It has now been over two years since the Samsung galaxy tab S7 and S7 + was released to the general public. With the Samsung galaxy tab S8 on the way, is the tab S7 and S7+ really worth the money?
Android tablets have been struggling to stay afloat especially against the Ipad lineup. Most companies gave up and called it a day but there is one company in particular which has refused to throw in the white flag and that is Samsung.
All the way from its first release of the Samsung Galaxy tab 7.0 back in 2010 Samsung has really been struggling and this is mainly due to android. Android is by far one of the easiest and most widely used phone operating system and that is where the main problem lies.
Android is optimized to run on smartphones and so when you bring it over to a 12-inch screen the apps look really bad and some even end up crushing. Although Samsung is working really hard to improve on the software with programs such as DEX it seems like the Ipad is years ahead especially in terms of software.
Samsung galaxy tab S7
| Pros | Cons |
Great build quality An aluminum chassis Great quad speakers Great cameras for a tablet 120 Hz refresh rate Improved software especially with one UI 3.1 | Still needs an improvement in app support LCD panel 16:10 Aspect ratio may not be suitable for professional work. |
Samsung Galaxy tab S7+
| Pros | Cons |
| Aluminum back and frame. Bright, crispy and sharp AMOLED Display Great AKG tuned quad speakers with Dolby Atmos 120 Hz refresh rate. Improved software especially with one UI 3.1 | Lack of App support by developers. 16:10 aspect ratio may not be ideal for productivity. |
Hardware.
Build quality, battery and Screen.
There is one area where we need to give Samsung some credit and this is on the overall build quality of these tablets. The back and the frame mainly consist of aluminum with feels very premium when you hold it. The speakers in both the tab S7 and S7+ are magnificent.
Each of them features a quad speaker setup tuned by AKG and are also Dolby Atmos enabled hence delivering a amazing sound quality. The Tab S7 features an LCD panel which has an amazing refresh rate of 120 Hz which enhances the overall experience by offering buttery smooth transitions and a more enjoyable gameplay.
The Tab S7+ takes this experience to a whole new level by adding an AMOLED screen with also 120 Hz refresh rate. The AMOLED screen offers a good contrast ratio offering deep blacks and a sharp image. This tablet is an absolute joy for content consumption. Both of them come with an 8000 MAh battery. Samsung claims Up to 15 hrs of web browsing which is not bad at all. It also supports up to 45 watts of super fast charging which has now started becoming common.
Cameras, mics and speakers.
Both tablets come with two rear cameras and a front facing camera. The two rear cameras feature a 13mp wide lens and a 5mp ultrawide lens. The front facing camera features an 8mp lens which is capable of shooting up to 1080p at 30 frames per second while the rear cameras can shoot up to 4K at 30 frames per second.
The cameras on both of these tablets are none the less as good as they can get. You can easily get by basic work such as scanning documents. Zoom calls are also good with the front facing camera and the mics normally get the job done. As discussed earlier, both tablets have a quad speaker setup which are tuned by AKG. In addition to that they are both Dolby Atmos enabled giving you that rich, crispy and amazing sound quality.
Software.
It is no secret that Samsung is lagging behind in software and overall user experience when compared to the Ipad pro. One of the features that makes the Ipad unmatched is how tight the Apple ecosystem is. People will likely pick an Ipad over any other tablet because everything works the it is supposed to.
This concept is what many manufacturers and software developers often miss. People often prefer easy and effortless things and that is what Apple devices in general bring on the table. It is also no secret that many developers don’t optimize their apps for big android screens such as the tab S7 and S7+ for some reason leaving behind mobile optimized apps which end up crushing.
Apple is always ahead of the game as when the M1 macs ad M1 Ipad pro were out, they incentivized developers and many apps are being optimized for Ipad OS every day. Samsung should also follow suit and give incentives to developers as this is no easy task. None the less, Samsung has also being making an effort with it’s PC like experience on tablets with a feature called Samsung DeX.
Samsung Dex is basically a software platform in Samsung high end phones and tablets which aims to bring a PC like experience although you are running on an android system. This feature has had it’s ups and downs in the past but it seems that Samsung is not ready to give up. Of course we cannot ignore the white elephant in the room and that is lack of app support. Some apps work and others don’t. There have been reports that some apps work when in tablet mode but when opened in Dex they end up crushing since they are not well optimized.
It is also worth noting that One UI which is Samsung’s ‘skin’ on top of android is very impressive. As a matter of fact it is one of the best skins in the market. With snappy transitions, colorful icons and tons of customization, this is hands down very spectacular.
Performance.
The performance on both of these beasts is okay quite frankly. They both come with 6GB of RAM and varying storage from 128 GB RAM. Samsung recently partnered with Microsoft to bring Microsoft’s Software exclusively to Samsung devices. Xbox game pass was exclusively released on the both the Tab S7 and the Tab S7+. Xbox game pass is basically a cloud streaming service for games.
It is more or less like Netflix but instead of movies and shows you can stream games. The highest subscription which is the Ultimate pack comes at 14.99$ per month. With the power of the Qualcomm snapdragon 865+ chip and the 120 Hz screens on both of these devices, it is an absolute joy to game. You can also get by small productivity tasks such as light photo editing and some office work.
Accessories.
Both tablets come with an included galaxy S pen which is very thoughtful of Samsung to do so. This is very impressive as compared to the Ipad lineup which is sold separately at 100$. Last year Samsung leveled upon their stylus by reducing its latency to 7ms which is very snappy especially with that 120 Hz display producing almost zero lag.
Software such as Pen up, Samsung notes and a couple of Microsoft office products can take advantage of the S pen making it even more useful. The Galaxy book cover is sold separately at a price of 69$ for the tab S7 and 79$ for the tab S7+. The Galaxy book cover also comes with a detachable keyboard which is very handy. It definitely gets the job done when typing some light office and school work.
Which of the two tablets is right for you?
Well, both of these tablets are great straight from the Aluminum chassis to the AKG tuned quad speakers and even the 120 Hz refresh rate. I’d advice that if you wish for a bigger crispy and sharp AMOLED display then the Tab S7+ would be right for you as this is one of the main distinguishing features between the two tablets. The Galaxy tab S7 fan edition is also worth considering.
Ideal tab, interesting.