Some people would call the iPad Pro the king of tablets, but the people at Samsung have something to say about that. After spending some time with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+, I’d have to say that I am all ears.
Samsung’s latest premium tablet is a true thing of beauty. At only 5mm thick and weighing 590g, this is a slick design which loses nothing on toughness as it has one of the most solid builds of any tablet I have ever held. Add to that the most powerful processor in an Android Tablet, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and 8GB of RAM (6GB in the 128GB model) should have you buzzing through any task that you can throw at the device.
The security features available are pretty much the same as any new phone on the market. Fingerprint scanning and Face Recognition are standard as is the usual pin, pattern, swipe, etc. One thing that I really liked was that you could have the pattern screen moved to either side of the tablet when holding it in portrait mode, allowing you to use your thumb to access it easily.
The battery life of this tablet is off the charts compared to any tablet that I have ever laid my hands on. The 10090mAh capacity should give you up to 14 hours of video playback on a single charge and, while I am usually a skeptic of claims of long battery life, I am a believer when it comes to this one. I charged the Galaxy Tab S7+ after its initial setup and, in four days, I only used 50% of the battery while putting the tablet through its paces. This included watching video, taking video and photos, gaming and plenty of internet surfing.
“The Screen on the Galaxy Tab S7+ is worth the price of admission alone.”
The Screen on the Galaxy Tab S7+ is worth the price of admission alone. The 12.4,” Super AMOLED, 120Hz display is incredibly beautiful and the screen’s 16:10 resolution helps fill more of the screen when streaming content as opposed to the usual 4:3 screen found on many tablets. The Galaxy Tab S7+ has eye care certification, meaning less blue light to bother your eyes, allowing you to binge your favourite shows or work on that report for even longer.
The four speaker system puts out crisp audio for the times that you want to crank up the volume while watching a movie or playing a game. You just need to be mindful not to cover up the bottom speakers on the left and right, which sit in a comfortable spot for your hand when holding it. If you want to take it a step further, go into your settings and enable the Dolby Atmos for a more cinematic experience.
As is the case with most mobile devices, storage is always a key factor in choosing the right device for you. The S7+ offers 128GB, 256 GB and 512GB options to best suit your needs. The model that we have is the 256GB version. But this is not your limitation. You can add an additional 1TB of external storage by adding your own micro SD card to the tablet, giving you more space than you should ever need for the life of the device.
While I never usually tend to judge a tablet based on its cameras, seeing as most people carry a much lighter, easier to handle camera in their pocket with them at all times, they were definitely worth a look. There are two rear facing cameras. A 13MP Wide Angle lens and a 5 MP Ultra Wide Angle lens should be more than up to the task for whatever photographic endeavours that would necessitate your large tablet. The front facing 8MP should be great for video conferencing or the odd selfie. You will find a grainy quality in low light, so make sure your subject is lit amply if you are trying to take a good photograph. Like other current Samsung devices, it has a number of presets and modes like Food, Portrait, Panorama and Hyperlapse to help get you the shot you’re looking for.
Included in the box is Samsung’s latest S Pen, which is a treat in and of itself that you don’t need to pay extra. The pen magnetizes to the strip along the back which simultaneously acts as a charging station and storage for the stylus. It does dislodge quite easily, so make sure to be careful with it. A better method to secure the pen would have been ideal.
The S Pen itself works great with the tablet. Its ultra low latency combined with the sound coming from the tablet as if you are putting a pencil to paper makes the process feel so natural. The ability of the apps to convert your writing into typeface or your drawing into a shape (draw the shape and hold on the last point in your drawing and it will change to a more geometrically sound shape) are wonderful features.
You are also able to use the S Pen to perform gestures to control certain applications. For example, you can do certain movements to control the volume or skip to the next video on YouTube. I do wish, however, that more apps were able to utilize the functionality of the pen. Maybe find some games that could use the pen as an extension of yourself in game.
So is the Tablet worth the price? Given the MSRP of a phone and given the quality of the product, I would say yes. It’s absolutely worth the price. Would I buy it? Probably not. I can afford the phone because I make payments on it during my contract. To pay for the tablet outright is a hefty price. If the $850-$1030 USD price tag doesn’t hurt your bottom line, though, then I definitely recommend treating yourself.
