Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

I like big screens. My work PC at home has two monitors attached to it, and when I need a change of scenery, I swipe away on my large, 13-inch iPad Pro. It doesn't feel cramped, and its multitasking gestures are intuitive and refined. I can't quite say the same for Samsung's new tablet, the Galaxy Tab S7+.

There aren't many tablet manufacturers left that use Google's Android operating system, and Samsung's slates are just about the only ones you can use to get work done. That's because Google hasn't done much to expand Android's capabilities with larger screen sizes. A few years ago, Samsung took the do-it-yourself approach and crafted its own desktop mode called DeX, recreating a laptop experience within Android, taskbar, and all.

When paired with the keyboard cover, the S7+ is usable for light work, but I'm always a tad more anxious to use it. That's a shame for a bundle that costs more than $1,000.

Photograph: Samsung 

The Galaxy Tab S7+ is capable. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor inside and 8 GB of RAM make everything run smoothly and speedily. It's one of the most powerful Android devices of the year, and I've never witnessed any kind of slowdown.

The tablet's 12.4-inch AMOLED display is exquisite. It's wonderfully sharp and colorful, with inky blacks—not to mention it's bright enough to read on my balcony when the sun's shining, and dim enough to finish watching Enola Holmes without disturbing my partner before bed. Samsung has added a 120-Hz refresh rate too, just like on its latest smartphones, and it makes the user experience much more fluid and responsive.

It's also a great slate for sketching. Samsung includes the S Pen stylus (yay!), which magnetically attaches to the back like on the iPad Pro, doubling as a storage spot and a way for it to wirelessly recharge. Sketching isn't as perfect as it is with the Apple Pencil. The tablet occasionally mistook my strokes for taps in Adobe Illustrator, producing dots instead of lines—but I still had a lot of fun. The time it takes for stylus gestures to register on the screen is down to 9 milliseconds—making it feel very responsive.

The Tab S7+ itself is lightweight too, but the large screen makes it awkward to hold with one hand. The quad speakers are a treat, pushing out rich and loud audio. They're good enough to replace a cheap Bluetooth speaker.

You won't have room to store a ton of offline music, though. The $850 base model has only 128 gigabytes of internal storage. Thankfully, you can get more memory with the MicroSD card slot or opt for the pricier 256- or 512-GB models. There's also no headphone jack (I still like plugging in sometimes!).

Despite Android tablets existing the better part of a decade, many apps don't make use of the extra space. The interface ends up so spread out that my fingers move all over the screen just to use an app. Most apps are functional, but they look clunky. Or they don't exist. My fave drawing app, Paper, is not available on Android. The apps on iPad are often leagues better.

Photograph: Samsung 

When you want to get some work done, switch to DeX mode by attaching the keyboard, or if the keyboard is already attached, by pressing the DeX + function keys. I'm writing this review in DeX mode.

In DeX, Android looks like Windows. There's a task bar at the bottom with open apps (you can pin your faves to it). The Android navigation buttons are on the left with an app drawer, and a system tray sits on the right for accessing notifications and settings.

If you never use this mode, it's because the keyboard cover costs $230. Yikes. It does an OK job keeping the Tab S7+ stable, though the screen jiggles when you shift your legs. It's not as stable if you want to prop it up and work on a couch or bed.

It's the little things in DeX that slow me down. In the Chrome browser, when you open a new tab you need to tap the URL for the cursor to appear. You can't just start typing like on most other machines. You also can't drag a tab out to make a new window to look at two browser pages side by side. (You can do this with Samsung Internet, another preinstalled browser.) Tapping the back arrow at the top of every app confusingly does the same thing as the "X" on the top right.

You'll need to resize most apps on launch. Twitter, for example, only lets you view two tweets at a time. Resizing it shows you more. Other apps, like Instagram, can't be resized (not Samsung's fault). Accessing these apps from a browser is a better idea. Windows also don't snap into place as neatly as they do on other operating systems.

I'm glad the trackpad exists because I don't have to lift my hand to tap the screen. But it is faster to use the touchscreen sometimes. For example, selecting text is not the trackpad's forte. And "right-click" doesn't universally work the same way in third-party apps. The cursor also just doesn't feel like it was designed for the operating system, something Apple improved this year. The 12.4-inch screen also feels cramped in DeX mode, because of its 16:10 aspect ratio. You get a much larger canvas to work on with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

I didn't have much problem with battery life. The 10,090-mAh battery capacity got me through a full work day, hitting around 30 percent by 7 pm.

Photograph: Samsung 

There's a reason for the + in Tab S7+. There's also a regular Tab S7! I haven't tested this model, but it differs with a 11-inch screen size, an LCD display, a fingerprint sensor on the side, and a slightly smaller battery. It's still expensive, but much more stomachable at $650 (add another $200 if you want the keyboard). You can also snag cellular versions of either S7 model (both support the up-and-coming 5G network) if you plan on using it away from a stable Wi-Fi connection, but that'll cost you even more.

I can work on the Tab S7+. I'm just not at my best. It's undoubtedly the best Android tablet of 2020, if that's something you're looking for, but I'm not sure anyone should spend upwards of $1,000 for this experience. The Tab S7 is a better fit for most people. Alternatively, you can get a sturdy laptop and a cheap tablet for the same price.

It all depends on what you want. Want a tablet for casual browsing/sketching, with the capability to connect a keyboard for some light work? The new iPad ($330) or the upcoming iPad Air ($600) are the way to go. If Android is a must for some strange reason, consider Samsung's Galaxy Tab S6 Lite ($280). It's not as powerful, but you get almost the same software experience, and there's a Targus-made Bluetooth keyboard you can connect.

Samsung's DeX still needs more polish. It might not be ready for prime time, but it's not far off.

Updated on October 11: We removed a line stating that older models did not have a trackpad in the keyboard. The Tab S6 did, and we regret the error.