Samsung Galaxy tab S7 FE
Buy now £490.32, Amazon.co.uk
Build quality and design
The flat edges and antenna band on the rear of the S7 FE are gently reminiscent of the iPad pro (£1,099, Johnlewis.co.uk) or the latest iPad air (£749, Johnlewis.com) – that is, there’s a classy and attractive look to this tablet. It is slim (just 6.3mm from front to back) and light, making it easy to hold even for extended periods of time.
It’s well built, with a glass front and aluminium back – many Android tablets have a lighter but less premium plastic backing. There’s one camera on the rear (the tab S7+, meanwhile, has two) and the front-facing camera, which sits in the bezel around the display, is of a lower resolution than on the pricier Samsung tablets with a 5MP sensor.
Still, it’s enough to power the facial recognition that unlocks the tablet when you look at it. There’s no fingerprint sensor here, but facial recognition is pretty reliable, working more than 90 per cent of the time without demanding our passcode.
Something else missing is the headphone socket that used to be commonplace on tablets but is now absent from most models, including iPads.
Read more: Apple iPad pro vs iPad air – which comes out on top?
Like Apple, but unlike most other manufacturers, Samsung makes some of its tablets with two connectivity versions: wifi only or wifi and a SIM card slot for 4G or 5G connectivity. This tablet comes in both versions, although it’s worth noting that this extra functionality costs more. The SIM card tray is used for a microSD card on wifi-only models. Expandable storage is a useful extra, and something not found on Apple tablets. It means you don’t have to spring for the biggest-capacity model when you buy, knowing you can add a memory card later if you run out of space.
Audio on the tablet is good, not least because it’s been tuned by AKG, a Samsung company. There are two speakers here, against four on the pricier S7+, but the result is still strong and effective sound.
You can choose between four colours: black, silver, green and pink.
Display
The 12.4in display on this tablet is bigger than most rivals. The iPad pro 12.9in is slightly larger, and some surface tablets have bigger screens, but in most cases, this is about as big as it gets. It’s the same size as on the tab S7+, but has two key differences.
First, the S7+ has an OLED screen, something even the priciest iPad pro can’t boast, and which offers spectacular colour fidelity and impressive overall picture quality. Mind you, the FE screen still looks good: it’s detailed and immersive, not to mention bright (OLED screens traditionally struggle to match the brightness of LED LCD screens like this).
The second difference is that where the pricier tablet has a fast refresh rate of 120Hz, meaning that whatever you do it yields a smooth, stutter-free experience, here the refresh rate is 60Hz – a standard and perfectly decent rate, but no match for the S7+. However, unless you look at them side-by-side, we think you’re unlikely to notice the difference.
The display resolution is enough to make video playback a dream, streaming Netflix effectively, for instance, even though this display doesn’t have HDR support, which takes the edge off the very best visual performance.
Read more: 10 best tablets from Apple, Android, Windows and more
S Pen
A stylus is a great tablet accessory, whether you’re scribbling notes or drawing with suitable apps. But many manufacturers – we’re looking at you, Apple – charge extra for one, and in some cases more than £100. However, although this is a mid-range tablet, Samsung still includes the S Pen in the box. True, it’s not as advanced as the stylus that comes with the tab S7+, but it’s a useful extra. It attaches to the back of the device magnetically, though the connection is not infallibly strong and it’ll likely detach when both are in a bag, for instance.
Performance and battery life
For most of the time, performance is good, and the tablet is fast and capable of tasks such as word processing, web browsing, and streaming video. It’s only when you switch to gaming, and specifically demanding video games, that the tablet stutters a little. More casual titles are fine, but this is unlikely to be your main gaming machine.
Similarly, the cameras are not the best you’ll find. But the ergonomics are all wrong for photography with any tablet, anyway: a flat sheet of glass is not as easy to hold as a DSLR or a smartphone.
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Battery life is one of the strengths of this model. It’s extremely good, lasting a full day and more, which is better than several other tablets, such as the iPad.
The verdict: Samsung Galaxy tab S7 FE
The Samsung Galaxy tab S7 FE is a mid-range tablet that is good value and has a big and immersive screen. The excellent design and great build quality give it a premium feel. The fact that it’s available in both wifi and 5G options is unusual in a tablet (apart from the iPad) and adds to the versatility of the Samsung Galaxy tab S7 FE. Battery life is exceptional. The inclusion of the S Pen stylus in the box adds to the value.
The screen works well for streaming films, for instance, and while the processor isn’t quite up to the most demanding games, for most everyday tasks it excels and, thanks to that screen, looks tremendous while it’s doing them.