Tablets. Notes on Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 Tablet Written by iPad Fan External Memory for Samsung tab pro s

Small tablets seemed to us small for work, then suddenly smartphones began to approach them. Will it be able to Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, become an innovation?

The answer is partly complicated by the fact that there are countless Samsung tablets on the market. From small ones that can be easily confused with smartphones, up to those with a screen diagonal that can confuse more than one laptop. On the other hand, it was with small devices - tablets, that Koreans began their struggle with the ipad. How much did they manage to accomplish during this time?

Technical specifications

Dimensions: 219 x 128.5 x 7.2mm
Weight: 331g
Color options: black and white
Display: 8.4 "(213.7 mm) WQXGA TFT LCD display, 16 million colors touchscreen, 2560 x 1600, no S-Pen support
Processor: Quad-core Snapdragon 800, Krait 400 core clock speed - 2.3 GHz
Adreno 330 GPU
RAM: 2 GB of RAM
Internal memory: 16/32 GB (depending on the market)
Memory cards: MicroSD (up to 64 GB)
Camera:
8MP rear, LED flash, AUTO FOCUS, video recording: FHD (1080p), 30fps
2 mp, front.
GSM communication: LTE
Wi-fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Bluetooth: BT 4.0 / DI, HOGP, PAN, A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, OPP, HID
Sensors: Accelerometer, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, Hall sensor
USB: USB 2.0, MHL, USB-host
Audio jack: 3.5mm
SIM card slot: micro-sim
Location: GPS, GLONASS
Battery: SDXC, 4800mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery (up to 10 hours internet wi-fi, 12 hours video, 127 hours audio playback)
Operating system: Android 4.4.2 KitKat

Kit

For a tablet with the "Pro" prefix in the name, and not the lowest price, the accessories are rather poor. In a cardboard box imitating a tree, we will find only a device, charger, USB cable and instructions.

However, taking into account the fact that we bought a tablet and not a box, we quickly move on.

Appearance and design

One thing you cannot help but notice in the Tab Pro 8.4 is that it is 100% identical with the vast majority of Samsung's flagship products, including not only tablets, but also smartphones.

On the one hand, you may like it, but on the other hand, it is boring. Some of the buyers who already have some kind of Samsung device will probably be glad that they do not have to re-learn and master the device, as well as get accustomed to its appearance.

The frames, especially the side frames, take up very little space, and the top and bottom are one of the thinnest in their class, which is not an empty phrase, but at the same time necessary additions.

The webcam, light sensor and manufacturer's logo are probably all that are located at the top. Compared to Samsung phones, the front speakers were missing.

There are three buttons on the bottom. Medium - enter / long press - Google Now, and the other two, located at a fairly large distance from the center of the device, are capacitive. Left Button moves us to the multitasking menu, and the right one is the classic "Back" button. Both are illuminated and, after pressing, is activated by a soft, but embossed vibration.

The frame surfaces located under the tempered glass slab are made of a material that is very pleasing to the eye. On the one hand, it appears to be matte, but on closer inspection you can see graininess.
The edges of the device are made exactly as in the Note 3 - made of plastic, artificial metal. The biggest advantage of the device is its thickness. Just 7.2 mm is a value that many will envy.

The side function buttons and connectors do not squeak, giving a positive impression associated with the aesthetics of the entire tablet. Next to the speaker grilles located at the bottom of the tablet are the volume or power buttons, they look impressive, but at the same time not disgusting.
Small doubts are raised only by the infrared port on the right edge, which stands out very clearly against the background of the frame, as well as the microSD memory card cap.

Behind, known to the overwhelming majority, there is (not) favorite plastic leather with plastic inserts. Fortunately, it does not give a bad impression of contact with the device, partly facilitating its ease of holding, and from a distance it seems quite elegant. All the time, however, just like in Note 3, we cannot get rid of the realization that the frames are only pretending that they are made of materials that they are trying to imitate. Or is this a serious problem? Most likely no.

The appearance of the "leather" panels is disturbed only by the camera lens and flash, as well as the standard manufacturer's logo and a few additional signs.

And although in appearance in Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, it’s not easy to fall in love right away, but then it’s hard not to fall in love with it. Simple and versatile, maybe even “Pro”, as the name says.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 screen

Everyone knows that the display is one of its main advantages - the tablet. The fantastic 2560 x 1600 resolution brings the device's pixel density to nearly 400 per inch. It is almost impossible to distinguish at least one of which, even for the most stubborn, and even the text remains completely smooth and beautiful when the image is enlarged.

The same can be said, however, for graphics, movies and games. The number of parts is simply huge, of course, after some time after the purchase, we will only be looking for an opportunity to admire it (and the content presented on the tablet screen).

The rest of the display parameters are not inferior in clarity. The backlight is very powerful and allows you to work even in difficult conditions, sensitivity and accuracy are unlimited, visibility at very wide angles is very good. Also the colors look very attractive, although I must admit they could be a little more vibrant.

At the same time, 8.4 inches (combined with high resolution) is already a concern for the user, who can think of slightly more complex work. Among the solutions offered by Samsung, there was one especially useful - the ability to simultaneously run multiple applications in windows.

There are two modes available. In the first, more orderly, the display at the same time can present two programs, whether in horizontal or vertical viewing mode. In addition, in a comfortable and fairly wide range, we can scale their width / height (depending on the location of the tablet), so that the window for the new site may already be out of the way of the browser, etc.
The second mode, in which we can enable three applications, can cause certain problems in the long run. First, the lack of any tools that make it easier to scale windows. Hot corners are not marked and it is easy to get into the application in the background by moving it to the front.

In many cases, content inside windows, especially in the browser, does not work when the width or height of the window changes, and elegant scaling does not work at all. Everything shrinks or stretches, and even if you wait longer, it does not change the state of affairs and looks just disgusting.

The nail in the coffin lid of this mode is the fact that if everything works fine in two applications, the activation of the maximum third mode already causes a serious hiccup, which sometimes looks as if the program did not react to the opening command at all. We are not talking about powerful games right now, we are talking about, for example, your browser, application, contacts and mail. I am glad that the delay does not always occur, but with heavy use, it is decidedly too frequent.

But the Tab Pro's excellent screen, this case, works pretty well with two open windows, and when performing scanty tasks.

Ports, buttons and connectors

Besides, this has already been said, and there is not much to write about. You can only boast a little about the performance of the volume and power buttons. They are relatively easy to find, and the click is correct.

Workmanship quality

The use of plastic elements in their devices has long been one of the main hot spots when it comes to Samsung products. Galaxy Tab 8.4 is no exception in this case, but once again I see no reason to specifically cling to this.

The tablet, even so, creates a very pleasant and, above all, reliable impression. It is in vain to look for shoals of creaks or glitches, even giving this great attention. All elements work well, even considering that physically, the central button can be minimally raised to the side.
In addition, thanks to the use of other materials, the Tab Pro is 0.5-inch larger and has the same weight as the iPad mini Retina. And if we consider this as one of the most important parameters, then Tab Pro wins here.

Mobility and usability

When it comes to devices from the category of consumer electronics, which, despite the large size, should be a model of mobility and comfort, even despite the long hold in one hand, the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is able to surprise. It is absolutely effortless to hold it in one hand for a long time.

Small thickness and weight, comfortable grip, rough surface of the back panel, easy access to buttons. What else can you ask of a tablet, for which the biggest advantage is precisely the connection of a large screen with a smaller one.

Processor, memory, performance, temperature

Snapdragon 800, Adreno 330 and 2 GB don't impress anyone anymore, but certainly these are not weak parameters. The vast majority of games and applications start instantly and work so smoothly that there is nothing to complain about. A large number of minimized apps don't slow down the Tab Pro either.
But there are also exceptions. The first is intensive multitasking using windows displayed simultaneously on the screen. The second is, unfortunately, the tablet screen. If you navigate through the system menu, the settings or everything else is perfectly smooth, but the transition between the tabs of the widget interface can cause "freezing". The solution that comes to mind first - eliminating what is causing the problem - is simply not possible.

Sometimes it is almost invisible, sometimes it is almost not or not at all, but sometimes "dulling" can be incredibly annoying. Maybe this is due to the refresh rate of the MULTIPLEX content, but in such a case it had to be solved in a different way. As it stands, it's just hard to accept.

Other items in this category can be defined as standard. 16 GB of which free memory remains about 12 GB, and as for the heating of the device, it completely disappeared in normal mode and is only slightly felt, for example, during a long game. Does not interfere with the use of the device in any way.

System and additives

Behind the plastic panels, a lot of controversy is also caused by Samsung's author's overlay on Android - TouchWiz. The new, updated version is thankfully more pleasing to the eye and less annoying than it was recently.

However, this does not mean that it has become gloomy and boring. We are still amazed by the variety of pastel colors, although in the “flat” version all this is much easier. The elegance of the whole device still lacks a lot, but at least we do not have the impression that we bought equipment for children (and young people).

I think a million add-ons and applications from Samsung will be enough for anyone, although this time, I must admit that many of them make sense and, most importantly, work.

Smart Stay, Smart Rotate, Smart Pause, One-touch screen capture, mute, vibration notification when flipping from tablet, and more comfortable panoramic image viewing. How can we get by without all of this, but if we spend some time researching these supplements, one or more will probably be to our liking.

The same can be said for the pre-installed apps. The Hancom office suite may not be perfect, but for the majority of people it is certainly enough. S Voice, Dropbox, Samsung Apps, Remote PC, WebEX, eMeeting, SideSync, Soundhount, etc. should also become our favorites, because nothing will stop us from trying them.

Of course, we liked the Samsung keyboard, with three appearance options (full screen width, floating or fixed). It is quite convenient and fast to write on it, although it may seem strange that there should be a little more words in our language.

Unfortunately, although a lot of time has passed since the release of the first tablet with Android, you can still get the impression that, despite the alterations of the manufacturers so far, this system is not completely designed for large screens. A lot of apps that are good and functional for smartphones look terrible when zoomed in to fill 8.4 inches. Small fonts, small buttons, gigantic expanses of white space - so I don't want to use them yet.

Although the system works surprisingly stable and even applications do not "hang", it has not yet been possible to avoid the influence of errors that meet us already from the first launch of the device. Example? By default, the backlight hold time is set (I think) to 15 or 30 seconds, which, of course, cannot be found fault with. On two different tablets of Koreans, after cleaning to the factory settings, this disappeared, a rather specific error - the screen faded out almost immediately after the finger was taken off it.

Through trial and error, we managed to get to the point that the system simply did not load the “lower” parameters, the backlight time, showing them as “<>”And treating it as ... zero. Experienced users can probably handle this without any problems, but let's give a missile defense device a minus for that.

Connection

In this regard, the tablet may not be completely universal, but USB with MHL support and USB-host provides support for almost all usb flash devices. Bluetooth version 4.0 LE, and therefore allows a wide range of peripheral devices... In which are supported WiFi networks, with a long range and providing stable communication. An infrared port for those who find use for it. Without imagination, but there is what is needed, and it works as it should.

The same can be said for the additional LTE connection. If we want, then with Pro 8.4, we can call and send SMS messages without any problems. At least in theory, because in practice, probably, few people will dare to do this.

Photo and video camera

So it is with photographs. The small Tab allows you to shoot videos in pretty good quality, but at the same time, it certainly is not the device made for this. Keeping the tablet motionless (even despite the small mass) of the equipment for a long time is simply difficult, and the photographing itself is not entirely convenient.

The camera is also not the highest flight. Under good lighting conditions, it copes, though at least not to say that it is good. The colors are pleasing, the amount of detail is fine, and you should be happy with the results, but the darker the worse. Much worse.

Even in the evening light or in rooms where too much light does not penetrate, the details begin to merge into one shapeless mass, into a "grain" that becomes visible to the naked eye. With large close-up shots, there are also problems with AF, which does not work in the best light.

Multimedia and sound

Videos in 2K resolution and good games will come in handy, as well as good sound quality from the built-in speakers. And although this is the case with Pro 8.4, it may be far from brilliant, but quite, like the volume, at a very high level. While that might not be a huge compliment, this compact tablet is more enjoyable to play than my laptop.

The placement of the speakers on the bottom of the device has one major drawback. Although in movies and computer games (most often, we will hold it horizontally, leaving at least one speaker uncovered, in the Internet surfing, most likely, we will hold it like a smartphone - vertically). If we keep it in the air, that's okay, although it's very far from true stereo.

However, if you rest it on your knees or stomach, it's easy to guess what is happening with the sound.

Battery

Of the three manufacturer's stated battery life on a single charge - up to 10 hours of web browsing, 12 hours of video viewing and 127 hours of music listening - only this last one seems to be real.
Let us begin, however, to use it more intensively, and already these results are clearly weaker. Browsing the Internet, even with a screen with automatic backlight control active, will cause a discharge in good case after 6-7 hours, and most often this result will be closer to the first of these two values.

When watching a video, you can successfully subtract another hour from this, and when playing, two or even two and a half. Of course, such results are obtained in the process of natural exploitation, synchronization in the background, by several programs. Removing everything, it may well be possible to get closer to the stated figures, but it is well known that no one uses a tablet like that.

Unfortunately, Samsung did not decide to use any technology in this case. fast charging- filling time from zero and almost always at 3 hours.

Although, of course, it could always be better.

Advantages:

Okay discreet appearance
Good workmanship
Convenient in everyday use
Very compact despite the screen size
Light weight
Shiny screen
Reasonable price
Very good performance in 95% of cases
A set of required communication standards
Interesting additions, in particular in the form of support for multiple applications in windows

Disadvantages:

Not good powerful battery
No S-Pen support
Cheating body materials

Samsung's tablet lineup has many different devices... Now another one with a claim not professionalism and premium has appeared - Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 4G. Design and performance are at the forefront here, but there is another trick that no other manufacturer has dreamed of yet. Let's consider everything in order.

Equipment

The tablet is sold in a recycled box. This type of box has long been used for packaging Samsung products. Inside there are booklets made of the same material, a microUSB cable and a charger (attention!) In white. Dark tablet with white accessories. There is nothing else in the kit, which is sad. See the photos of the components in the examples of the photos below.

Design and body

On the front, the Tab PRO is a representative of Samsung's classic design: rounded corners, an elongated Home button, and a bezel around the display with a glossy surface. The test turned out to be a dark tablet, although a completely white model is available for sale. The color is actually different from the photos on the Internet and looks more like an asphalt surface.

The device definitely looks solid!

Around the central button there are touch buttons for controlling the system. The movement of the physical button is very clear and pleasant. The backlighting of the touch keys can be configured from the menu. It is a pity that they can glow either constantly or for 3 - 6 seconds. A value equal to the display backlight time would be comfortable.

To the left of the Samsung lettering is the front camera peephole and the hole with the light sensor. By the way, this sensor showed itself not in the best way. Automatic brightness adjustment did not always work correctly, so I had to set static values. It is possible that the sensor performance will be improved in the next software updates.

Following the Note 3 and Tab PRO, it has acquired a back surface made of rubberized plastic that imitates the velvet surface of leather. It is very pleasant to hold the device in hands. I recommend to touch the material live, since although it is plastic, it is of very high quality and leaves only positive impressions.

The perimeter of the tablet is framed by a silver plastic edging imitating textured metal. The edging is covered with thick layers of varnish, due to which it has a pleasant glide and gloss.

At the back is the main 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash underneath.

On the bottom of the tablet, right in the center is a microUSB connector and a microphone hole next to it.

An infrared port is located directly on the top edge, and aside from it there are volume control keys and a screen power button.

On the right side there are separate trays for a memory card and a SIM card. On both sides there are external speakers, which by their location should create a stereo effect, but more on that later.

There is a 3.5 mm input on the left side. In my opinion, the location of the audio jack on the side faces is inconvenient both on smartphones and tablets, but that is what it is.

If the design of the tablet is successful, then there are several complaints about the assembly. Our device creaked a little in the area Home buttons... Perhaps this is a drawback of a particular instance, therefore, if this moment is critical, then you should check it yourself before buying.

Secondly, the back dark surface has tiny, but still burrs that appear during the manufacture of plastic. Only a couple of them were found. In addition, the display glass does not fit snugly against the side frame in all places. Dirt will surely be clogged into this hole. This is how the tablet turned out for 24,990 rubles.

Display

There are tablets with a small screen resolution, there are with a high one, and there is a Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 with a simply wild, as yet practically uncommon display resolution. Indeed, 2560 × 1600 pixels are no joke to you. My 27-inch iMac has even less - 2560x1440 pixels, and these computers are considered modern. Then what about the tablet?

Indeed, the tablet screen leaves an extremely positive impression.

It uses a Super clear LCD matrix (TFT) with a diagonal of 10.1 inches (25.5 cm). It is very juicy, moderately contrasting and does not have nuclear shades, which we can observe in the company's smartphones. The backlight brightness is very high. In the vast majority of cases, it is sufficient to use average values. The pixel density is 299 ppi, which is more than comfortable, although some grain can still be seen.

The viewing angles are good and the picture does not fade under various slopes, except for cases where the tablet is tilted along its diagonal. At this moment, there is some sagging in colors: scarlet turns pink, bright blue turns into pale purple, and so on. This is not a critical point, since tablets are usually not used at such angles.

As a comparison, here are some examples of pictures of Tab PRO and iPad mini (first generation) together:

Obviously, the iPad mini's screen is tilted towards the pink side, which is especially noticeable against a white background. The display of the Korean tablet shows itself from the better side due to more adequate white color and higher pixel density.

The screen fades in the sun, of course, but remains readable due to the high brightness level.

Iron and performance

The tablet has the following specifications:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.3 GHz processor, (4 cores, Krait 400)
• video accelerator Adreno 330
• RAM 2 GB
• data storage 16 (11.15 GB available) / 32 GB
• support for microSD memory cards (up to 64 GB)
• 10.1 '' Super clear LCD (TFT) display, 2560 x 1600 pixels (299 ppi)
• 3.5 mm jacks, microUSB (version 2.0, MHL 2.1, USB Host)
• Camera: main 8 Mpixel, autofocus, LED flash, front 2 Mpixel
• video recording in FullHD resolution, 30 frames per second
• Supported video formats: FLV, M4V, MKV, MP4, TS, WEBM, WMV, 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, and 4K video
• sensors gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, light sensor, Hall sensor (turns off the display when closing the magnetic cover)
• dimensions 243.1 x 171.4 x 7.3 mm and 477 g
• battery 8220 mAh
• Android 4.4 OS

• GSM 850/900/1800/1900
• HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100
• LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600
• micro-SIM
• Wi-Fi (a / b / g / n / ac) - two channels, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, infrared
• GPS / Glonass

There are two basic versions of the tablet available for sale: a 4G (LTE) version and a Wi-Fi-only model. The latter is equipped with only 16 GB of memory.

The hero of our review proved to be excellent in synthetic tests, ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The launch of modern toys also did not cause any problems. The tablet delivered excellent performance at maximum settings.

Unfortunately, not everything is as smooth as we would like.

Subtle animations were constantly appearing in various places in the interface.

Given the installed hardware, most likely this is a matter of optimizing the TouchWiz UI shell.

Otherwise, everything is in order. Applications open quickly, no crashes or other problems were noticed.

The tablet is equipped with a main 8 Mpixel CMOS sensor, which is capable of taking pictures with a resolution of 3264x2448 pixels and shooting FullHD video (1920x1080 pixels) at 30 frames per second.

The front camera is a 2 megapixel CMOS sensor and can take photos at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and FullHD movies.

The quality of the output photo is quite common for tablets or smartphones from 2010-2011.

Object detailing often suffers. In some pictures it is noticeable strongly, in others it is less so. Let's look at some examples.

As you can see, the color rendering is moderate. The automatic machine always selects the exposure correctly. There are no problems with autofocus - it quickly captures objects and does not miss.

Frankly, I did not see much difference when comparing regular photos and pictures taken with special saturation (HDR) settings. Dark places become slightly lighter, and colors slightly change their tone, not always towards saturation. Nothing else happens, so you can safely not use this mode at all.

Among other things, panorama shooting, face retouching, moving objects, image corrector function and modes in which you can choose the best from several photos are also available as scenarios for photographing.

By the way, using Wi-Fi Direct, you can use the tablet as a second screen for taking photos. Photographers will love it.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO lets you shoot pretty decent quality videos. You can see an example of the footage below.

Sound

Samsung decided to pay special attention to music playback.

The tablet perfectly plays the role of a portable multimedia center, but with a number of reservations.

First, you can listen to music through the two built-in stereo speakers. This creates a really interesting stereo effect. The volume of the speakers is more than sufficient, but the sound stream has an unpleasantly ringing character. If I may put it that way, I would call the sound through external speakers glassy and not very pleasant to the ear. This is an exclusively subjective parameter, so everyone should try it on their own.

The playback quality through the headphones is exceptional praise. The sound is deep, pleasant, the entire spectrum of frequencies is present without any dips. In addition, there are many additional sound enhancements in the player's settings, which sometimes make the sound even more interesting.

Equalizer is available, of course. In addition to the usual sliders in Tab PRO, there is an alternative type of sound adjustment - a certain field of squares, moving the cursor over which changes the sound in one direction or another.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the Adapt Sound system of the most detailed sound tuning. The function is aimed at ensuring the most comfortable listening to music for people with different ears, which in theory we all are to one degree or another. The utility plays different sounds in turn through separate headphone channels. At this moment, the user is required to listen to the sounds as much as possible and answer the system's questions. As a result, the player will adjust the sound and volume for each ear separately. It is difficult for me to judge the real need for this function. Perhaps I was lucky with my matching ears.

The volume in the headphones is sufficient, but it is quite possible to listen to music at maximum volume. The maximum in Tab PRO is about 90% of the top value in the iPad. When headphones are connected, the system automatically adjusts the volume to a comfortable level, according to Samsung engineers. Disable this function it is forbidden.

Telephone part

The tablet supports data transmission over 2G, 3G networks and, what's great, 4G (LTE). It's nice that all Tab PROs can call and send SMS, just like ordinary phones. The signal quality is good. The built-in microphone is very sensitive and allows you to communicate with the interlocutor holding the tablet even at outstretched hands. In this case, the called subscriber's speech goes through stereo speakers, so for private conversations you should take care of buying a headset, which Samsung decided to be greedy about.

The device uses micro-SIM, hot swap, which is not fully supported - the tablet asks for a restart.

Shell and programs

For some reason, Samsung decided to save on usable display space and remove the status bar, the one on which the battery charge and other Adnroid notifications are usually located. It is invoked by swiping your finger from the top of the screen. Not sure about the need to save real estate on a 10-inch display, but this particular feature is annoying.

Of course, the device is capable of taking screenshots out of the box. To do this, just swipe the display with your palm or, more reliably, simultaneously hold down the center button and the power key.

Supported of course different methods input, including printing without lifting your finger from the screen. The keyboard has a specific look that imitates an ugly physical keyboard. Fortunately, Android has the ability to download alternative layouts.

In addition to these gestures, the tablet supports smart shutdown and smart screen rotation, as well as tracking the user's eyes while watching a video. This feature does not always work correctly.

The built-in file manager, which, in addition to standard tools for working with content, also has convenient options for presenting information. For example, you can arrange all multimedia files in the order they were created, and it does not matter in which folders or in what storage they are located.

Among other things, Tab PRO has multi-window mode, when half or part of the screen can be used for one application, and the rest for another. The mode is activated by opening programs from the proprietary Samsung menu. What can I say, this function is really convenient and wide display tablet allows the user to work with complete comfort on several tasks at once.

Battery

The tablet has lithium ion battery with a capacity of 8220 mAh. On one battery charge, the device is capable of playing video or surfing the Internet via Wi-Fi for 10 hours.

Of course, there is a power saving mode, the essence of which is to limit the operation of the maximum processor frequencies, disable the tactile feedback and the use of a low power consumption mode by the display. By the way, it is the screen that is the main consumer of the tablet's energy.

Outcome

Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 4G can now be purchased at an average price of 25,000 rubles. Is it worth it?
Definitely yes! The tablet has many advantages. There are excellent technical characteristics, support for high-speed LTE, and a high-quality screen with an impressive resolution. Of course, Tab PRO is not without its drawbacks, but the scales still change towards its merits.

Many benefits at the right price

At the exhibition consumer electronics CES 2014 at the beginning of the year Samsung introduced a large-scale update of its tablet lines, which received the "Pro" suffix in the name. At the end of January, we spoke in detail about the largest and most expensive of the new models - Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. And today, on the contrary, we will talk about the smallest and most budget - Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, version without 3G and LTE.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 (SM-T320)

• Model Number: SM-T320
• Single Chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (8974)
• Central processing unit: 4 cores Krait 400 @ 2.3 GHz
• GPU: Adreno 330
• RAM: 2 GB
• Display: IPS, 8.4 ″, 2560 × 1600, 359 ppi
• Internal memory: 16 GB
• Support microSD cards(up to 64 GB)
• Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz)
• GPS / A-GPS / Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0, infrared
• Cameras: 2 MP front, 8 MP rear with flash
• Micro-USB, 3.5mm headset jack
• Battery capacity: 4800 mAh
• Operating system: Google android 4.4.2 (with Magazine UX frontend)
• Size: 219 x 128.5 x 7.2mm
• Weight: 331 g

The choice of 8.4 inches as the minimum diagonal is not particularly original. We have already dealt with an almost identical tablet in terms of dimensions - the well-proven LG G Pad 8.3. As for the rest of the eminent competitors, the size of their displays differs diagonally by at least half an inch.

* at the time of this writing

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 in comparison with competitors wins not only in pixel density. It also has the most powerful SoC and the highest resolution rear camera module (by the way, it is the only one with a flash). IrDA is not forgotten either - distinctive feature almost all Samsung tablets.

Equipment

The package of delivery of the tablet turned out to be the most minimalistic: a Micro-USB cable and a network adapter (5.3 V, 2 A). But Samsung, as a self-respecting large manufacturer, did not skimp on pieces of paper

We tested the American version of the tablet. Devices officially sold in Russia are, of course, accompanied by adapters with a suitable plug.

Design

When it comes to design, the South Korean manufacturer has an Asian consistency. Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is a smaller Galaxy version Note Pro 12.2, which retains the elements of the larger model unchanged.

To assess the dimensions, we present comparative photos of Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and Google Nexus 7 (2013):

If we compare the Tab Pro 8.4 with the iPad mini Retina, then the numerical characteristics clearly show: with a display diagonal of half an inch larger, the Tab Pro 8.4 turned out half a centimeter narrower, which cannot but rejoice. If you hold the tablet in portrait orientation, then the thumb moves a little on the display. However, this is not a big deal in the OS interface. The only active zone in this case is in the upper corner: if you take the tablet by the edge where the clock is located, the Android notification menu will open. However, this position is hardly applicable in practice, therefore, in the worst case, when gripping with one hand, several millimeters of the screen will be obscured.

Above the display, the Samsung logo is aligned in the middle, next to it the light sensor and the front camera give way. At the bottom are the white-backlit task manager and return touch buttons, as well as a mechanical menu key.

On the other hand, we still have a pleasant-tactile plastic panel textured under the skin. With artificial seam and small bulges in the area of ​​the connectors.

In Note Pro 12.2, the rear camera has been aligned in the middle. Here it is located on the edge, which is not so convenient for shooting. There is also an outbreak that competitors usually ignore for some reason.

On the left side there is a slot for a memory card. The plug did not start to play during testing.

Most of the functional elements of the tablet are located on the side opposite to this connector. In the middle there is an infrared port, on the corner there is a microphone hole, between them there are standard Android buttons.

On the top of the tablet is a 3.5mm headphone jack.

For charging and data transfer, the Micro-USB connector of the second version is used. Samsung uses a faster standard exclusively in flagship mobile devices (for example, in the notorious Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and Galaxy Note 3).

Stereo speakers, as is now common with most compact tablets, are brought out by thin slots on the bottom side. This makes it useless to use two speakers instead of one, since the sound sources are still mixed and biased to the side (if using the tablet in landscape orientation). Let's remember the second generation of Asus Fonepad 7 with a kind word - everything was in order in this regard. The maximum volume of the Tab Pro 8.4's speakers is acceptable, but nothing more.

In the Pro update, pen input is still an exclusive feature of the Note model - you need to somehow distinguish it from the older Tab. The build quality of the tablet is at a high level: the case did not make any suspicious sounds during active use. However, it got noticeably hot even with a slight constant load.

Screen

The front surface of the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is very effective anti-glare filter, in terms of reducing the brightness of the reflection is approximately equal to the screen filter of Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens of both tablets (Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, as it is not difficult to determine, is on the left, then they can be distinguished by their size and characteristic button icons):

Both screens are dark, and the brightness of the screens in the photographs is 81 for the tested device and the Nexus 7. The tripling of reflected objects in the Tab Pro 8.4 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air between the outer glass (aka the touch sensor) and the matrix surface. gap (screen type OGS - One Glass Solution). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (such as glass-air) with greatly different refractive indices, all other things being equal, such screens look better under strong ambient light, but their repair in the case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, maybe a little worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are much easier to remove, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 400 cd / m², and the minimum is 5 cd / m²... The maximum value is quite high, and given the good anti-glare properties, the image on the screen should be clearly visible in bright daylight. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the logo on the front panel). V automatic mode when the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to about 7 cd / m2 (darkish), in an office illuminated with artificial light (about 400 lux), the brightness is set to 160-170 cd / m2 (optimal), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to outdoor lighting on a clear day, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) rises to 400 cd / m² (to the maximum, which is logical). Eventually the automatic brightness control function, except for conditions of complete darkness, works adequately... At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering either.

This tablet uses matrix type IPS... The micrographs show the typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of photomicrographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without tint inversion and no significant color shift even with large deviations from the perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here's a photo showing the same images on the Nexus 7 and Tab Pro 8.4 screens, with the brightness of both screens set to about 200 cd / m². White field perpendicular to the plane of the screens:

The uniformity is good, the color tone is close to that of the Nexus 7 screen (when photographing, the color balance on the camera is forcibly set to 6500 K). And the test picture:

Color reproduction is good and colors are saturated on both screens. Now at an angle of approximately 45 ° to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens, but the contrast at an angle in the case of the Tab Pro 8.4 dropped sharply due to the increase in the brightness of the black field. And a white box:

The brightness at an angle for both tablets has noticeably decreased (at least 4 times, based on the difference in exposure), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is less (brightness in photos is 234 versus 217 in Nexus 7). At the same time, the color tone changed slightly. When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened strongly and acquires a violet or red-violet tint. The photos below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):

And from a different angle:

When viewed from a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the black field is good. The angles of the screen differ in brightness, but there are no local overexposed areas, which is more important for a visual assessment of uniformity:

Contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is not outstanding, but, in general, normal - about 710:1 ... The response time for the transition black-white-black is 19 ms (11 ms on + 8 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes 32 ms in total. The gamma curve, plotted using 32 points with equal intervals in terms of the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal a blockage either in highlights or shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power function turned out to be from 2.18, which is close to the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma -curve practically does not deviate from the power-law dependence:

The color gamut is sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components to each other to a moderate extent. The spectra confirm this:

As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and there are the overwhelming majority of them) have natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is slightly higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the spectrum of the absolute black body (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and ΔE is small, which also has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring the color characteristics at low brightness is large.

Brightness adjustment range this screen wide and anti-reflective filter very effective, which allows you to comfortably use the tablet both on a clear day outside and in complete darkness. It is permissible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works more or less adequately, except that in complete darkness, you may have to manually increase the brightness a little. The advantages also include an effective oleophobic coating, no flicker and no air gap in the layers of the screen, sRGB coverage, good color balance. Traditionally for modern (IPS) tablets Samsung disappoints strong highlighting of black color even with not very large gaze deviation from the perpendicular to the screen surface. Apparently, the manufacturer does not consider this parameter to be particularly important. Therefore, the screen is not very suitable for watching movies (especially with dark scenes), but this drawback is unlikely to have any effect when working with text, in games, etc. As a result, in terms of the totality of characteristics tablet screen Samsung computer Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is of high quality.

Operating system

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 runs operating Android systems 4.4.2 in the Magazine UX shell, which appeared in the Samsung Pro-series tablets. There are practically no differences from Note Pro 12.2.

The number of tiles available for adding to Magazine UX desktops is significantly less than the Note Pro 12.2. In regular Android, the icons on the notification bar are always visible, and you don't need to slide it out, like in a 12-inch tablet.

The lock screen has become even less functional. You cannot insert widgets instead of clocks, but you can add some kind of inscription to them.

Unlike Note Pro 12.2, there is no Hancom Office suite by default, but you can download it for free from the store Samsung apps Apps. Cisco Webex Conferencing is preinstalled. Tab Pro 8.4, like other Samsung tablets, comes with affiliate program Dropbox - 50GB storage is free for two years.

From 16 GB internal memory approximately 11.78 GB is available to the user. It takes approximately 23 seconds for the tablet to turn on. The stability of the operating system is at a high level, but it cannot be called ideal. Sometimes we encountered scrolling lags and the inability of Samsung Apps to connect to the server to download the update. And Magazine UX was not flawlessly smooth, which is clearly visible when setting up its desktops.

Platform and performance

At the heart of the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, modification 8974. It is often used in older models of Samsung's flagship products, such as the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and Galaxy Note 3. In the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, the manufacturer decided to do without variations and, regardless of the tablet modification, installed the same single-chip system everywhere.

The processor part is formed by four Krait 400 cores - Qualcomm's own architecture. They operate at 2.3 GHz. To work with video, use graphics processor Adreno 330, whose rated performance is one and a half times higher than that of the Adreno 320 installed in the LG G Pad 8.3.

Browser tests clearly illustrate the consistent development of the Snapdragon SoC. And if the superiority of the 600 series over the S4 Pro is very unstable, then the difference between the Snapdragon 600 and 800 is clearly visible. But up to Apple A7 there is still some development to go

Starting with this review, we exclude from the test suite the complex Quadrant benchmark, which, according to our observations, does not keep pace with the development of capabilities of mobile devices.

Antutu 4 testifies to the big performance difference between the six hundred and eight hundred Snapdragon series. And MobileXPRT stood out: here Samsung is one and a half times faster in performance, but absolutely identical to LG in the interface. We can only agree that the G Pad ran at least as smoothly as the Tab Pro.

The score in Antutu X is almost the same as Antutu 4:

In Geekbench 3 multi-core mode, the quad-core Tab Pro still wins the victory over the dual-core iPad mini Retina. A certain role in this was played by the two times smaller amount of RAM of the latter. SuperPi puts the Snapdragon 800 well above its predecessors.

The Quadrant Benchmark does not end with the changes in the test suite. We are introducing two new benchmarks to assess gaming performance. uses a demo scene based on the popular Unity game engine (version 4.2 at the time of this testing). Bonsai Benchmark also uses Unity, but in addition, this test is also attractive because it is multiplatform.

What is the reason for this discrepancy between the results in the two benchmarks? The fact is that Basemark X is held in a fixed resolution, and Bonsai Benchmark adjusts to the resolution of the device. Which makes it much easier to compete for the Digma tablet with a 1280x800 display (the Tab Pro, recall, 2560x1600 - exactly four times as many pixels). For this reason, by the way, we expected a better result for Clovertrail + in Basemark X.

Epic Citadel didn't reveal much of a difference between all Snapdragons; moreover, our hero was even rated a little worse than his colleagues. But in Ice Storm everything is very clear: for the S4 Pro, all modes were tested, the S600 received "Maxed out!" in basic, but for Snapdragon 800 already Extreme is a trifle.

Multiplatform GFXBenchmark interesting comparison with iPad Mini Retina... Tab Pro 8.4 did not keep up with him, but, as they say, breathed down his head. How will real games show themselves?

Most of the games in the test suite run fine on the Tab Pro 8.4, but a couple of them still ran into problems. We also noticed that some areas of the screen heats up noticeably when playing for a long time.

Video playback

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used an LG IPS237L monitor that supports direct MHL connection using a passive Micro-USB to HDMI adapter cable. Recall that Samsung has implemented its own version of this interface at the physical level. As a result, to connect an external device via MHL, you need to use special adapters or connect standard MHL adapters through simple passive adapters.

In this case, we carried out the test using a proprietary adapter from Samsung, while the MHL output was carried out at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels with a frequency of 60 fps. In the landscape orientation of the tablet, the image is displayed on the monitor screen in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the height of the screen, and narrow black fields are displayed on the sides to maintain the correct proportions.

In the portrait orientation of the tablet, the display of the image on the monitor screen is also carried out in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the height of the screen, and wide black fields are displayed on the right and left.

The MHL sound is output (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. At the same time, sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the tablet itself, and the volume is controlled by buttons on the tablet case. Basically, in the tablet settings, you can select the audio output mode - stereo or surround. However, in our case, the monitor only received stereo sound, so there was no choice. Again, in our case, the tablet with the MHL adapter connected, judging by the charge indicator, was charging, but at the end of the tests the charge level turned out to be lower than at the beginning. Perhaps there was not enough power from an external source (it was a monitor) connected to the adapter.

Then, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing methods for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"), we checked how the video is displayed on the tablet itself. Screenshots with an exposure of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with various parameters: the resolution was 1280 × 720 (720p), 1920 × 1080 (1080p) and 3840 × 2160 (4K) pixels and the frame rate was 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. In the tests, we used the MX Player video player in the "Hardware" mode and the standard video player when displaying on external monitor... The results of this (block labeled "Tablet Screen") and the following test are tabulated:

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the respective files.

According to the criterion for outputting frames, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the tablet itself is high, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops. However, uniform interleaving of frames is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes sometimes lead to periodic failure of the correct interleaving of intervals between frames and even (very rarely) to the skipping of individual frames. The displayed range of brightness is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, in the shadows and in the highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed. When playing video files with a resolution of 1080p (1920 × 1080 pixels), the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly to the width of the screen, but the actual resolution is slightly reduced due to interpolation to the screen resolution.

With a monitor connected via MHL, during video playback with a standard player, the video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while only the video file is displayed on the monitor, and only information elements and virtual controls are displayed on the tablet screen.

When playing video files with a resolution of FullHD (1920 × 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly on the edge of the screen, maintaining the true proportions and the resolution corresponds to the FullHD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, in the shadows and highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed. Note that the stock player did not play our test files with 4K resolution, and MX Player cannot display video over the entire display area of ​​the monitor. We considered the second more critical, and therefore the testing of video output to an external monitor was carried out using a regular player. The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the "MHL (monitor output)" block. The output quality is good, but slightly worse than on your own screen, which can be explained by changing the player.

The conclusion is typical - an MHL connection can be used for gaming, watching movies, displaying web pages, and other activities that benefit from increasing screen size. True, you will have to purchase an adapter specifically for Samsung or find an appropriate adapter.

Let's evaluate the playback of five standard video files:

Hardware decoding of AC tracks by the OEM player is not supported, as well as subtitles.

Support for wireless networks

We tested a basic tablet modification that supports Internet access only via dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz). Also in the list wireless standards indicates Bluetooth 4.0 and IrDA, used for remote control.

The navigation work deserves special praise. Establishing a connection with satellites under the Moscow sky took the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 in a matter of seconds and, surprisingly, the connection did not break even when we returned to the room - this happens very rarely among tablets.

Connection supported external storage... The transfer speed from the flash drive was about 14.7 MB / s. In the opposite direction, copying is slower, but still faster than average - at a speed of about 8.13 MB / s.

Cameras

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is equipped with dual cameras. The front one has a resolution of 2 megapixels, the rear one - 8 megapixels. The latter is also equipped with a flash; other eminent manufacturers do not indulge us with this. The work of the rear camera was commented on by Anton Soloviev.

Perhaps Samsung is one of the few companies that installs cameras in their tablets for more than a show. In this case, we are dealing with a camera, which is quite worthy of a good smartphone, not to mention a tablet. Of course, in some places it is a little rude, sometimes you feel a certain clumsy work, but on the whole it was done very well. There is practically no noise in the pictures, but the results of their processing are visible. The noise reduction works quite roughly, which does not prevent the camera from working out small details. In low light, the camera gives up noticeably, but with good lighting it fulfills its 8 megapixels in full.

Given the lack of strong sharpening, the camera can be forgiven for lagging in resolution from its older brother by almost 0.1 lines per pixel. In field scenes, she copes well. Overall, the camera is good enough for most fiction and documentaries.

The camera can shoot video in Full HD format. Below are two rollers, with and without stabilization.

The camera is clearly not designed for very dynamic scenes, although there are no pronounced ripples and distortions when shooting. Stabilization helps a little, but if you don't know it's on, you might not notice it. The sharpness when filming is quite good.

It cannot be said unequivocally that Samsung camera Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is better than iPad mini Retina. It is favorably distinguished by such points as higher resolution and the presence of flash, which is a completely natural improvement, since progress still does not stand still. There is a certain artistic sense in the shots of the iPad mini Retina camera. In the pictures of the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, there is some clumsiness in some places, but with better detail. All this speaks of different scenarios for using cameras: Tab Pro will handle documentary shooting much better, and perhaps iPad mini Retina will handle artistic photography. If we recall poster photography, then with noises Samsung tablet performs much better than the Apple product.

Autonomous work

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 has a 4800mAh battery - noticeably less than the iPad mini Retina, but more than the LG and Google Nexus tablets. In the settings, you can turn on the power saving mode. We used it in the reading subtest.

If we compare the time that the tablet has worked in read mode (less load with power saving on) and in video mode (more load with power saving off), it becomes clear that the efficiency of power saving mode is low. However, even without it, the Tab Pro shows excellent results in all scenarios except the gaming one, a couple of hours ahead of the iPad Mini Retina.

When the computing power of the tablet increases and the screen is no longer the main consumer of energy, the operating time of the new Samsung tablet drops. It remains noticeably larger than that of its Snapdragon colleagues, but it is no longer up to the Apple tablet.

Charging the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 with the included AC adapter takes about three hours. Tab Pro can charge using the USB port of a computer, but only when it is turned off.

conclusions

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is a tablet with many strengths. These include performance, display, and battery life (in most cases) and a very decent camera at a minimum. On the other side of the scale are details that can be of decisive importance only in special cases. Perhaps the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is best suited as the main competitor to the iPad Mini Retina. Including the price - the appetites of the South Koreans have not lagged behind their position in the market for a long time.

Specifications

• Windows 10 Pro
• Display 12 inches, SuperAMOLED, 2164x1440 pixels, 215 ppi, automatic brightness control, color gamut adjustment
• RAM 4 GB, built-in memory 128 GB SSD
• CPU Intel Core m3 (Skylake), 6Y30
• Front camera 2 megapixels, main camera 5 megapixels
• USB 3.0, USB Type C, Wi-Fi 801.11 b / g / n / ac, MIMO, dual-band, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1
• GPS / GLONASS
• 3G / 4G-module (W708)
• Li-Ion 5200 mAh battery
• Keyboard Case
• Dimensions - 290.3x198.8x6.3 mm, weight - 696 grams (with a keyboard - 1.09 kilograms)

Contents of delivery

• Tablet with keyboard case
• Charger with USB cable
• Instructions

Positioning

Samsung has consistently ditched Windows laptops and tablets, but then suddenly the 12-inch Galaxy Tab Pro S appears. The company diligently avoids comparison with the iPad Pro, but the fact that these products are positioned as direct competitors is no secret. Why Samsung decided not to create a 12-inch Android tablet, especially since the company already had such a device, I do not understand. It is possible that the question was about how to quickly and with minimal investment make a 12-inch tablet that will be targeted at the corporate market. Samsung's experience and sales of the previous model were moderately successful, this market turned out to be not very interesting from the side of the mass consumer, it is sensitive to the cost of devices. And in tablets, the larger the diagonal, the higher the price. Top-end devices easily compete in price with laptops, and the latter do not look worse in terms of their characteristics, they are just a different class of devices in terms of perception and the tasks that are solved on them. Therefore, the Tab Pro S can be considered a kind of experiment, which is also a response to the arrival of the iPad Pro. It is possible that for some of Samsung's top managers it is important that there is such a device in the lineup, which means that there is parity with Apple. Although this approach looks frivolous.

The Tab Pro S model is so niche that nowhere in the world it received sufficient attention: minimum advertising, minimum investment in promotion. There were some ads in the US, but against the backdrop of Samsung's usual efforts, they got lost. This device was created for fans of Windows and for those who want to get a tablet on this operating system with a keyboard and maximum capabilities. It's another matter that Microsoft plays with Surface in this segment, there are other companies as well. Samsung has got a good piece of hardware, but the operating system is actually not adapted for it, however, as in most other similar products. And what do we get at the output? An expensive Windows tablet that is needed by a very small circle of consumers with very specific scenarios of use, when they are not satisfied with something with a regular laptop.

Design, dimensions, controls

It makes no sense to consider the tablet separately from the cover with the keyboard, since you will carry it that way, which means that you need to take into account the additional weight and slightly greater thickness. Tablet dimensions - 290.3x198.8x6.3 mm, weight - 696 grams. With the cover, the thickness will be about a centimeter, and the weight will grow to 1.09 kilograms.

The weight is not a problem, it is lighter than comparable portable laptops, and also lighter than similar Windows tablets. Moreover, they reached a lower weight not due to the rejection of certain possibilities, the use of simple case materials. So, the side frame is made of 7000 series aluminum, the back of the tablet is made of wear-resistant plastic, and the display is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass (the third version, although this is not officially indicated anywhere).

If you look at the tablet in landscape orientation, then on the side ends you will see two speakers, on the left side - a SIM-card slot (W708), on the right - a 3.5 mm jack, as well as USB Type C. The bottom end has a contact group, here cover is connected. On the top there is an on / off button and a volume rocker. There are no buttons on the front panel, while in Windows it is required Windows key for many operations, it was carried to the left end. For example, in the inexpensive Alcatel Plus 10, this key was abandoned, and this is a big disadvantage, here it was retained, but from the point of view of ergonomics it is not very good. An additional, "extra" key, the meaning of which is incomprehensible at first glance.

Now a few words about the keyboard cover. It attaches with magnets and holds well. The first problem is that you won't be able to fold the case so that you can use your tablet as a tablet. In this mode, you just need to take the tablet out of the cover, it's a second, but it still looks weird.

When working with the keyboard, there are two positions - an angle of 115 or 155 degrees. You cannot put a tablet with this cover on your lap, after all, this is not a laptop, you will have to look for a hard surface on the road.

At the same time, the keyboard is excellent, good key travel, they are different in size, and the pressing is pleasant, you would not expect this from a thin keyboard. The touchpad also deserves kind words, you don't need a mouse to work with the device, there are enough built-in capabilities. Of course, the keyboard is inferior to notebooks of the same size, after all, the key travel is less, there is no key illumination, but for this kind of devices it is, if not ideal, then close to that.

For me, the Tab Pro S is noticeably larger than a regular tablet, and even heavier. That is, in my list of devices, it competes with a laptop, but not with a tablet, in this quality it should be perceived.

Display

Usually Windows tablets use IPS-matrices, but not AMOLED, here we see the first tablet "two-in-one", which uses a 12-inch SuperAMOLED matrix. The screen resolution is 2164x1440 pixels, there is an automatic brightness control. In terms of screen quality, this is one of the best Windows tablets, there is absolutely nothing to complain about. The ability to choose a color gamut, good brightness and at the same time such a plus as the operating time, AMOLED gives a significant increase. If you are targeting better screen in its class, then this product will definitely not disappoint you. But besides the screen, you need to look at other possibilities, evaluate the device comprehensively.

Chipset, memory, performance

In budget Windows-tablets "two in one" 2 GB of RAM is used, and the built-in, as a rule, 8 GB, sometimes 16 GB, but there are still memory cards. There are no memory cards here, and the volume of the built-in SSD is exactly one - 128 GB. This should be enough for most users, although memory expansion would be a nice addition to the device. Through the adapter, you can connect external devices, for example, HDD... But here you need to understand that the power for such a disk will not last long, the battery will drain much faster.

The amount of RAM is 4 GB, it can be considered comfortable for the tablet to work quickly. There are no lags in Windows, everything opens extremely quickly. The processor from Intel belongs to the Skylake family, but this is a rather simple m3, its capabilities are not enough for more or less complex tasks. More precisely, not so, there are just enough opportunities, just tasks will take noticeably longer than on desktop machines, for example, you can convert video on a trip on this tablet, but do not think that this will happen very quickly. Considering the cost of the solution, it should be taken exactly as a tablet and do not expect that you will constantly be able to load it with "heavy" tasks. The process in this mode of operation is not optimal, and even when operating on battery power, the battery will discharge before our eyes.

Battery

Built in Li-Ion battery has a capacity of 5200 mAh, many competitors have acquired larger batteries, but at the same time they work for a noticeably shorter time. Playing video on this tablet gives about 5.5 hours of work, which is excellent for a Windows device. You lower the brightness to half, start working in different applications and get about 10-11 hours of work. For such a machine, this is more than good. And this is achieved at the expense of the screen and the stripped-down processor, this is a kind of compromise. Full recharging takes about 2.5 hours.

Communication capabilities

Traditionally, everything is very good, there is Wi-Fi 801.11 b / g / n / ac, MIMO, dual-band, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1. Not only GPS is supported, but also GLONASS. But you are unlikely to use the tablet for navigation, the dimensions are not correct.

Impressions

I can't say anything good about cameras, they are often optional in such devices, they are needed more for Skype than for shooting anything. I liked the speakers very much, they are loud and well heard in different conditions. Five-key keyboard. Now about the cons - of course, this is a cover that must be removed if you want to use the tablet as a tablet. How they could not solve this issue is unclear to me.

The performance of this solution is average, but it is enough for typical tasks of ordinary people, and here the question arises, how much this tablet deserves the Pro prefix. Windows 10 Pro isn't enough for a 2-in-1 tablet to be considered professional, nor is its price tag. Such a model in the USA costs about 900 dollars, which is quite comparable to the MS Surface, our price for the LTE version (and others are simply not supplied) is 90,000 rubles. The price bites, and it is not very clear why such a model is needed, with such a screen diagonal and for such money. For myself, I could not find a single scenario for using this device, however, like all other two-in-one tablets. If budget Windows tablets bribe in cost and act as a replacement for inexpensive laptops, they are compact, then here the price overlaps everything and becomes a blocking factor. This is a very niche device, both in Russia and in other countries of the world, it has very modest sales, which are lower than previous pro-Android tablets. You can buy this tablet only if you know exactly why you are doing it and what you are getting. Otherwise, it is better to refrain from buying. In this segment, oddly enough, MS Surface looks better, although the cost of these solutions is comparable, and Samsung wins in terms of the keyboard. But the number of updates, the combination of the system and hardware - all this speaks in favor of Surface.

The all-round media tablet for Windows 10 fans.

Samsung has been playing for a long time, the company has been introducing Windows laptops for even longer. Now, with new Galaxy TabPro S, the South Korean electronics giant, introduces a competitor that is also looking to oust the market with a charged Windows 10.

The 12-inch tablet is extremely thin and boasts a very bright Super AMOLED display that will effortlessly push any competitor in the Windows device market to play. However, limited by Intel Core M-series processors and low memory capacity, it lags behind the best Windows tablets like the HP Specter x360. But it may not be all that bad. Samsung Review Galaxy TabPro S more ...

Galaxy TabPro S design

It's hard to find words to describe how incredibly thin this tablet is. Measuring only 6.3mm, the TabPro S is thinner than Surface Pro 4 by a significant margin, the same goes for the iPad Pro 12.9.

You could easily confuse the TabPro S with Samsung's Android tablets as it is nearly as thin as the. The similarities are striking, with similar shapes and minimalist design, right down to the hump of the main camera on the back of the tablet.

Of course, the main difference is the processor inside the TabPro S and Windows 10 on the screen, where you might expect Android.

The Windows tablet, unfortunately, doesn't use a solid magnesium body like its Tab S2 counterpart. Instead, the new Galaxy TabPro S has a magnesium frame and plastic back panel... Materials aside, the 12-inch tablet feels sturdy and light enough to hold upright for hours on end.

The framing is a little disappointing, a little more than optimal by today's standards, especially with the side frames, which are about 2 centimeters long. However, this is forgivable as these panels help to hold the tablet without affecting the touchscreen.

Bad contact

And while the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S, which we reviewed, left the impression of a thin and beautiful device on Windows, the bundled keyboard was too flimsy to hold this 12-inch colossus upright.

Like most tablet covers, the keyboard is a foldable case with a tablet inside. It uses magnets built into either side of the case, as well as a magnetic anchor above the keyboard.

On the one hand, the pliable, segmented panel covers the back of the tablet and offers support. In another part of the tablet, meanwhile, there is a magnetic stripe above the keyboard and tilted clips designed to hold the tablet at an angle of 115 or 155 degrees.

The tilt of the screen between these two corners is annoying, especially when you need to carefully separate the tablet from the magnetic case so that it doesn't fall apart. No matter how neat you are, you'll quickly realize that the thin back of the case is simply not strong enough to hold the tablet in place.

The back cover often slips out of the fixing part, causing the tablet to fall on its back, I had to repeatedly catch it before it went to the floor. You can also forget about using the keyboard with the tablet lying down when the screen tilts towards the keyboard, as it simply falls forward and falls flat on the keyboard.

While these magnets are strong enough to hold a 10-inch Android tablet, things look very different with a large 12-inch device. In particular, with the review Galaxy TabPro S, the process resembles the motion sickness of a child who cannot hold his own head.

The ultimate failure of this case is that you can't lay the keyboard behind the tablet to use it solely as a Windows touchscreen tablet. Such an attempt could cause the tablet to go to sleep, thanks to a magnet built into the bottom segment of the panel that covers the back of the tablet.

This appears to be a design flaw, which means you'll have to completely separate and set the keyboard aside if you want to use the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S as a tablet.

As for the keyboard itself, it seems surprisingly spacious, thanks to the excellent size of the individual keys and their positioning relative to the tablet. However, it lacks the media buttons we'd like to see, and the keyboard follows a traditional pattern so anyone will feel comfortable.

At the end of the day, the keyboard feels very unusual as it rests perfectly flat on whatever surface you place the tablet on. Most hybrid devices use a mount that tilts the keyboard slightly for easier typing. The Galaxy TabPro S doesn't offer anything like that, as its keyboard is more like a Type Cover for the Surface Pro.

The plastic trackpad is surprisingly responsive, offering precise cursor movement and good scrolling, if it could have been better, it was only slightly. In addition, you should be careful to keep your hands clean, as the keyboard attracts dirt and wipes under the wrists.

Measuring 291 x 199 x 6.3 mm and weighing 693 grams, the new Samsung Galaxy TabPro S is an extremely compact Windows tablet. The keyboard adds up to an inch of thickness and adds a lot in weight, up to 1.09kg, but even in combination, the tablet is still lighter than most ultrabooks.

By comparison, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is a 785g tablet. Add a keyboard to it and the Microsoft tablet grows up to 1.07 kg, only a hair lighter than Samsung's.

The TabPro S itself is even lighter than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (710 grams). In terms of thickness, Samsung effortlessly comes out on top as Apple's performance-oriented tablet measures 6.9mm in thickness.

• CPU: Intel Core M3-6Y30 900 MHz (2-core, 4 MB cache, 2.2 GHz with Turbo Boost);
• Graphics: Intel Graphics 515;
• RAM: 4 GB;
• Screen: 12-inch Super AMOLED with Full HD resolution (2160 x 1440 pixels);
• Memory: 128 GB (SSD);
• Ports: USB Type-C 3.1, headset jack;
• Connections: Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4 and 5 GHz), VHT80 MIMO, Bluetooth v4.1;
• Camera: 5 megapixel webcam; 5 megapixel rear camera;
• The weight: 0.69 / 1.09 kg;
• The size: 291 x 199 x 6.3 (WxDxH);

Equipped with the above components, the Galaxy TabPro S will set you back $ 899 (about £ 63,000). This price also includes the keyboard, which is just fine considering the lack of one from competitors from Microsoft and Apple.

At $ 1,000, the Surface Pro 4 comes in the same configuration except for a slightly better 12.3-inch display (2,736 x 1,824) with PixelSense technology. Keyboard Type You will have to purchase the Cover separately for $ 129 (RUR 9.000), in the box you will find only a tablet.

Speaking of Apple, you have to shell out $ 949 (about £ 66,000) for a 128GB iPad Pro with fewer accessories supplied, limited to the essential charging cable and adapter. If you want it will cost you $ 169 (about $ 12,000), as well as $ 99 ($ ​​7,000).

From a purely mathematical point of view, the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S comes out on top. This is a flagship tablet that offers decent specs with big screen in a slim but durable body. Samsung is offering its 12-inch Windows tablet as a cost-effective alternative to competitors.

While the TabPro S remains an incredibly thin tablet, it also packs the power thanks to Intel's Core M3 processors. The processors in this series can easily handle day-to-day work in Microsoft Word and Google Doc, survive vigorous research on the web and, of course, playfully handle chat windows full of GIF animations.

You won't be able to fully enjoy the hard games limited to Solitaire and Hearthstone cards. But the Xbox One streaming service and the ability to run lightweight PC games promise to fix the situation.

Benchmarks Galaxy TabPro S

In benchmark tests, the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S performed as follows:

• 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 3,561; Sky Diver: 2.097; Fire Strike: 496
• Cinebench CPU: 201 points; Graphics: 29 frames / sec;
• GeekBench: 2,378 (single core); 4.713 (multi-core)
• PCMark 8 (Home Test): 2,092 points;
• PCMark 8 Battery Life: 4 hours and 40 minutes;

Looking at the raw performance numbers at a time of surprise, the Galaxy TabPro S sits at the very bottom of the performance chain. On GeekBench tests, for example, the iPad Pro scored over 5472 points, while the Surface Pro 4 (Intel Core i5) performed even better with 6649 points.

Of course, numbers are far from everything. Even though the iPad Pro was faster in one test, it is still limited to iOS apps. At the same time, Surface Pro 4 and TabPro S do not suffer from such restrictions and can run desktop programs, including AutoCAD and Adobe Premier.

Nevertheless, the programs will work much more comfortably on Microsoft tablets, thanks to the advanced Core processors i5 and significantly better integrated graphics.

Galaxy TabPro S screen and speakers

OLED panels are becoming the norm for laptops this year, so the Super AMOLEDs on the TabPro S are a unique and welcome addition. This is an ultra bright panel that won't be damaged by sun and glare while the owner renders the lush blue tones of the photo.

The extremely high contrast of the Galaxy TabPro S panel affects all areas of the image, making the picture look more voluminous and the text sharper. Like most other 12-inch tablets, Samsung offers 2K resolution (2160 x 1440 pixels). That's slightly above traditional 1080p, and while the extra resolution is very useful, it doesn't create a hole in the battery and performance of the Samsung tablet.

The speakers of this tablet are also an unexpected revelation. Although they are directed to the sides rather than forward, they still offer crisp and loud sound for music and video playback. And while they can't offer any pronounced bass, the stereo speakers have done a decent job of scoring the scenes of Daredevil's second season.

Galaxy TabPro S Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S lasts surprisingly long offline considering the extremely slim body. The 12-inch tablet lasted an impressive 4 hours and 40 minutes in PCMark 8 battery tests. It then lasted 6 hours and 6 minutes in our video loop tests (Guardians of the Galaxy) at 50% screen brightness and 50% volume.

When it comes to streaming services, you can expect better performance in the long run. During extended Netflix playback, for example, the Galaxy TabPro S we reviewed squeezed out 10.5 hours of battery life. Thanks to Samsung's fast charging technology, you can get your tablet back online in 2 hours and 30 minutes.

For comparison, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 only lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes, although the reason may be a malfunction of the firmware from Microsoft for the test version of the tablet, which came to us for review. On the other hand, the iPad Pro lasted six hours, which is much closer.

Overall, Samsung's tablet doesn't offer surprising results by today's standards, but it's still a great result for the 12-inch tablets available today.

Complete software

Samsung has a reputation as an active vendor of viral PCs, thanks to the sheer number of small "S" apps based on Android tablets. But the manufacturer cleaned up the number of preinstalled applications - they are all useful in their own way.

• Samsung Update- Your portal with official firmware and updates software from Samsung.
• SamsungRecover- This application will help you create a restore point, which will come in handy if the system crashes.
• SamsungFlow- Coming later this April, Flow is an alternative to SideSync, the app will allow you to pair the TabPro S with Samsung phone... Features include one-touch hotspot connectivity and biometric authentication using a smartphone's fingerprint reader.
• OnlineSupport (S-Service)- similar to the previously available Helpout app on Samsung Chromebook 2, this app provides a direct line from online support for the tablet. Support reps can take direct control of the tablet, with your permission, of course.

Subtotal results

The Samsung Galaxy TabPro S tablet is an ambitious device that aims to topple the title-reigning iPad Pro on Windows 10. It's worth noting that Samsung has achieved that goal with some respect.

This isn't just one of the Windows 10 tablets, it's the thinnest and most premium tablet I've ever used. Add an affordable price, anyway, against the background of the competition. While the tablet is great for day-to-day use as a standalone tablet, we hope Samsung or third-party accessory makers can release the best keyboard much needed for a clean work experience.

We liked

It is impossible to ignore how thin this 12-inch tablet is. You could easily mistake it for an Android tablet if it weren't for Microsoft's OS on the device.

Samsung has leveraged its decades of tablet design experience to take the unbeaten path of Windows with bright screens, powerful speakers, autonomous work and reliability.

We didn't like

There's nothing wrong with the Galaxy TabPro S, but the standard keyboard that comes in the box overshadows user experience this 12-inch tablet. The keyboard is wobbly, and the trackpad's behavior leaves a lot to be desired, so third-party keyboards would be welcome.

In this case, Samsung's expertise in Android tablet development is a double-edged sword. While Samsung is using the successful design of Windows tablets, the keyboard case that has been perfect for the stellar Android tablets simply cannot replace a laptop.

Final word

The Samsung Galaxy TabPro S really wowed me. Without many words, best tablet on Windows 10 to watch videos and read on the Internet. This is not surprising given the company's stellar history in the Android tablet market.

However, the keyboard case becomes an important disadvantage. It does a good job of taking the tablet out of your bag and placing it on a flat table, but it's too unstable to safely use the accessory on your lap. Plus, you need a place to store your keyboard whenever you want to use the TabPro S in the form of a blank tablet.