Throttle and torque are the latest and greatest, the hardware is new and fast and can actually be used as android tablets well, as in the hardware is actually good.
Throttle is the newest top of the line. (matco maximus 3.0) It does everything the Torque does and adds expansion module compatibility. It does not come with expension modules but you can purchase an oscilliscope, sensor box, bore scope, battery and charging system tester, etc that all use the Throttle as their respective controle units.
Torque is everything throttle is minus the expansion compatibility. (matco maxiflex)
Pad II-AE and the pro and pro3 are all old, like 4-5 years old. Like the newer ones, they are android based and work great as scan tools but the other functions they brag about using it as an andoid tablets are pretty weak due to hardware limitations.
Pad II-AE is the previous generation throttle. Also rebaged at the Matco Maximus 2.0 . This is the scanner I use everyday and have for the last 4 years.
Pro and Pro3 I have not used but are more of the same, basically android tablets is rugged casses.
Launch, Matco, Autel all run their software "subscriptions" like this. You buy the unit and you get 1 year of free updates. Updates come out almost daily adding new vehicle years, models, modules, special functions for modules, etc. When your year runs out. You can update to the newest software versions available the day your subscription ended. You unit still works and has all the functions it just cant be updated further without buying another subscription. Year subscriptions are generally 700-900$ Now if your working on cars say 5 years or older. chances are, there aren't many updates coming out that target the vehicles you are working on. In my shop we get year old cars and even current model year cars so active yearly subscriptions are a must. Many times i have not had a function in a newer car that i needed, only to check for and update, update it and find that i now have the function. but i know a lot of independant shop guys that work on cars generally after their warranty runs out 5years old or so that don't update but every few years.
My autel units are several years old and have not been updated so i do not know the current softwares capability but i will say that when my autel units were updated along side my matco/launch, they were almost identical is capability.
Snap on specifically is the only one i can think of off the top of my head that doesn't do a "subscription" but actually releases updates a few times a year and can afaik only be updated by the snapon dealer (tool truck). These updates are 800-900$ each.
hope this helps.
