REVIEW Galaxy TAB S7 is the best Android tablet in Spain

Table of Contents

1. Design
2. S Pen
3. Screen and sound
4. Battery
5. Galaxy Tab S7 Cameras
   1. day photos
   2. night photos
   3. Front Camera (day and night)
6. Samsung DeX
7. Android ecosystem on tablet
8. Price
9. Conclusion
10. Technical Specifications — Galaxy Tab S7

O Galaxy Tab S7 it's a pleasant surprise. Gorgeous 120hz screen, great sound, phenomenal performance thanks to Snapdragon 865 Plus, well built, enough cameras for the basics, it already comes with the stylus and it was difficult to find any negative points, since even the battery has good performance and after the update of the One UI, it got even better.

A Samsung is one of the leading tablet manufacturers, according to the IDC, it is the second largest tablet manufacturer in the world, with 19,1% of the market, second only to Apple which holds 32,5% with 53,2 million devices sold in 2020 alone.

Having almost half a competitor in a market is something rare to see when we talk about Samsung. Whenever it is not the leader, it is a few percentage points behind the leader, but in the tablet market the justification is quite clear to imagine: the lack of specific resources and dedicated applications.

While the Apple developed iPadOS to improve something that was already very good, and finally bring the possibility of using mice, inserting a memory card/pen drive and several other things that we already had for a long time on Android for tablets, the “Android for tablets” (which it's just what it still is) remains a big screen version of the Android we have on our phone. There are no navigation gestures, there aren't as many apps that adjust to the system as it always worked on the iPad. The impression is that the Google does not insist on having a system for tablets and that application developers do not even know that Android tablets exist or that there are users. 

on the part of Google we can justify that the lack of interest may be related to the ChromeOS, its operating system aimed at computers and notebooks that is also embedded in a few tablets, such as Lenovo Duet. But the lack of interest coming from the developers is strange, since the iPad represents just over 30% of gadget-type users, there is nearly 70% of an abandoned market for specific features and functions. 

Fortunately, the South Korean manufacturer has not given up and continues to create tablets for various market niches, from the advanced user to his 80-year-old grandmother or his 7-year-old nephew. And the tablet of today's review is the Galaxy Tab S7, more advanced and expensive version of a tablet with Android that we can buy in Spain. there is even the Galaxy Tab S7 +, with a bigger screen (and OLED), but it hasn't been released here yet.

Design

From the photos we can already see that it is a premium product. It is all made of metal, with a small glass detail on the back, where you can connect the S Pen to charge (charging is done by magnetic induction). The metal sides share space with 10 antennas so that no matter how you hold the device, you can have Wi-Fi and mobile internet. In practice, we found that this helps a lot, there are no connection drops even if you are far from the router.

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The small bezels around the display allow it to take up 85% of the front of the Tab S7. There are those who prefer larger edges to be able to hold the tablet without accidentally touching something, and in use we realize that here it is satisfactory, not too much, not too little. The camera is positioned in the middle of it, when you hold it lying down. It's on the same side of the volume and on and off buttons.

Speaking of the power button, that's where the Galaxy Tab S7's fingerprint sensor is located, which unlike the Tab S7+ is not on the screen. It's comfortable, you can just touch your finger without pressing the button to unlock the device. We didn't see it as a negative and there are other unlocking options.

On the underside, there are the magnetic connectors and the dock for keyboard and other accessories. The 4 speakers are on the sides, and here it is worth mentioning that if you turn the device, the audio will come out in another speaker (corresponding to the audio). This gives you a very immersive movie experience. If you have a stereo device in hand, give it a try with this spatial sound demo video. The sense of movement of the scenes are faithfully represented by the sound.

It has 2 microphones – one above and one below the screen –, USB-C input and flash for photos with the rear camera. On the front there are two light sensors that are very discreet, you will have to strain to see the one on the top and the one on the side.

S Pen

the pen of Samsung It's definitely better than ever. Weighing a measly 8 grams, the S Pen has 4096 pressure levels, magnetic snap and ultra-low latency (26 ms).

It's comfortable to hold and not a big mess. on the cover of Tab S7 that Samsung sells separately has a compartment to store it. Charging is very fast, and even without a battery you can use many of its functions.

There is a button that activates practical functions such as pausing and playing music, skipping tracks, increasing the volume, and configuring specific functions for each application (if supported). It is a very practical pen with several functions.

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In-app Samsung Notes compatibility is total, it is even possible to enable a sound of writing on paper for those who are most nostalgic. Speaking of Samsung Notes, the feature to record audio while writing can be perfect for anyone thinking about using the tablet during classes. You take your notes, and if you're a teacher who speaks very fast, you can record the audio directly through the notes app while you write, it's very practical.

If your intention is to buy to create drawings in applications like Autodesk SketchBook, you can invest in Galaxy Tab S7 that he is for you.

Screen and sound

We have an 11-inch LTPS LCD screen with 2560×1600 (16×10 aspect ratio) with 500 nits of brightness and DCI-P3 color range. THE Samsung brought low blue light certification to generate more comfort when looking at the screen. The sound is stereo in 4 audio outputs signed by AKG, a brand known for its quality in audio products.

Both are great. The screen is beautiful, super vivid and bright, a charm really. The sound is loud, clear, and the screen + sound set proved to be perfect for listening to music, watching movies, videos, or anything else. The screen is really eye-popping, you will find yourself mesmerized appreciating anything.

Unfortunately the Galaxy Tab S7 doesn't have the OLED we're used to on cell phones, only the Tab S7+ has it. What does that mean? That black is not entirely black. In films or videos where that black stripe appears at the bottom, it is not completely erased, emanating some luminosity. In dark scenes the same thing, you notice the brightness, which doesn't bother you.

Battery

It's 8.000mAh, a satisfactory evolution when we take into account that the Galaxy Tab S6 has 7.040 mAh. It's a lot of stuff and it lasts for days if you don't use it for hours. Even with all this capacity, in just over 2 and a half hours you can completely recharge the battery of the Galaxy Tab S7. In the box comes a 15W adapter but the device supports fast charging up to 45W.

In our test we left the screen at 120Hz, if you choose to lower it to 60Hz you will get better results than the one shown below:

Galaxy Tab S7 Cameras

Don't expect to have the super camera you have on your phone. We have two cameras at the rear and one at the front, the 3 are enough to make very good records, but not so perfect. They are enough for you to register what you need, “scan” documents, make video calls. Night photos are grainy, considering that the proposal here is not to take photos at a party, on the street at night, it is not a negative point. There is a flash and the camera has a night mode, which will help in possible emergencies.

On the back we have a duo with 13MP / F2.0 on the wide-angle camera and 5MP / F2.2 on the ultra-wide-angle camera.

day photos

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night photos

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Front Camera (day and night)

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In bright environments any current camera makes good records, and the Galaxy Tab S7 is no different. The 8MP is more than enough for you to make video calls day and night, take selfies.

Samsung DeX

Look, it's by far one of the biggest advantages of having a branded tablet. THE Samsung DeX it is only present on the Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S6 and allows to transform the entire interface and a mode of use similar to what we have on computers. Virtually everything is optimized to work as if it were a desktop, applications in windowed mode, all easy and very intuitive.

We tested DeX on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S20 FE and here on the Galaxy Tab S7 it's MUCH faster, impressing Samsung's improvements on something that was already good.

Unfortunately, as much as the Samsung strives and is a “pioneer” to bring a hybrid mode to the handheld, it relies on developers to optimize its applications. Instagram, for example, works in a clumsy way. Of course, when we think that DeX is for productivity, it is ignoble that a social network is not fully optimized.

Here is the official list of DeX compatible apps.

You can connect the Galaxy Tab S7 on an external monitor — wired or wireless. From there, the interface will be modified and will look like the screenshot shown above. If you don't want to connect to a monitor, no problem, just activate and that's it. It is possible to use DeX mode without an external keyboard and mouse, but the experience will not be the same.

DeX is an asset that makes this device more useful and justified, since it's not just a tablet, it's a set of possibilities.

Android ecosystem on tablet

It's perhaps the main problem with this tablet (and anyone who uses Android). At the Tab S7 there are no crashes or unpleasant situations that the Android already provided in the past, on the contrary, everything flows very well, the system, the apps, everything works the way it should be: fast. But when we compare with the competition, we notice the lack of functions designed to work on tablets.

Putting two apps to be used at the same time is not as intuitive as it is on the iPad. Speaking of apps, the main ones are expanded versions of mobile apps.

A Samsung greatly alleviates this by bringing a series of resources shared with their devices, such as Apple he does. Transferring heavy files from the cell phone to the tablet is very fast, natively having the function of using the tablet as a second screen, DeX, all this adds a LOT and helps when considering whether to invest here or not.

The settings screen well exemplifies the distance between iPads and Android tablets. While the Apple optimizes the physical size and resolution offered to distribute the information well, in the Android we only have the same view of a cell phone with a tiny screen (compared to tablets). Samsung has its share of blame, the One UI interface could handle the screen better, which unfortunately did not happen.

In some apps that are optimized for large screens, the view is much better, like in Slack, you get the PC-like experience, on a tablet, standing or lying down:

Price

All this tangle of features built into this well-designed and crafted piece comes at a price. per BRL 5.084,10 can you buy the Galaxy Tab S7 no Magazine Luiza. It's a pretty high price and you have to think about whether it's worth it or not.

AS Pen comes with it, but if you miss it, it's R$499,00 at the Samsung store. And the keyboard cover? Well, the accessory can be purchased separately for R$ 1.350,00.

Conclusion

It is by far the best Android tablet for sale in Spain. Very well built, screen quality, audio, high-end hardware, excellent features that tablets from other brands are far from having. It's the kind of product that you pick up and feel like it was made with quality. But here we have a Ferrari (the hardware) being driven by a cycling champion (the system): both are great, they work together, but they're not delivering everything they can. 

Android tablet apps don't offer the same as iPadOS apps. THE Power Director (video editor) even tries, but it doesn't compare to LumaFusion on the iPad. AS Pen is very advanced and works perfectly. 

Samsung did an excellent job on the S7 and none of the negatives are their fault (ignoring the price and One UI not taking advantage of the big screen) but rather the app developers and the app itself. Google, who never got the attention Android for workts deserved.

Technical Specifications — Galaxy Tab S7

Launch	August 2020
Dimensão	253.8 x 165.3 x 6.3 mm
Weight	498g (Wi-Fi only model) and 500g (LTE model)
building	Glass front and aluminum back and sides
SIMs.	Nano-SIM
Fabric	11 inches LTPS TFT type, 120Hz, HDR10+, occupying 83,6% of the screen
Resolution	2560×1600, 16×10 aspect ratio (274pp density)
Processor	Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865+ (7 nm+) Octa-core (1×3.09 GHz Kryo 585 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 585
But by the full GPU acceleration tech	Adreno 650
Memory card	microSDXC up to 1TB
Storage	256Gb
RAM memory	8Gb
System	Android 11
Interface	One UI 3.1
Rear cameras	13 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, AF (tem HDR, modo PRO e panorama) 5 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1.12µm Records video up to 4K at 30fps and has PRO mode
Frontal camera	8 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/4″, 1.12µm (tem HDR) Records video in 1080p at 30fps
Audio	Stereo sound with 4 speakers
Saídas	USB-C (no P2 headphone jack)
Social	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / 6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE No NFC or Radio
Battery	Li-Po 8000 mAh non-removable with 45W fast charging
Other Features	fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, proximity, compass, Samsung DeX
Colors	Mystic Black, Mystic Bronze, Mystic Silver, Phantom Navy
Price	R$ 5.084,10

Source: IDC, Samsung, GSM Arena