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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Great for Multimedia and Productivity
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Great for Multimedia and Productivity

by November 17, 2020
Overview
Highlights

Designed to enhance your experience in both work and play, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ boasts plenty of top-tier features. Is it worth your money? Let's find out.

Warranty

1-year

Price

RM4,599

Positives

+ Solid build quality
+ Flagship-level performance with Snapdragon 865+
+ Four speakers
+ Excellent display with 16:10 aspect ratio
+ Book Cover Keyboard makes it more viable for productivity
+ 4G LTE / 5G support
+ S Pen works great
+ Smooth, user-friendly UI

Negatives

- Pricey
- No 3.5mm audio jack
- Back is a bit of a fingerprint magnet

Pokde Scoreboard
Pokde Rating
Appearance
7.0
Efficiency
7.0
Features
8.5
Materials
8.5
Performance
8.5
Portability
9.0
User Experience
8.0
Value
7.5
Bottom Line

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is a great tablet for multimedia and productivity use.

8.0
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Unboxing the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

For our Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ review unit, we didn’t actually receive the retail box. However, we can at least let you know what we received:

  • S Pen
  • Book Cover Keyboard
  • The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ tablet itself

The retail unit should also come with a 45W charger, USB-C cable, SIM ejector pin, quick start guide, and warranty card. The Book Cover Keyboard itself is sold separately.

Appearance

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Display

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ looks like just like any other modern day tablets out there. You get a 12.4-inch WQXGA+ display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, make it a little wider (or taller in vertical view) for that added bit of screen real estate. There’s no home button on the front, and there are noticeable bezels on all four sides, with one side housing the selfie camera.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Sides

On the right side, you have the volume rockers, power button, and a SIM card slot. As for the left side, you have 3-pins which are used to connect to the Book Cover Keyboard or similar accessories. Moving over to the top, you have two speaker grilles and a microphone hole whereas the bottom, you have another two speaker grilles and the USB-C port.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Back

Moving over to the back, you get a good view of the tablet’s metal body. You have the Samsung logo in the top-left corner, dual-camera setup in the top right corner, and the Sound by AKG logo on the bottom. The line beside the camera bump is the S Pen slot, which is used for pairing and charging. It’s rather easy to get fingerprint smudges on the back so it’s recommended to use a protective case with this.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Book Cover Keyboard

 

When used with the Book Cover Keyboard, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ looks more like a laptop, albeit more akin to a Microsoft Surface rather than a traditional laptop. This will let you use a physical keyboard and trackpad instead of relying on solely on touchscreen navigation. This protective case also ensures that the S Pen is secured in place as there is a bump on the back designed for it.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review - Great for Multimedia and Productivity 23

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – S Pen

Speaking of the S Pen, it isn’t the same one as on the Galaxy Note20 series. It looks and feels more like an actual pen given the size. Just like the other S Pen, this one has a matching colour with the device its intended for as well as a button on it, but we’ll get to the latter in the User Experience section.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ has a solid build quality thanks to the metal chassis, the 16:10 aspect ratio gives you added screen real estate so you can see more, and the Book Cover Keyboard gives you laptop-like functionalities and look while also protecting the tablet. This tablet definitely needs a protective case, and it’s hard to go for anything other than the Book Cover Keyboard given what it offers.

Specifications

CPU/Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ (1x 3.09 GHz Kryo 585, 3 x 2.42 GHz Kryo 585, and 4 x 1.8 GHz Kryo 585), 7nm FinFET
GPU: Adreno 650
RAM: 8GB RAM
Display: 12.4″ WQXGA+(1752 x 2800) Super AMOLED Display, 16:10 aspect ratio, 120Hz, HDR10+
Storage: 256GB (expandable via MicroSD)
Camera: Main Camera(s)
13 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, AF
5 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1.12µm
Front Camera
8 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/4″, 1.12µm
OS: Android 10 with One UI 2.5
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
USB-C
Audio: Stereo speakers tuned by AKG
SIM: Nano-SIM
Battery: 10090 mAh,
45W fast charging
Dimensions: 285 x 185 x 5.7 mm, 575g

Performance

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Antutu V8

On the Antutu v8 benchmark, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ performed well. Given the Snapdragon 865+ chipset, it’s no surprise but if you’re wondering why there is a noticeable difference between this and the ROG Phone 3 which uses the same chipset, that’s most likely due to the difference in RAM. It still performs just as you’d expect from a flagship SoC by Qualcomm.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Geekbench 5

Moving on to Geekbench 5, the results echo what we’ve seen on Antutu. The single core performance is as expected but the multi-core score seems to be lagging behind. It’s still a good score nonetheless.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review - Great for Multimedia and Productivity 24

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – 3DMark

As for 3DMark, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ performs similarly to other Snapdragon 865-based devices in Sling Shot and Sling Shot Extreme. For some odd reason however, it really blew every other device out of the water in Ice Storm Unlimited.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – PCMark Work 2.0

As for PCMark’s Work 2.0 benchmark, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ once again achieved an excellent score, beating out nearly every device that we’ve benchmarked thus far. Especially given the larger display size and the Book Cover Keyboard, it would make it an ideal device for productivity.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Battery life

As for the Work 2.0 battery life endurance test, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ lasted 6 hours and 41 minutes (401 minutes) in 120Hz, and 8 hours and 20 minutes (500 minutes) in 60Hz. As far as synthetic benchmark is concerned, the battery life is pretty good but if you want to maximize it, best to stick to the 60Hz setting instead.

From my own experience with medium use, I find myself having to charge this about once every 2 to 3 days. This is about 30% brightness and me doing a mixture of work (word processing), web browsing, and watching some YouTube videos. I do believe that the standby time can be pretty long, and that the display is what really kills the battery life. That is to be expected given the large screen size.

User Experience

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ uses 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display. Given its WQXGA+ resolution (1752 x 2800), it has an aspect ratio of 16:10 instead of the standard 16:9 so you’ll have a little bit of extra width. The resolution is somewhere in between Full HD and 4K, and is actually slightly higher than 2K.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Refresh rate option

You get crisp visuals with punchy colours here, which is great In case you’re wondering, this one does have an ambient light sensor so you can use auto-brightness if you wish, which is useful as it can be a bit hard to see when outdoors given how reflective the display is. Yes, you do have the option to enable 120Hz refresh rate for that extra smoothness but just keep in mind that it will affect the battery life.

For those of you looking for constant internet connection, this one does have a nanoSIM slot for 4G and 5G mobile data connections. However, most major telcos around the world are still working on 5G connectivity, you’re gonna be relying on 4G LTE for the most part. When 5G support is more widely available, you will be able to make use of it with this tablet. Apart from that, there’s also a microSD slot if you want to expand the storage.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – Sound by AKG

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ has four speakers; two at the top and two at the bottom. While it typically works great, I personally feel that it would be better to have dual front-facing speakers, or at least half of the speakers directed towards the user. Given the display, it would certainly make this a more immersive multimedia device. If you want to use headphones / earphones, keep in mind that it doesn’t have an audio jack. You will need to use either a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter or wireless Bluetooth connectivity.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review – One UI 2.5

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is running Android 10 Pie with One UI 2.5 on top of it. It gives the device a rather clean look and is generally easy to navigate through everything. It’s user-friendly enough that most people should not have trouble using it. I personally use it with Dark Mode as it’s easier on my eyes and I can save battery life. Given the larger display compared to smartphones, the difference is more noticeable.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

As for the S Pen, I personally like how easy it is to use. It definitely feels better than its Galaxy Note counterpart given the size, and it still functions exactly the same. It supports 4,096 pressure levels and can be used to draw, take down notes, and make presentations. The S Pen button can be remapped so it can do more than just summoning Bixby. The method of magnetically attaching the S Pen to the back of the tablet for charging and pairing is a bit weird for me, but I can understand why it needs to be done this way as it isn’t as “compact” as the one on the Galaxy Note series.

If you want an all-in-one device instead of having a separate tablet and smartphone, check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra by clicking right here. If you want a more affordable version of that, click here instead for the Galaxy Note20.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Verdict

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ Review

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is a great tablet for multimedia and productivity use. If your aim is to get a supplementary device for those purposes, it’s hard to look elsewhere. However, bear in mind that it will cost quite a bit of money with prices starting from RM4,599 (Wi-Fi). If you can stomach that price tag, it will be an excellent device to go along with your smartphone.

At the end of our Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ review, I award this tablet our Silver Pokdeward.

Pokde-Silver

Big thanks to Samsung Malaysia for sending us this tablet for the purposes of this review.

About The Author
Aiman Maulana
Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one. YouTuber, video editor, tech head, and a wizard of gaming. What's up? :)

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