8 Inch or 10 Inch? Choosing a Rugged Tablet Screen Size

If you spend most of the day reading drawings, plans or wide spreadsheets on Android, buy the 10.1 inch Tuga A10, which has a 1920 x 1200 screen. If the tablet spends most of its day in one hand, up a ladder, in a loft or going in and out of a van door pocket, buy the 8 inch Tuga A8, which is also £70 cheaper. On Windows the W10 is bigger but has the same 1280 x 800 pixels as the W8, so the extra size gets you a bigger screen, not a sharper one, and adds 447g. The rest of this guide explains what a bigger screen gives you, what it costs you in weight, brightness and battery, and the few figures that settle it.

In our range the choice is the Tuga A8 or Tuga A10 on Android, and the Tuga W8 or Tuga W10 on Windows 11. Decide the operating system first, because that choice is about your software and a different screen size will not fix it. Our guide to Android or Windows for trade work covers it. This guide assumes you have chosen, and covers the size decision.

What a 10.1 Inch Screen Actually Gives You

All four tablets have a 16:10 resolution, either 1280 x 800 or 1920 x 1200, so the screen shapes match. A 10.1 inch screen has roughly 60 per cent more area than an 8 inch one of the same shape. That is a lot more glass. But area is only half of the story. The other half is resolution.

Three of the four tablets have a 1280 x 800 screen: the A8, the W8 and the W10. The A10 is the odd one out at 1920 x 1200, which is more than twice as many pixels. That changes what "bigger screen" means on each side of the range.

On Android, going from the A8 to the A10 gives you more area and more detail. A drawing viewed at a zoom where the text is legible shows noticeably more of the sheet on the A10, because it has both more area and more pixels to draw it with.

On Windows, going from the W8 to the W10 gives you more area but the same number of pixels. The W10 shows the same amount of a drawing, drawn larger. Lines, text and buttons are physically bigger, which is easier to read at arm's length and easier to hit with a finger, but you do not fit more of the sheet on screen at the same zoom. If what you want from a 10 inch Windows tablet is detail, that is worth knowing before you pay for the size.

Drawings, Plans and BIM Viewers

An A1 or A0 drawing on any tablet involves zooming. The question is how often. On the A10's 1920 x 1200 screen you can read a floor plan at a zoom that keeps a decent section of the sheet in view, then zoom into a detail and back out. On the 8 inch tablets you spend more of your time pinching, and a cluttered services drawing becomes a series of small windows. If reading drawings is the job, the A10 at £449 is the tablet our listing recommends for blueprints, BIM viewers and PDF plans, and it costs £70 more than the A8.

PDF plan viewers, BIM viewers and markup apps are all third party software. Check that the app you rely on runs on the device rather than assuming it will.

Spreadsheets and Long Forms

A spreadsheet is a column problem. What matters is how many columns fit before you scroll sideways, and that is governed by pixel width. The A10 has both the wider screen and the extra pixels, so more columns fit at a readable text size before you scroll sideways than on the A8. A long form, a schedule of test results or a materials list behaves the same way: fewer sideways scrolls.

On the W10, the extra size makes text at a given zoom easier to read, so you can zoom out a step and recover some columns that way. That is not the same as having the pixels. For a desktop spreadsheet or Windows job management program used at a desk or in a cab, check that your own software runs well on the device.

What the Bigger Screen Costs You

Weight and Size in the Hand

On Android, the size choice is not a weight choice. The A8 weighs 680g. The A10 also weighs 680g. The A10 is bigger in the hand, at 250 x 167 x 14.5mm, which is larger than a sheet of A5 paper and well short of A4, but it is thin and it is no heavier. If you were avoiding the A10 because you assumed a 10 inch tablet must be a lump, the listed weight says otherwise.

On Windows it is a different story. The W8 weighs 750g. The W10 weighs 1197g, which is 447g more and nearly 60 per cent heavier. It measures 280 x 198 x 22mm, not far off a sheet of A4 and 22mm thick. Carried around a site all day, you will feel it, and you will want the £19 Shoulder Strap, which is an accessory and not in the box. The W10 has a removable 5000mAh battery, RJ45 Ethernet and HDMI in the body, and the Vehicle Mounting Dock and Charging Dock are both listed as fitting it.

Brightness: the 8 Inch Android Wins Outdoors

The second difference, on the Android side, is how usable the screen is in daylight. The A8 is listed as sunlight readable at 800 nits. The A10 is 350 nits. That is a big gap. At 350 nits the A10 is the dimmer screen, so it suits a cab, a site office or work under cover better than open sun. On a bright roof or an open field in summer, the A8 is the one you can read without cupping a hand over it.

The A8 also lists glove mode. If you work in gloves and do not want to pull one off for every tap, that favours the A8. The A10 does not list glove mode, so check how it responds with your gloves before you order.

On Windows, the W8 is listed as sunlight readable at 700 nits. We do not list a brightness figure for the W10, so we will not guess at one. If you will use the W10 outdoors, ask us through the contact form before you order, or check the screen in your own conditions as soon as it arrives, within the 30 day returns window.

One Hand or Two

The practical test is whether you can hold the tablet in one hand and work it with your thumb. An 8 inch tablet passes that test more easily. A 10.1 inch tablet does not, really. Size and weight are separate on Windows. The 8 inch W8 weighs 750g, which is 70g more than the 10.1 inch A10 at 680g, so choose the W8 for Windows software, not for lightness. You hold it like a clipboard, or it lives on a flat surface, a mount or a stand. All four of these tablets come with a hand strap in the box.

The A8 listing is written around this. It says what the tablet is for: forms, maps, site photos and quotes, one handed, all shift, and it fits a van door pocket. If that describes your day, the extra screen is not worth having, and the cheaper tablet is the better one.

Battery, Sealing and Ports Also Change with Size

The two sizes are not the same tablet with a different screen, so check the rest of the sheet before you decide.

• Battery. The smaller Android has the bigger battery: 10000mAh in the A8 against 8000mAh in the A10. The A8 lists 18W fast charging; the A10 lists quick charge. The W8 and W10 both have 5000mAh, but the W10's is removable.
• Sealing and MIL-STD rating. The A8 and A10 are both IP68 and MIL-STD-810H, and both are rated for -20°C to 60°C. The W8 is IP67 and MIL-STD-810G, rated for -10°C to 50°C. The W10 is IP65, with no MIL-STD rating or operating temperature listed. If the tablet will see puddles and buckets, our guide to IP68 vs IP67 explains why that matters, and MIL-STD-810H explained covers what a MIL-STD rating does and does not tell you.
• Connectivity. The A8 and W8 have 4G LTE built in. The A10 has dual SIM 4G, useful where one network is patchy. The W10 has Wi-Fi and 100Mbps Ethernet as standard with 4G LTE as an option, so if it will work away from Wi-Fi, ask us through the contact form about the 4G LTE option before you order.
• Ports. The A8 has USB-C and USB-A. The A10 has USB-C, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a pogo pin connector. The W8 has USB-C, USB-A and HDMI. The W10 adds RJ45 Ethernet to that list, for direct connections to plant, panels and network gear that has never seen Wi-Fi.

What the Two Sizes Cost

On Android, the step up is £70: the A8 is £379 and the A10 is £449. On Windows, it is £20: the W8 is £629 and the W10 is £649. The scanner versions cost more: £699 for the W8 with 2D Scanner and £729 for the W10 with 2D Scanner, so the step up there is £30. No VAT to add on any of them, and delivery is free to UK addresses in 7 to 10 working days.

The small Windows gap deserves a second look. If you need Windows and the tablet will live on a desk, in a cab or plugged into a panel, £20 buys the bigger screen, the Ethernet port and the removable battery. If you will carry it, the 447g is the real price, not the £20. If the tablet will live in a vehicle, the Vehicle Mounting Dock is £109 and is listed as fitting all four tablets.

Every device comes with a 12 month warranty. All four tablets can take the paid 3-Year Warranty at checkout: £65 on the A8 and A10, and £79 on the W8 and W10.

If the job is mostly photos, a signature and a few messages, neither size is the right answer. The Tuga A6 handheld at £299 costs less than any of the tablets and goes in a pocket. Our four question picker walks through it, and if you are kitting out a team, bulk orders and trade accounts have their own pages.