We’ve been using and reviewing iPads on YouTube for over 4 years now,
ever since the 2016 9.7” iPad Pro back when we were making videos for Appleinsider.
And we’ve been comparing Samsung’s Galaxy tablets to iPads
ever since we started Max Tech, and there‘s one thing that has never
changed.. Apple’s iPads were ALWAYS a big step ahead of what Samsung had to offer..
But for the last week, I’ve been using Samsung’s brand new Galaxy Tab S7,
and I honestly have to say that I wasn’t expecting it to be this good.
So before we get deep into why, I wanna talk about how Samsung’s previous flagship Tab S6
was worse than Apple’s iPad Pro.
In 2017, Apple came out with their 120hz ProMotion technology for the iPad Pro
and it made it feel so much snappier than any Samsung tablet.
Then in 2018, Apple completely redesigned the iPad pro with square edges and a flat back,
making it feel modern and much more premium compared to Samsung’s Tab S6.
Apple also added Face ID to the iPad Pro, making it a much better solution
than the under display fingerprint sensor on the Tab S6, which honestly wasn’t very convenient.
And in terms of performance, the iPad Pro was always more powerful,
so with all of that said, let’s get into the various reasons why I can now confidently say
that the Tab S7 has finally caught up to the iPad Pro.
The first major change is that they completely redesigned the body,
with squared off edges instead of rounded ones, and a completely flat back.
And even though Samsung obviously copied the modern design of the 2018 iPad Pro,
going as far as to match the same 11” display size,
I'm glad they did because it honestly feels so much more premium.
And to differentiate it a little bit, the sides have a brushed metal finish
instead of being matte on the iPad Pro.
They also redesigned the S-Pen wireless charger on
the back with a nice piece of glass, which I think looks really nice.
One subtle difference I noticed was that the speaker grilles on the Tab S7
are machined in such a way that aims the sound towards the user, which is pretty clever,
and it seems to be working because the speakers are incredible, just listen to this comparison.
I’m also glad that Samsung got rid of the under display fingerprint sensor
which wasn’t very reliable due to having to get the finger placement perfect.
And instead of the old under display fingerprint sense, Samsung went for
a simple one built right into the power button,
which is great because you can turn on the display and authenticate with a single button press.
Now one thing I’m very glad Samsung upgraded is the display,
it can now refresh at up to 120hz, just like the iPad Pro. This was the absolute number 1 feature
that kept the iPad Pro ahead for so many years, and now Samsung has finally caught up.
Apple’s version is still better because the refresh rate automatically adjusts down to
as low as 24hz depending on the content you’re viewing to help save battery life.
But now that Samsung finally has 120hz, the display feels super smooth and fluid,
as you can tell from this slow-motion comparison filmed at 120 frames per second.
The other benefit that surprised me was that Samsung was able to get the latency of their S-Pen
down to 9ms, matching the latency of the Apple pencil on the iPad Pro.
That was one of the things that made the iPad Pro
so great, and now Samsung has caught up on that front as well.
Now the one issue that I have with Samsung adding this feature is that they had to sacrifice
their AMOLED display technology to add 120hz on the 11” model.
So in terms of the display quality, the iPad Pro
is now beating out the Samsung in terms of the maximum brightness,
the contrast quality and the color quality as well, as you can see in this comparison.
What’s interesting is that the larger Tab S7+ gets
120hz refresh rate while maintaining the AMOLED display, so it’s not a hardware limitation.
They just chose to leave that feature to the larger and more expensive model.
And that’s actually the ONLY difference between the Tab S7 and the S7+,
everything else including the chip, the RAM and the storage is identical.
Because of that, we didn’t even bother with buying or reviewing
the more expensiveTab S7+, since we think most people would rather have the smaller 11” size.
And to prove that, we ran a poll, asking people which size they would prefer for
tablets, not mentioning any brand names at all, and out of 8,000 people who voted, 61%
said they would rather buy a smaller size.
So it’s a bit sad that Samsung didn’t include the AMOLED display on the 11” model,
but regardless of that, it still looks pretty decent,
with high reflectivity being the only downside that really stands out.
Now before we get into performance, I want to touch on one final design choice
that Samsung actually copied from Apple.. And I’m so glad that they did!
They added magnets into the body itself, just like the iPad Pro has had since 2018,
so now, their keyboard case attaches magnetically and it holds on very well,
just like Apple’s Magic keyboard case for the iPad Pro and iPad Air 4.
Samsung’s previous Tab S6 actually forced you to stick the keyboard case onto the back of
the tablet, which was really annoying and it caused some issues with long-term reliability.
And I’ve gotta say that I love how the keyboard case completely covers and protects the S-Pen,
with a flap built into the case which easily opens up for convenient access.
It also has a flap for angle adjustability with a really solid metal hinge,
and I really like the material of the case itself because it seems
much more resistant to scuffs and fingerprints than Apple’s Magic keyboard.
I also like that you can actually detach the keyboard while leaving the case on the back
for drop protection, which you can’t do on the Magic Keyboard since it’s built as one
solid piece, so you have to lift the iPad Pro off to more conveniently use it as a tablet.
And on the Tab S7, you can even fold the keyboard behind the tablet
if you don’t want to completely take it off, so it’s super convenient.
As far as the keys themselves, Samsung updated them with a more square shape, and they now
honestly feel just a tad bit better than the ones on the iPad Pro’s magic keyboard case.
Now the trackpad, on the other hand, isn’t that great.
It uses a traditional diving board design, so it’s hard to click at the top.
The Magic keyboard’s trackpad is much better with a unique design
that’s not only easier to click, but you get an even clicking feel anywhere on the trackpad.
One thing for sure is that Samsung is really focusing on making the
Tab S7 a great laptop replacement, in terms of a couple of design choices,
including making the keyboard itself much better.
But one thing you’ll notice is that the front facing webcam is no longer on the top,
it’s now on the side, so when you're using it with the keyboard case,
the webcam is now perfectly centered at the top just like with a traditional laptop.
The main issue with the iPad Pro is that when you’re using a keyboard case,
the webcam is off to the side, so it looks very awkward,
almost like you’re not paying attention to the person you’re talking to.
Check out this webcam and microphone comparison to see what I mean.
This design choice makes it very clear that Samsung cares a lot about the Tab
S7 being a laptop replacement, which brings us to Samsung’s secret sauce, Dex mode.
It basically gives you a traditional PC-like UI that’s very familiar to Windows,
giving you multi-tasking and file management features that absolutely kill everything the
iPad Pro has to offer, especially since the Tab S7 comes with a microSD card slot for extra storage.
DEX is so good that it single-handedly makes the Tab S7
a much better laptop replacement than the iPad Pro currently is.
And an added bonus is that you can get 5G on the Tab S7,
which you can’t currently get on the iPad Pro, so that can be great for users on the go.
The last thing we need to talk about before getting into the conclusion
is the performance, so let’s talk about that Snapdragon 865+ chip.
Compared to last year’s model, it’s not that much faster,
but it’s still the second fastest mobile tablet as of right now,
with the iPad Pro staying ahead in terms of both processor and graphics performance.
However, when I compared the gaming experience using Call of Duty Mobile on both the Tab S7 and
the iPad Pro, the Tab was every bit as fast, giving you an excellent gaming experience.
So the extra power of the iPad Pro is simply overkill for the apps and games we have today,
so the performance of the Tab S7 is more than enough for almost everyone.
And you’re getting that performance for only $650
instead of $800 with the iPad Pro, so you’re truly getting a lot of value,
especially since the S-Pen is included, compared to paying $130 for the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil.
And on top of that, the Samsung’s keyboard case is only $200
compared to $300 for Apple’s high-end Magic Keyboard.
So if you want to get the full tablet experience, it’s gonna cost you $1,230 on the iPad Pro,
and only $850 on the Tab S7, saving you $380.
Now of course, there’s a reason why Apple’s iPads are the
best-selling tablets out there, and that’s because of the iOS app store
and class-leading software support which leads to iPads holding their value incredibly well.
But if you don’t really care about software,
or if you actually prefer Android, then the Tab S7 gives you way better bang for the buck,
especially now that Samsung’s Tab S7 with keyboard case bundle is currently on sale on Amazon
for only $750, and you can find a link to that sale down below if you’re interesting.
But to finally wrap up this review,
I have to say… good job Samsung because you absolutely killed it with your new Tab S7.
If you enjoyed this video, go ahead and tap the like button and click the circle above to
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Pro, you can watch them right over there. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you in the next one!