iPad or Switch for kids?

[RCBH928]

Help me out here, if you have experience, do you think 9 year olds and younger will be happier with a Switch or iPad?

The Switch is probably the more attractive "toy" and cool gadget, but I am thinking 9 years old no way are going to know how to handle that button system and if they did they probably won't reach further than level 2. I don't want to buy it for them to through away after a couple of weeks being bored with because they can't go further.

On the other hand, the iPad is so much more versatile and can do much more. The games can be as cheap as $1 or free so they can have like a game a day and never get bored...but the game library is near exact on Android and both ios and Android run on wide range of systems now so they probably have access to those games somehow already. They even can buy a used iPad, Android tablet, or Android phone for $100 and it will do I guess.

If you have seen kids with these system which do you think they prefer?
If you think I should go with the Switch tell me which games I can't go wrong with. I don't want to be that dumb adult that buy the cheesy shovrlware games thinking its the fun stuff. I know Mario and Kart are 100% on the list. I know kids love Minecraft but I don't know whats the appeal seems a complex game for that age.

[prfsnl_gmr]

iPad

Speaking from experience here. My son really like the Switch, but with the iPad, he can play games, watch videos, take photos, draw pictures, etc. It’s just a more versatile device.

[stickem]

My 10 year old daughter has both and plays/uses the iPad almost always. Her switch might as well be a minecraft machine cause that's all she plays on the switch, even though I got her a good selection of games to start off with. Shit, every device she has is a minecraft player lol.

[RCBH928]

Thanks guys, iPad it is I guess

[benderx]

Hmm, iPad/iphone wasn’t marketed towards kids/young teens. They just see you use it makes it like a future toy. I don’t know if you can baby proof it. Can kids drop/break/ ruined iPad can be big concern. Just imagine if your kid got an android tablet or kindle.

Just go with nintendo switch lite or wait till after e3. I remember when i wanted an iphone without the phone. Low and behold ipod touch my dream idea came true very quick.

I didn't get a phone until my late teens. Get used technology instead forcing yourself new items. Are you going to want to buy Applecare $$.

Just think about is it a “Need or a Want”. Is your kid going to take good care like clean it, scratch, charge it, be gentle, shovelware games

[marurun]

Amazon Kindle isn’t such a bad alternative, either.

[RCBH928]

There are cases that are pretty durable for iphone/ipads, also iPads are usually used sitting down unlike iphones that are on the go and in and out of your pocket making them more prone to falls. I keep forgetting about the Kindle, its just an Android tablet isn't it?

[isiolia]

I keep forgetting about the Kindle, its just an Android tablet isn't it?

Kind of. FireOS - what Amazon uses on their devices - is a fork of Android, but it does not include any of the typical Google apps/services, or the Play store out of the box. You can sideload a lot of it, but they may not be a great choice if using Google stuff is a priority.

On the other hand, Fire tablets are cheap to start with, and go on sale fairly often (you do have to pay a few bucks more for an ad-free version, otherwise you get ads on the lock screen/etc). They'd be a good low-risk option, given that you could buy two or three of them for the cost of a Switch (in the US anyway), and Amazon does offer kid-proof bumper cases for them.

(Kindle devices proper are purely for ebooks, usually monochrome display/etc).

[marurun]

We have a Kindle Fire Kids Edition for my child. Aside from some technical difficulties getting started (and every time it updates) it has a lot of parental controls. The bumper case is also pretty beefy.