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ToolsSamsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus
$ 484.49 at Amazon About this Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 review: We spent a week evaluating the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. They were running Android 10 with Samsung ’ s One UI 2.5. They received a minor software update during the review period to eliminate bugs. Samsung supplied the tablets to Android Authority for this review.
Design and display: Class all the way
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
- 11-inch
- 253.8 x 165.3 x 6.3mm
- 498g (Wi-Fi), 500g (LTE), 502g (5G)
- 11-inch TFT LCD
- 2,560 x 1,600 (WQXGA), 120Hz
- 12.4-inch
- 285 x 185 x 5.7mm
- 575g
- 12.4-inch Super AMOLED
- 2,800 x 1,752 (WQXGA+), 120Hz
Samsung aimed high and hit the mark with the Tab S7 and S7 Plus. The design of the Tab S7 bears more than a evanesce resemblance to Apple ’ s iPad Pro, thanks to the flat slope edges, the size and basic shape of the screen door, and even the release, speaker, and port placement. The hardware looks and feels great. Some might call them copycats, though they are clear upgrades to 2019 ’ s Tab S6 .
Eric Zeman / Android Authority Unlike today ’ s phones, which rely on lots of looking glass, the majority of the S7 ’ sulfur chassis is aluminum. The sides have a polished chrome-like front, while the metallic element rise panel is flat in both shape and end. The materials are ace and fitted together perfectly. I ’ five hundred call the smaller Galaxy Tab S7 compact and slender, a well as comfortable to tote around at 1.1lbs ( 500g ). The 12.4-inch Tab S7 Plus is less easy to use ( it feels huge ), and is weighty to a little degree at 1.27lbs ( 575g ) .
Related: New Apple iPad Pro puts Android tablets to shame There ’ sulfur lots going on around the out edge. The top boundary of the tablet ( when held crabwise ) holds the screen lock/power button, volume toggle, SIM/memory batting order tray, and microphone. I particularly like that the power button has a built-in fingerprint scanner ( 11-inch model entirely ). This serves as a estimable accompaniment for the facial recognition feature of speech should you choose. It was immediate to program and commodious to use. I wish the larger exemplar had a fingerprint reader, besides. The USB-C port is on the correct edge. Speaker grilles are visible near the four corners. The bottom houses the pogo pin connection that is used to power the keyboard accessory. Basically, it has everything but a earphone jacklight .
Eric Zeman / Android Authority On the bet on, you ’ ll notice the slightly raised camera faculty in one corner and a dedicated magnetic strip for the S Pen stylus. The S Pen adheres to the charismatic clean strongly enough, but I ’ d however worry about losing it were the pair tossed into a backpack. thankfully, the ( optional ) keyboard accessory includes a protective roll for the S Pen .
The Tab S7 relies on an LCD panel, while the Tab S7 Plus is gifted with a Super AMOLED .
Eric Zeman / Android Authority The 11- and 12.4-inch tablets use different free-base filmdom technologies. The Tab S7 relies on an LCD gore, while the bigger slate is gifted with a Super AMOLED screen. Both offer a 120Hz review rate for smooth operation. I found the filmdom of the Tab S7 to be undimmed and shrill. The LCD looked excellent and offered solid contrast when compared to the larger AMOLED display of the 12.4-inch model. Viewing angles were very, very good. The 16:10 aspect proportion strikes a nice balance between tablet- and laptop-friendly use. The display of the larger pad is merely stunning in every way. The 120Hz empanel means content on the screens looks exceptionally placid. Whether I was browsing the web, watching Netflix, or playing games, the screens exhibited a liquid-y menstruate that ’ randomness easy to get used to. I wish the looking glass were less reflective and less prone to collecting fingerprints, but these are coarse complaints about modern touch panels. Combining the high-quality hardware with the juicy LCD and Super AMOLED displays means the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and S7 Plus are a pair of sensual slates that are easy to desire .
Performance
- Snapdragon 865 Plus
- 6/8GB RAM, 128/256/512GB storage
- 8,000/10,090mAh battery
- 45W super fast charging
Processor
Eric Zeman / Android Authority There ’ s no questioning the performance of the Tab S7 and S7 Plus. With Qualcomm ’ s fastest available chip from 2020 onboard, the tablets are processing beasts. Samsung lent us the model with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. evening though we feel 6GB of RAM is the minimal needed for today ’ s circus tent Android devices, we found it caused no performance issues here. We expect Samsung will opt for the newer Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 when it refreshes its Tab S line of tablets. The tablets ran a handful of benchmarking apps with no trouble oneself, scoring in the top percentiles and showcasing smooth performance across the board. More to the point, in daily use I didn ’ t notice any stutters, lagging, or frame of reference drops. These things are lead performers, whether you ’ rhenium battling Fortnite or an Excel spreadsheet .
Battery
Samsung promises the Galaxy Tab S7 and S7 Plus will deliver between 14 and 15 hours of battery liveliness while watching video recording, and that ’ s what they delivered. I was alone able to get the tablets to cycle through battery life a few times over the naturally of a workweek, but they always managed at least 14 hours — which outlasts the august iPad Pro by several hours .
See also: How firm charging very works : Your steer to wired and radio charge The 8,000mAh ( 11-inch ) and 10,090mAh ( 12.4-inch ) batteries do take some meter to charge. The tablets support charging at up to 45W, but they ship with a measly 18W charger. That ’ s aggravating. I found the Tab S7 needed more than three hours to charge in full from all in, while the S7 Plus required near to four hours. Samsung could have at least included a 25W charger in the box. It ’ sulfur best to leave the Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus charging overnight. The tablets don ’ thymine offer any other visualize charging features, such as Wireless Power Share for accessories .
Software
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
- Android 11
- Samsung One UI 3.1
The pad shipped with Android 10 and Samsung ’ s 10-based One UI, interpretation 2.5, but the slates have since been updated to Android 11 with Samsung One UI 3.0. The tablets were running Android 11 when we evaluated them. The software know is a mix bag. Android tablets often deliver an achingly awkward have, but Samsung has smoothed over some of the rough spots. You can use the tablet barely as you would a smartphone, specially a Samsung flagship. More specifically, the Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus carry over all the software features of the Note 20 pipeline, which means you have notes that synchronize across devices, a well as assorted stylus-based activities .
not all apps are optimized for Android tablets and it shows. not all apps are optimized for Android tablets, and it continues to be the linchpin that fails the Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus over and all over. Samsung optimized its own apps for the pad, indisputable, but the majority of Android apps just don ’ thymine align well to the landscape orientation. This leaves them looking and behaving in unpolished ways that detract from the experience. ace hardware only gets your product so army for the liberation of rwanda. Things start to fall apart for the Tab S7 and S7 Plus when you dig deep enough into the software .
Eric Zeman / Android Authority then there ’ sulfur DeX. DeX is Samsung ’ s Windows-like desktop environment that is more conducive to productivity. The independent feature of DeX is that you can run multiple apps at a prison term in disjoined windows. however, the windows aren ’ t the easiest to manage. I particularly like DeX for work time. It ’ randomness simpleton enough to chief and is good knock-down enough to let me get work done as though I was using a broad calculator. That said, it ’ south no Chrome OS, nor is it Windows. It ’ randomness restrict and sometimes apps don ’ thyroxine know how to behave .
DeX can besides cast to other screens for more real estate, be it a monitor or television receiver set, via HDMI and ( now ) wirelessly. I found the wireless option didn ’ t work with my older Samsung television. A trustworthy old HDMI cable worked just all right. I don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate see excessively many road warriors packing these cables, though, and don ’ t expect besides many people to be making function of the shed ability .
See also: DeX could be more utilitarian if it added this feature The good news program here is that it ’ randomness easy to toggle between the normal Android experience and DeX. This about gives you the impression you have two tablets, which makes it easy to classify knead from play. hush, the app experience for Android tablets simply can ’ metric ton hold a candle to the iPad. Google may be set to revamp the Android tablet experience. We ’ rhenium hopeful that it does .
S Pen and keyboard
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
- 147 x 8.2mm
- 8g
- Bluetooth
- Magnetic connector/charger
Unlike the Apple iPad Pro ( or any iPad for that matter ), the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus actually ship with an S Pen stylus in the box. This is a full-sized stylus that looks and feels like a legit playpen. Samsung revised the S Pen compared to the one that accompanied final class ’ second Tab S6. I found the shape and materials comfortable to hold and use over time and the button worked good. The S Pen slaps up against a charismatic strip on the back of the tablet where it is easily jarred loose .
Eric Zeman / Android Authority The S Pen has access to the entire cortege of software that ’ second found on the Note 20 Ultra smartphone. That means the newfangled and advance Notes app, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as blind write, survive messages, AR scribble, and translate. These are all access via a sidebar menu that floats along the veracious edge of the shield. The S Pen supports the raw Air Actions a well, which lets you go back a screen or take a screenshot by drawing squiggles in the air while holding the button down. It takes practice to get these right and I ’ megabyte not entirely indisputable they ’ ra utilitarian.
The Samsung Book Cover keyboard is absolutely necessary. The Samsung Book Cover keyboard is absolutely necessary to complete the know of using the Galaxy Tab S7. For starters, it provides a protective shell for the tablet. I wouldn ’ metric ton want to carry the tablet around without one. The buttocks piece adheres to the metal back panel magnetically. It includes a kickstand arsenic well as a dither for protecting and accessing the S Pen. The other half of the Book Cover connects to the penetrate edge. You have to take care to align the pogo pins correctly, but once it ’ second locked into position it stays hard attached .
Eric Zeman / Android Authority I like this Book Cover keyboard much more than I did the previous iteration. The keys are a more natural condition and have good travel and feedback. More importantly, the trackpad works actually well. It ’ s relatively big, promptly, and accurate. It features a dedicated button for taking screenshots, which I appreciate, but there are no serve keys for changing the display luminosity or speaker bulk on the keyboard for the 11-inch model. For what it ’ sulfur deserving, the Book Cover keyboard for the larger 12.4-inch Tab S7 Plus model does include function keys. together, the S Pen and Book Cover complete the Galaxy Tab S7, giving it the productiveness chops it needs to take on the iPad. It ’ s a pity the Book Cover international relations and security network ’ thyroxine included and that it costs indeed much more. The smaller Book Cover is $ 199, while the larger one is $ 229. There are no current sales on the Book Cover accessory .
Camera
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
- Main: 13MP
- Ultra wide: 5MP
- Flash
- Front: 8MP
Samsung copy-and-pasted the television camera app from its smartphones to the Tab S7. It ’ s a robust app that actually includes a lot of shooting modes, including single consume, alive focus, view, hyperlapse, and sol on. I found the app opened swiftly and was quick to focus and take pictures. The results leave a bite to be desired. The biggest topic I saw was noise, which is prevailing whether you ’ rhenium shoot in good conditions or not. ( Granted, using tablets for photography hush appears to be taboo. ) It ’ randomness one of those cameras that ’ s courteous to have in a pinch, but I can ’ metric ton imagine most people will use the independent shooters for anything other than spur-of-the-moment shots .
The user-facing television camera is more important because it doubles as the camera for video recording calls. It does a ticket job, better than my laptop tied. I was impressed with the quality of the selfie camera across the board .
Believe it or not, you can record video up to 4K at 30fps. It ’ s not the cleanest or most colorful video that I ’ ve seen, but it ’ randomness more than serviceable .
Galaxy Tab S7 and S7 Plus specs
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 | Galaxy Tab S7 Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 :11-inch TFT LCD 2,560 x 1,600 (WQXGA) 120Hz |
Galaxy Tab S7 Plus :12.4-inch Super AMOLED 2,800 x 1,752 (WQXGA+) 120Hz |
| Processor | Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 :Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ | Galaxy Tab S7 Plus :Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ |
| Memory / storage | Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 :6GB/128GB 8GB/256GB 8GB/512GB microSD (1TB) |
Galaxy Tab S7 Plus :6GB/128GB 8GB/256GB 8GB/512GB microSD (1TB) |
| Battery | Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 :8000mAh 45W Charging |
Galaxy Tab S7 Plus :10,090mAh 45W Charging |
| Camera | Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 :Rear Main: 13MP Ultra Wide: 5MP Front |
Galaxy Tab S7 Plus :Rear Main: 13MP Ultra Wide: 5MP Front |
| Dimensions | Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 :253.8 x 165.3 x 6.3mm | Galaxy Tab S7 Plus :285 x 185 x 5.7mm |
| Weight | Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 :498g (Wi-Fi), 500g (LTE), 502g (5G), | Galaxy Tab S7 Plus :575G (all variants) |
Value and competition
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus Bigger and better With the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, Samsung brings a crisp processor, 5G support, the iconic S Pen, and Samsung ’ s productivity software. $ 484.49 at Amazon
- Galaxy Tab S7: 6GB/128GB — $580
- Galaxy Tab S7: 8GB/256GB — $620
- Galaxy Tab S7: 8GB/512GB — $699
- Tab S7 Plus: 6GB/128GB — $780
- Tab S7 Plus: 8GB/256GB — $820
- Tab S7 Plus: 8GB/512GB — $899
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and S7 Plus come in countless configurations. You can ordain up vitamin a much RAM and storehouse as you want. The LTE model is no longer available. Samsung has dropped the prices significantly since plunge. The get down price for the entry-level model was, for example, $ 650. It ’ second now $ 580. All the models have received price cuts, with the high-end models seeing more than $ 100 sliced from the price. That makes them a much better share, though we ’ d be derelict if we didn ’ triiodothyronine point out that these tablets are now about three months from being replaced by the expected Galaxy Tab S8 family .
More reading: Your guide to the best tablets There ’ mho still the issue of the total cost of the Book Cover. Adding $ 199/ $ 229 to the price of the tablet is no laugh matter. There is value there, sure, but it is atrocious. Where Apple ’ s iPads benefit from third-party keyboard accessories, there don ’ triiodothyronine appear to be many for the Book Cover beyond Samsung ’ south extend. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and S7 Plus have more competitors than you might think. In the premium tablet outer space, there is the iPad Pro, which more or less owns the class. The iPad Pro is even the most dominant pad, and deservedly so. It has the app experience that most people want, but Apple ’ randomness hardware is expensive. The latest slates from Apple are powered by the M1 nick, have improved front-facing cameras, and the larger adaptation has a fresh micro-LED display. Some might consider the Huawei MatePad Pro, but the software narrative there is even more refer. While the hardware is ace, the MatePad doesn ’ metric ton have access to the Google Play Store, and app excerpt is limited. then there is the Microsoft Surface family of tablets — most notably the Surface Go 2. The fib there is similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 : You have to get the keyboard for the pill to be of any real habit. The Surface family is expensive, but it is high quality and offers a full translation of Windows. You ’ ll besides need to pay a short extra to get the best version of the Go 2 that doesn ’ metric ton have an underpowered Pentium chip. If these are excessively costly for you, Samsung has a great choice in the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7, which has a broken monetary value and high prize .
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 review: Should you buy it?
Eric Zeman / Android Authority The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus are two of the highest-quality Android tablets you can buy. There ’ sulfur no question that these slates are appealing deoxyadenosine monophosphate far as the hardware is concerned. With excellent craft, the metal chassis and stun displays are something to lust over. performance is best-in-class, and battery animation is absolutely stellar. The cameras leave a bit to be desired, but that ’ s par for the course on a pad. Samsung ’ s own apps front and function bang-up on the Tab S7 and S7 Plus, but the majority of Android apps fall a bite on their side. ampere long as you can look past the software shortcomings, these are the top Android tablets to get.
