TechNow: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 can't be beaten for entertainment and hardware specs
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 +5G
The latest flagship tablet from Samsung the Galaxy Tab S7+ 5G absolutely kills it with leading-edge hardware specs, but is that enough to be crowned the best tablet in 2020?
It has a stunning design, offers 5G connectivity and a gorgeous and super-smooth 120Hz display, top of the line Snapdragon 865+ processor, and of course, the incredibly useful S Pen which now boasts the same 9ms latency as the second-generation Apple Pencil and iPad Pro.
The overall design of the Tab S7+ is very Apple-esq, but it looks sleek and premium. The Tab S7+ is beautifully crafted with a brushed metal body that’s a mere 5.7mm thick. The corners are rounded and the edges chamfered making it nice to hold in any position despite its large size.
It sports a 12.4-inch screen that is easily the best on any tablet bar none with just the right amount of bezel between the screen and the edges.
The display has a 16:10 aspect ratio, which is a big plus for watching movies and general media consumption. In a world full of Android tablets, the Tab S7+ stands out among them for lots of reasons including its screen size and top-end specifications.
The screen is a 12.4-inches AMOLED panel unlike most of the other tablets on the market which use LCD. This is a stunning display with rich colours and inky deep blacks that make everything just pop off the screen. # The icing on the top is the 120Hz refresh rate which makes animations and scrolling smoother.
You can set this to 60Hz to conserve battery, but it’s hard to go back to the slower refresh rate when you’ve tasted the 120Hz goodness. And to top it all off its super sharp (1752 x 2800 pixels) with support for HDR10+.
One of the nice things about the Tab S7+ is that it comes with the S Pen, unlike the Apple Pencil which costs extra. It is round, but with a flat side, that clings to the back of the Tab S7+ held in place by magnets.
There’s a special place for it and it’s easy to see because it’s a glossy stripe right beside the flash and two cameras. I don’t like that you have to place it with the pointed end towards the cameras. If you try it the other way, it won’t attach firmly and it won’t charge either.
When you do place it correctly you will see a little graphic appear on the top of the display showing the S Pen charge state. The S Pen doesn’t need to be charged to write on the screen, It only needs a charge for all the Bluetooth features including Air Gestures and for controlling the camera’s remote shutter and so on.
When using Samsung Notes, I couldn’t see any visible delay unless you draw a line really fast. Using the S Pen for taking notes feels natural although. The S Pen tip is more like rubber than the hard plastic found on the Apple Pencil and therefore doesn’t skid around on the glossy screen as easily.
However, I did find the S Pen would stop working intermittently, a bit like it was running out of ink. This could have been an issue with my review unit as I received a pre-release Tab S7+.
As someone who likes to draw I was really looking forward to trying Clip Studio. This is a drawing app for PC packed with professional drawing tools and features. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed.
Designed for work, perfect for play. Change the way you do everything, with the Galaxy Tab S7+.
— Samsung Ireland (@SamsungIreland_) September 4, 2020
Learn more: https://t.co/xbicqIpcjz pic.twitter.com/oNJlnnnJSZ
The interface is too much like a desktop app for use on a tablet and not properly optimised for a tablet. I also found zooming in and out very jerky. This is more of a fault of the software but unfortunately, this happens with a lot of Android apps for tablets. This will improve over time. Unfortunately, I also didn’t find palm rejection great while drawing, an area where the iPad excels. For now, if you’re into drawing on a tablet for either professional or hobby use, stick with the iPad Pro and excellent apps like Procreate.
Samsung has introduced quite a lot of new productivity features with the Tab S7+ with multitasking being one of the highlights. Here the new and improved multi-active window lets you open and uses up to three apps simultaneously.
You can also save your favourite combination of apps with App Pair and launch all of the three apps at once. If that's not enough, the Tab S7+ features the slide-out edge screen that we know from Galaxy phones for quick access to your apps.
The Tab S7+ comes with an in-screen fingerprint reader as well as face unlock. I didn’t find either worked flawlessly for me and in the end, I just turned them off. I regularly got ‘no face detected’ and ‘no match’ on the fingerprint reader. Your experience may differ but my advice is, If you’re using the tablet at home most of the time, just turn security off.
The tablet features a 10,090 mAh battery and it also supports up to 45-watt fast charging but you need to buy a compatible charger separately. The one in the box delivers just 15-watts and it takes hours to recharge.
Android for tablets has gotten a lot better over the years and in general, most apps run well. Most of the apps I was using scale correctly or were optimised for tablets. Apps like Adobe Lightroom, work just as well as they do on the iPad Pro.
Samsung notes have been improved with new features including cloud sync and note sharing. This is a neat option if you’re a Note 20 owner.
The new keyboard case is optional, but an essential accessory for those who will be using the Tab S7+ for real work. It comes in two parts and has a clever flap on the back which accommodates the S Pen, keeping it secure and safe.
The second part is the keyboard which also features a trackpad. I was really impressed with the quality of the keyboard which is a joy to type on. The trackpad is also excellent and helps improve productivity while using the tablet for work activities. It would have been even better if the keys had backlighting. It’s great to see an ESC key on the keyboard and a full row of useful function keys.
I use G Suite and in particular, Google Docs and the Tab S7+ could easily replace my laptop if that’s all I needed it for thanks to the excellent keyboard.
You can detach the keyboard and use the back cover on its own. It has an adjustable stand on the back, which is great for watching movies. On the downside, the Book Cover Keyboard isn’t ideal for working and typing on your lap as it wobbles all over the place.
The Tab S7+ has a powerful quad-speaker setup that is tuned by AKG. Sound quality and loudness is one of the best I’ve heard on an Android tablet, but not quite as good as the iPad Pro. Unfortunately, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack but there is full Bluetooth 5.0 support.
You can finally use DeX on the Tab S7+ and it’s a welcome addition. There’s even a dedicated key for Dex on the Book Cover Keyboard, which is a fast way of launching it.
This is the best way to be able to multitask on the Tab S7+ since you can run apps as individual windows and then make them run full-screen when required. DeX mode works more like a PC or Chromebook and although not all software is compatible you can choose to force apps to run in full-screen mode.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ has a sleek and beautiful design that packs a ton of software and hardware features into its thin body. It would be my tablet of choice for G Suit and even editing photos on the go with apps like Lightroom.
The S Pen simply isn’t as good as the Apple Pencil, nor is the quality and range of apps for creative professionals. For media consumption and pure entertainment be it games or watching the latest movies on Netflix or Amazon Prime, the Tab S7+ simply can’t be beaten.
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