typing in tablet mode is awkward and clumsier than phonesUnreviewed
20092026- Typing on a touch screen in tablet mode is awkward, bigger and clumsier than a phone2024-09-08
- Touchscreen-only devices make it nearly impossible to enter large amounts of text2016-09-24
- Can't type while holding the tablet, and the screen gets blocked during interaction2015-02-27
Early cheap tablets had poor battery life and were slowUnreviewed
20092026- Tablets are slow to become usable after reboot and bloated with preinstalled software2023-05-21
- Every action on old tablets is very slow to respond2023-03-28
- Cheap Android tablets are so broken that they are almost unusable2018-08-29
On-screen keyboard covers half the screen while typingUnreviewed
20092026- Sometimes has to be coaxed to bring up the on-screen keyboard2023-08-18
- On-screen keyboard covers half the screen while typing2012-10-01
- On-screen keyboard takes space and makes special TeX characters hard to reach2012-09-19
Tablet system lags and hangs randomly for half a secondUnreviewed
20092026- Tablet operating systems lag and hang for half a second at random2016-04-07
- Tablet is somewhat laggy when used as a second monitor2015-09-07
- Interface lag makes the device feel unresponsive to use2012-08-14
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Most apps use tablet screens poorly, making the experience feel bad2026-09-10
- Pen-to-pixel latency and slippery glass make handwriting confusing and strain-prone2026-05-28
- Too much text and symbols on screen; modern interfaces not intuitive for seniors2026-04-15
- Wall-mounted tablet emits constant light at night and needs a power cable2026-03-09
- Drivers must be restarted most times when switching between docked and mobile setups2026-01-08
- Tablets have ever-changing UIs and endless unprompted prompts that are hard to navigate2025-10-03
- Full screen scam ads shown as notifications make tablets virtually unusable2025-09-03
- Cheap tablet screens have bad viewing angles and are miserable to read for hours2025-06-02
- Touch mixing is slower because you must look at each control to track fingers2024-11-03
- Apps and websites look wrong in portrait orientation on tablets2024-10-27
- Typing on a touch screen in tablet mode is awkward, bigger and clumsier than a phone2024-09-08
- Buttons aren't recognisable as buttons and content jumps around, confusing an elderly user2024-07-27
- Tabs get killed when switching, losing unsubmitted form work2024-01-16
- Switching between several places in a large PDF is nearly impossible and bookmarks are fiddly2023-10-27
- Tablet stylus feels odd, device heavy, low resolution, poor battery life2023-09-25
- Slow zooming, input lag, palm rejection problems, and slow pen color switching and page flipping2023-09-25
- Sometimes has to be coaxed to bring up the on-screen keyboard2023-08-18
- Tablets are slow to become usable after reboot and bloated with preinstalled software2023-05-21
- 10-inch tablet screen makes conventional music notation hard to read2023-05-17
- Cannot complete check-in unless checking a box allowing friends and family contact2023-04-07
- Every action on old tablets is very slow to respond2023-03-28
- Young children struggle with touch controls needing fine finger control and accidentally swipe videos closed2022-08-09
- Data entry on a tablet takes far longer than on a keyboard and mouse2022-05-27
- Accidental screen touches unintentionally open or close the app being used2022-05-23
- Video won't play back at a consistent frame rate on these tablets2022-05-03
- Hidden menus at large screen sizes are annoying to use2021-11-08
- Typing is uncomfortable and clicking small link targets with a thumb is hard2020-12-05
- App sandboxing and storage restrictions make files hard to access, causing usability pain2020-11-26
- Wake button styled like volume buttons, hard to find without looking2020-06-22
- Tablet input is poor: no precise stylus, clunky to hold, and unusable cheap Bluetooth keyboards2020-03-30
- Apps control layout and sizing, and switching tasks makes apps lose state or get killed2020-03-21
- Input lag on tablets leaves users unsure whether their key press registered2019-08-14
- Action items on a tablet feel out of reach and must be searched for2019-06-25
- Tablets have latency, making handwriting tiring and distracting2019-06-25
- Browser tabs become an unnavigable mess when exploring a topic2019-04-04
- Tablets can't handle multiple users or keep the same open tabs and text across devices2019-02-25
- Full-screen ad popups on every app switch make the tablet nearly unusable2018-09-14
- Cheap Android tablets are so broken that they are almost unusable2018-08-29
- Drawing on tablets lags badly, with slow, unworkable pen latency and buggy software2018-03-23
- Input lag disrupts writing, and pages can't be flicked through or spread out2017-11-15
- Many websites did not work properly on early tablets, limiting functionality2017-05-20
- Hard to mark up, annotate and flip back and forth between references on screen2017-02-07
- Adjusting heating, volume and tracks means looking away from the road at the screen2016-10-24
- Touchscreen-only devices make it nearly impossible to enter large amounts of text2016-09-24
- Tablet operating systems lag and hang for half a second at random2016-04-07
- Fixed-layout magazine pages force zooming, panning and scrolling on tablets of other sizes2016-02-02
- Tablet uncomfortable after 20 minutes; screen too low and too small for useful work2015-12-13
- Magazine pages shrink to fit or require annoying scrolling, making content harder to read2015-10-21
- No easy way to middle click; must press and hold or use key combos2015-10-21
- Tablet is somewhat laggy when used as a second monitor2015-09-07