u/Common_Two1391

My parents are buying me a tablet for college (nursing). I was given a choice between a tablet and a laptop, and I went with the tablet because I want to try digital drawing and I think it'll be better for portability.

Now I'm torn between the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Lite and the iPad with an A16 chip, and I can't seem to make a concrete decision.

Why I'm considering the iPad:

-It seems more popular — most of my classmates use one, and admittedly, I want to fit in

-I've heard it has significantly better performance than the Samsung

-I actually prefer the squarish aspect ratio of the iPad

I like the feel of the Apple Pencil's nib over the S Pen's

Why I'm leaning toward the Samsung:

-I've used Android my entire life, so I'm already comfortable with the ecosystem

-I sideload apps and pirate sometimes, which Android makes easy

-I love the idea of DeX mode since I multitask a lot

My use case:

-I want a tablet that'll last me until I graduate. I use it mainly for gaming, watching anime, reading manga, and occasional digital drawing. For multitasking, I often need split-screen — like having manga/anime open alongside a browser tab for looking up words (I have ADHD, so I get distracted by unknown terms mid-read)

My questions:

-Is switching from Android to iOS difficult? Would it feel too limiting?

-Can the iPad handle proper split-screen multitasking?

-Is the iPad A16 worth the extra cost — especially factoring in that I'd still need to buy an Apple Pencil separately to draw effectively?

Any advice is appreciated!

This is maybe weird... I'm also not sure if it's related to my AUDHD. It's just that I have this urge to have — or treasure — a single object (it has to be only one, for some reason) that I will keep forever, or even one that will outlive me, and that will represent my identity in a way. It often changes. First, it was a small, smooth, and perfectly spherical stone I found on the shore. But then I soon realized that it could get broken or lost, since it's just a fragile and small stone. I then changed it to my favorite mechanical pencil, since I liked drawing with it, then changed it to something wearable — so that I can keep it close to me always — my Casio watch, then realized that the battery will run out soon, and even if I manage to replace the battery, it will still degrade and break. I don't know... There's much more. It's really weird. I did all of this despite knowing nothing lasts forever.