Our review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 is the best all-round tablet for pro-users.

Pros

  • Superb screen
  • Fast and responsive the majority of the time
  • Great build quality
  • Comes with the S Pen Stylus as standard

Cons

  • Temperamental fingerprint scanner
  • Occasionally prone to app and service crashes
  • The amount of features can feel overwhelming at first

It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 lately. Thanks to phones getting larger and laptops becoming cheaper, tablets, on the whole, have been seemingly dying a slow death, with the exception of Apple’s iPad. Yet after years of falling out of favour, sales across the board in 2020 hit levels not seen for years.

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This was likely caused by the pandemic forcing us all to spend months on end at home. Tablets are a great way to binge on Netflix shows, especially if you and your flatmates or family can’t agree on what to watch. They’re good alternatives for working from home, too, compared to buying a full-blown laptop or trying to type on your phone.

Yet while cheaper devices, such as the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus or HD 10, are good enough to scratch your entertainment itch, you need something substantially more powerful and versatile for work. Something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7.

In our Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 review, we look at how well it performs in various tasks from streaming to playing games, remote working and letting our toddler get their hands on it. We give its S Pen stylus a whirl designing fitted wardrobes, and we assess whether this tablet could actually replace a laptop or PC.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 review: summary

Price: £619 £529.99

Key features:

  • 11-inch Quad HD tablet powered by Android 10.0
  • Three storage and RAM options: 128GB + 6GB RAM, 256GB + 8GB RAM, 512GB + 8GB RAM, all extendable to 1TB via microSD
  • Dual cameras on the rear (13MP and 5MP) with an 8MP front-facing camera
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Four speakers tuned by AKG
  • 4K video recording
  • Fast charging technology and a 14-hour battery life

Pros:

  • Superb screen
  • Fast and responsive the majority of the time
  • Great build quality
  • Comes with the S Pen Stylus as standard

Cons:

  • Temperamental fingerprint scanner
  • Occasionally prone to app and service crashes
  • The amount of features can feel overwhelming at first

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 is available at Amazon for £619 £529.99.

What is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 is an 11-inch Android tablet, released in the summer of 2020, which forms part of the South Korean firm’s wider Galaxy tablet range.

After a few years selling a Pro range of Galaxy Tab devices, alongside more mid-range and entry-level tablets in the Galaxy Tab A and Tab E ranges, Samsung streamlined its offering last year. At an event in August 2020, Samsung unveiled just two flagship tablets – the Galaxy Tab S7 and the Galaxy Tab S7+.

As you’d expect from the brand’s flagship devices, they both come with premium specs at high-end prices. The Galaxy Tab S7 is the smaller, cheaper of the two, with prices starting at £619 (now £529.99). The Tab S7+ comes with a 12.4-inch display and starts at £799 (now £699).

You can buy the Android 10-powered Tab S7 with Wi-Fi only, or you can add a 4G SIM card for an extra £100 (plus the price of the mobile contract). There are then two storage options to choose from – 128GB, or 256GB, both of which are expandable to 1TB via microSD card and two RAM options – 6GB or 8GB.

Regardless of which option you choose, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 ships with its S Pen Stylus by default. By comparison, Apple makes you buy its Apple Pencil separately for £89.

What does Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 do?

Samsung is taking direct aim at the likes of the iPad Air, iPad Pro and the Microsoft Surface with its Tab S7 and Tab S7+. It wants customers to get the best of all worlds when it comes to browsing, streaming, working and creating and it’s thrown a lot of tech at the tablet to do so.

  • Google Play Store pre-installed gives you full access to the full Android app catalogue
  • Netflix, BBC iPlayer, All 4, ITV Hub, SkyGo and Disney+ all available from the store
  • Four ways to control the device – hands, voice (via Bixby), S Pen, and gestures (via the S Pen). Bixby can also be used to identify objects from images
  • S Pen turns the Tab S7 into a notebook or sketch pad (with compatible apps)
  • 4K video recording – but not 4K playback
  • Split View allows you to run two apps side-by-side
  • AKG tuned quad speakers come with Dolby Atmos technology
  • Compatible with the Samsung Book Cover keyboard (£189, sold separately)
  • Available in black, bronze, navy and silver

How much is Samsung Galaxy Tab S7?

There are four colours, two RAM, and two storage options to choose from when selecting a Samsung Tab S7. In addition to selecting whether you want Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi and 4G.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 price, when bought directly from Samsung, is as follows:

You can also buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 from the following places:

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Is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 good value for money?

Samsung’s Tab S7 is most certainly a premium device, but it’s crammed with a whole host of features to justify its high price tag.

No matter what you’re into, the Tab S7 fits the bill. If you’re looking to buy this tablet for entertainment, its display is ideal for streaming, its processor is powerful enough for gaming, and it offers plenty of storage for downloads.

If you’re looking to buy it for work, its high RAM makes multitasking a doddle, while all of Google’s productivity apps (Docs, Sheets, Drive, and so on) are installed by default. You can also download a vast selection of work-based Android apps directly from the Play Store.

If art or graphic design is more your thing, the large screen and S Pen included by default makes sketching, CAD design, Photoshop and more feel effortless. Or, if you’re more into photography or video editing, the cameras and playback options of the bright and vibrant screen are ideal.

Its most direct rival, besides its own Tab S7+ sibling, is the iPad Pro. While the latter appears to offer better value for money, at £579, it only offers half the storage with no physical way of expanding this storage. Plus you’ll need to pay extra for an Apple Pencil, with prices starting at £89.

All things considered, not only do we feel the Tab S7 is great value for money in its own right. If you can afford it, we’d say it was the best tablet money can buy.

Tab S7 pen and camera

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 features

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 stands out for a number of reasons. Firstly, its display is stunning. We were completely blown away, and you can read more about this in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 screen and sound quality section below. Secondly, it’s incredibly fast, which just adds to its versatility, and thirdly, the S Pen is a joy to behold.

Because it runs Android 10, albeit, with a lightweight Samsung skin on top, you get access to the full catalogue of Android apps and games, plus the Play Store’s vast collection of films, TV shows and books, and the Samsung equivalent, Galaxy Store.

The tablet is powered by the flagship octa-core processor from Qualcomm, called the Snapdragon 865. As a baseline storage, 128GB is decent but being able to expand via microSD to 1TB is even better. This means that even if you’re a heavy user, you shouldn’t struggle for space for all your creative projects, film downloads, games and apps.

The fingerprint scanner built into the power button – which can be combined with or used instead of facial recognition and a PIN – is a nice touch. It is a little fussy and can be temperamental if you don’t place your finger on exactly how it wants. It’s also not quite as rapid as the readers we’ve used on smartphones, but the delay between pressing the button and unlocking the screen is minimal. Similarly, face recognition is accurate and fast, just maybe not as quick as on smaller devices.

Elsewhere, you can use the tablet to control Bluetooth devices, namely those compatible with Samsung’s SmartThings platform. You can also use Samsung’s built-in voice assistant, Bixby, to use the tablet hands-free.

Yet the S Pen is what we get most excited about. It comes as standard and works out of the box. Many tablets we’ve tried require you to charge the Pen before use and jump through hoops to pair it. Samsung’s version recognises its own device and just works. Effortlessly.

We’re so enamoured of the S Pen we could write an entire, glowing review of its features, design and ease of use. At its core, it’s great for writing notes, sketching and designing, but it offers so much more. It can be used to unlock your tablet simply by pressing the small button on the side. Live Write lets you take photos and videos, and place text or stickers over the top. Smart Select allows you to draw round shapes on anything shown on the screen, annotate it and share. Then there’s the superb translate function that translates any words the pen is hovered over in real-time.

Our toddler is also a huge fan. Although this tablet isn’t aimed at children, access to kids apps from the Google Play Store, the sturdy design and the bright screen all lend themselves well for this tablet being a family investment.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 screen and sound quality

Having tested a wide range of tablets, all with different screen sizes, the 11-inch display on the Tab S7 hits a sweet spot. It’s not so large that it becomes unwieldy, but it’s not so small it becomes restrictive. It’s practical while being portable.

As mentioned above, we were physically taken aback at how impressive the screen is. In terms of vibrancy, in terms of sharpness, in terms of colour depth, and in terms of brightness. It’s one of the best displays we’ve ever seen on a tablet, only just losing out to the Tab S7 Plus.

It has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, placing it around the 2K image quality mark, so while you won’t be able to watch 4K UHD content in the way it was intended, in reality, you don’t miss out too much. Full HD content absolutely shines on this display. Plus, the viewing aspect ratio and vibrancy combine to make you almost forgive this lack of 4K support when streaming.

There are a couple of smaller downsides. The 16:10 aspect ratio, while great for viewing content on Netflix and YouTube, can lead to apps not always being displayed properly. On the whole, this is rare, but when you do come across it, it’s frustrating and makes a small dent in our overall opinion of the tablet.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 doesn’t have Tap to Wake by default. This feature is seen on Apple (and other rival) devices in which you can tap the screen to wake it up. From here, it’s easy to swipe up to unlock. To wake the screen on the Tab S7, you either have to press the power button – not always easy to locate if you’ve rotated the tablet without realising – or enable the option in the S Pen. The latter means that when you tap the button on the side of the pen, the screen comes to life. This may seem like a small complaint, but if you’re used to Tap to Wake, you’ll be surprised how often this slows you down.

The addition of four speakers – two on each side – creates an impressive stereo sound, especially for a tablet. Their AKG technology makes sure this sound is rich and well-rounded, and it’s great for watching TV shows or playing games. At high volumes, this sound does tend to get a little distorted. Plus, the position of the speakers can mean you end up blocking the sounds with your hand as you hold the device. A problem easily solved with a stand, or by propping the tablet up against something, but another small flaw in an otherwise superb tablet.

Samsung Tab S7 homepage with S Pen

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 design

Everything about the Galaxy Tab S7 screams premium. It’s incredibly sleek, cased in aluminium and glass. There’s very little real-estate in terms of protruding buttons, with almost everything sitting flush with the tablet’s edges.

The exception is the camera module on the back, which stops the Tab S7 from sitting flat on a surface. In most circumstances, this barely registers. However, when using the tablet with the S Pen for drawing or note-taking, the little wobble you get as the tablet rocks is a little distracting.

Despite its relatively large size, the tablet is thin, and its components are well-balanced, which makes it comfortable to hold. Albeit, with two hands. It’s not a particularly heavy tablet, but it will make your wrist ache if you hold it in one hand for too long.

Also, given its luxury feel and materials, it feels robust. This may come from the extra heft given to the Tab S7 by the large 8,000mAh battery. It may also come from the fact the aluminium case is not slippery. At no point did we feel we would drop the device, and we felt confident that it would stand up to the challenge if we did.

In terms of ports, the Samsung Tab S7 – has four speakers positioned in stereo along the sides, tuned by AKG; a USB-C connector, a magnetic pin connector used to charge the Book Cover keyboard; and a smooth magnetic strip along the back. This strip is used to keep your S Pen in place and doubles up as a pen charger.

The only thing missing is a headphone jack. You’ll have to use Bluetooth headphones with the Tab S7 if you want to listen to audio on the go.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 set-up

We’ve used and reviewed countless Samsung devices in our time, and the setup has always been smooth. That is until you get to the homepage and see that it’s stuffed full of Samsung apps. In older devices, it wasn’t possible to remove these apps even though they ate into the device’s storage.

This is not the case with the Galaxy Tab S7. The tablet guides you through its setup process with an easy-to-follow, step-by-step tutorial. If you need to go back a step, or exit, it’s straightforward and clear how to do so.

As you move through the screens, you’re given the explicit option to install Samsung’s apps or continue without adding them. The same goes for enabling various Samsung software features, including Bixby. You get to pick which browser you want as default and choose which security features are enabled.

That’s not to say you won’t get any Samsung apps pre-installed, but it reserves these for its most useful apps – Samsung Notes, the Galaxy Store (an alternative to the Play Store), Tips and Devices. By default, you do get Google’s suite of apps pre-installed and ready to go. As a heavy Google user, this was welcomed, but it may seem like overkill if you’re not.

The only things you’ll need to hand during setup are your Google account login details and Wi-Fi password. You can then choose to set up as many or as few settings and features as you like.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 battery life and performance

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 is as powerful as it is pretty. The premium Snapdragon processor, when coupled with 6GB RAM, means the Tab S7 renders graphics brilliantly, opens and switches apps with minimal lag, and it was able to handle almost everything we threw at it. At times, the Side View crashed, or if we opened too many apps, the tablet felt a little slower. Even at its slowest, the Tab S7 was fast, but it’s worth noting.

To test tablet batteries, we play an HD video on repeat with the brightness set to 70% and aeroplane mode enabled. The video loops from full charge until the battery goes flat.

Samsung claims the battery life on the Tab S7 will last 15 hours. We managed to push it to a little over 10 in our looping video test. On standby, it lasted much longer, at more than three days. When using the tablet as an everyday device – to make the odd video call, browse the web, play SimCity, catch up on Netflix and listen to podcasts – we got just shy of a day’s use out of it.

On the one hand, we’re disappointed that we have to charge our tablet the same amount as our smartphone, but on the other, when you consider the quality of the display and the huge range of features on offer, this battery life is decent.

Our verdict: should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7?

No matter how you look at it, paying £619 (now £529.99) for a tablet isn’t cheap. It does offer a lot of bang for your buck, but you’ll only see the true value of the Tab S7 if you’re more of a pro-user and want all the bells and whistles.

That’s not to say more casual users won’t get a lot of this tablet; it’s just that the price may seem a tad excessive for casual users.

In our view, the Galaxy Tab S7 is the best all-around tablet we’ve ever used. Yes, you get a higher-quality screen and even more power on the Tab S7 Plus, but at the price point, the Tab S7 takes the crown for us. Existing Android users will find it instantly familiar, while Apple users will quickly get to grips with it and will welcome the huge array of features.

For us, the S Pen further elevates the Tab S7 above all of its rivals, and we can’t recommend it enough.

Rating:

Features: 5 /5

Screen and sound quality: 5/5

Design: 5/5

Set-up: 5/5

Battery life and performance: 5/5

Overall rating: 5/5

Where to buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7

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Still comparing tablets? Read our Apple iPad Air (2020) review, or if you're set on an Android tablet, take a look at our review of the Amazon Fire HD 10 or our Lenovo P11 Pro review.

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