About Windows tablet power button and their quirks

Technology General Discussion
1

This is not often talked about, but it is important about how easy it is to turn on our tablet, and something reviewers usually overlook. Unlike Android or iOS, Windows tablet is something user often switch off after use ( for good reasons), and with much more frequent usage of power button. Let’s talk about several button types and your experience with them.

  1. The press type: most common button type on mobile devices like phone and tablet. It’s the thin, long button on the edge that you press until the screen light up. Also the type of button I have the most trouble with on Windows. Most Windows tablets I have (usually the Atom variant) take much longer press to light up than Android. You don’t know how long pressing it take to light up, or whether or not you press long or hard enough, or if the power is dead. I have most problem with Chinese tablet variants, but it also happen with my Asus from time to time.

  • Chinese tablet: my Jumper Ezpad often refuse to turn on without super long press. If the tablet sleep, it had trouble waking up, short or long press. After a long time not use, it won’t turn on at all unless I plug the power in ( the battery was still 2/3 full). My Teclast won’t turn on without both being plugged in and very long press ( battery also fully charged).

  • Asus note 8: this one fare much better than the Chinese variant and I have no problem turning it on without plugged in, but it also take long pressing, sometimes longer than other. In certain cases, it won’t turn on without plugged in, but it’s rare.

  1. Slide button variant: this is in all my HP tablets: HP 2764p and HP 612 G1. It’s my favourite type of button. Just slide it once and if it doesn’t light up, you already know that something is wrong. It’s pretty effortless and hard to miss press.
  1. One push button: this is much more common in laptop, I actually haven’t seen this it on tablet. It’s fast and easy, but also easy to miss press if we had our hands gripping it all the time, probably the reason for the lack of this type. Amazon Fire probably had it but I wasn’t sure if it’s a press type designed like one push type.

What is your expriences with tablet button and what is your favorite? I wasn’t sure if my trouble with press button was the Atom, the cheap Chineses power IC or the pressing design. I always find higher power tablet ( core i variants) easier to turn on, but all of my core i tablets are HP with slide button.

2

That’s actually one of my pet peeves with my Surface Pro 8. If I so much as sneeze in it’s vicinity it turns on. And I’ve found it inadvertently on in my bag more times than I can count.

OTOH I still haven’t seemed to reliably master the appropriate press for my iPad Pro and multiple times I think I held it long enough to power it on but didn’t

3

I get that a lot if I’m turning it back on right after a shutdown (i.e. simulating a restart action). I figure it’s because I didn’t wait long enough for it to fully shut down.

4

You guys shut down you iPads? How novel…

5

Nope, just to do a restart which seems to help after a big update even if it already did a restart as part of installation.

6

Interesting. I assume the Surface pro 8 button is long press type because it’s located on the edge where accidental press is easy?

I have the opposite experience with my windows tablet where it take forever or just won’t turn on without a wall plug, it’s probably a part quality problem after all.

iOS oddly doesn’t have a restart option, just shutting down, and you need to wait a while until it shut down fully to turn it back on.

7

I disliked the slide button on my old HP 2760p and my previous Asus Slate - often felt like I had to use a lot of force to get them to turn on. On the other hand, my very first tabletPC was a Fujitsu and that was a simple press button - I liked that, I actually still have the Fujitsu and occasionally use it - I bought it second hand and it was really beat up with holes in the bodywork and broken keys (I have to attach a USB keyboard to use it) but the power button and the screen (different discussion) are like new.

My zbook on the other hand, uses the press button power on the side of the body - a long press which I’m not a big fan of. Funnily enough - you’re more likely to hit this button accidentally (grip the bezels to hold the tablet up to draw / use the express keys) than the old Fujitsu press button.

Maybe because the Fujitsu comes from a time people weren’t so bothered about bezels?

8

For me it’s a combination of old habits born of when sleep was nowhere near as reliable as it is now, combined with a job practicality which is that a given device may sit for a week in my bag between uses depending on what I’m doing.

My daughter OTOH never shuts her iPad Pro down

1 Like
9

I find the slide button more reliable because i would know something was wrong if it didn’t power up after one slide, and harder to accidentally press too.

Maybe the fujitsu was an one-push button like that of laptop? They are usually concaved or flat on the tablet surface instead of the side, and protected by keyboard to avoid accidental press. They only need one push to turn on unlike the long-press-on-the-side variant.

1 Like
10

The push button on my last 3 surfaces has been flawless.