Dan Mercer

Founder & Lead Reviewer, Large-Tablet.com

Dan Mercer is the founder and lead reviewer at Large-Tablet.com, where he specializes in large tablets, detachable 2-in-1 devices, and productivity-focused mobile computing. Since 2021, Dan has personally tested more than 50 tablets from Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Microsoft, OnePlus, Xiaomi and other manufacturers. He has evaluated each device through real-world use rather than short-term benchmarking sessions.

Between 2021 and 2023, Dan worked as an independent mobile device consultant. He has helped hundreds of consumers by repairing, troubleshooting, configuring and evaluating Android and Apple devices. Working with hundreds of devices gave him practical experience beyond marketing claims.

What Dan focuses on:

I focus on large tablets, the 12 inches and up ones. And I try to answer one honest question: is this tablet really worth $1,000 or more? I care about what spec sheets hide. Real-world battery under mixed creative load, not the web-browsing figure on the box. Whether a keyboard case survives two weeks of café tables. Whether Android’s app gap matters for your work or just for reviewers’ talking points. And yes, whether it can open a ZIP file, rename twenty files, and print, because a $1,000+ device that can’t is a media tablet wearing a laptop costume.

How I Test!

The two-week rule: Each device becomes my only computer for a minimum of 14 days.

Controlled benchmarks: Geekbench 6 and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme at 50% brightness, Wi-Fi 6E, 22°C. Battery tests run separately at a calibrated 200 nits. These are identical conditions for every device, so numbers are comparable across reviews.

Three real-world scenarios: Café work (keyboard case, a dozen Chrome tabs, Slack, a live Google Doc, on battery), desk work (external 4K monitor, multitasking/DeX/Stage Manager), and handheld media (couch, plus a real flight whenever possible).

Cross-checking before publishing: I compare my findings against aggregated owner reports on Reddit and XDA, and against other independent reviewers. When my results diverge from consensus, I say so in the review and explain why.

The complete methodology is on the How I Test page

Devices tested on the bench

Device	How I got it	Tested
Apple iPad Pro 13″ (M5)	Purchased at retail	Oct – Nov 2025 [Retest: July 2026]
Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra	Purchased at retail	Nov – Dec 2025 [Retest: July 2026]
OnePlus Pad 3	Purchased at retail, full price	Jan 2026 [Retest: July 2026]
Microsoft Surface Pro 11	Purchased at retail	Sept – Oct 2025 [Retest: July 2026]
Lenovo Tab P12 Pro	Purchased refurbished	Feb – Mar 2026 [Retest: July 2026]
Meswao B3 Pro 15.6″	Purchased at retail	Apr 2026 [Retest: July 2026]
KTC 25″ MegaPad	Borrowed from a friend	May 2026 [Retest: July 2026]

Every unit above is listed with its source: purchased at retail, manufacturer loaner (returned), or borrowed from a private owner. If a review’s sourcing isn’t clear to you, email me and I’ll point you to the entry.