Android 8 Samsung Galaxy Tab S2

Apple's authorisation of the tablet market has gradually deteriorated over the years and with slates similar the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 it's no wonder.

With a ix.7-inch screen, a slim and low-cal build and lots of power all packed into a premium trounce information technology'south most an iPad Air 2 running Android.

Yet at around £320 it undercuts Apple'southward flagship slate, in fact when it comes to price y'all're in iPad mini 4 territory here.

On the other paw, as an upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S it'south less impressive and while the Galaxy Tab S2 ticks many of the aforementioned boxes as the iPad Air 2, it doesn't do it with every bit much flair.

· The iPad Pro is the best tablet Apple's ever made

Design

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has some similarities with the iPad Air 2 (there's only so much you can practice when designing a tablet), but in some means it actually outdoes it, as at 5.6mm thick and 389g it's both slimmer and lighter. That'south quite an achievement and ways you can easily hold information technology in one hand or throw it in a handbag and forget about information technology.

Dorsum in Android country the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet is almost as slim and just equally lite, but few other slates tin can compete with it.

The actual design is slightly less inspiring. The Tab S2 has a metal frame and a plastic back, which could nigh pass for metal, only is a distinctly lower end cloth. The whole thing, metal and plastic both, is too a little glace and, well, plainly.

You could call it understated if you were feeling kind, just whatever you call it the Samsung Milky way Tab S2 won't elicit the aforementioned impressed reactions as the iPad Air 2 or indeed the Samsung Galaxy S6. Notwithstanding, it'due south an improvement on the all-plastic Samsung Milky way Tab S.

Features

Samsung does screens like nobody'due south business and the Galaxy Tab S2 is no exception, with a bright and vivid Super AMOLED brandish, merely like you'll detect on its smartphones.

That's also what yous'll observe on the original Galaxy Tab Southward, but oddly Samsung has actually lowered the resolution for the new model, bringing it to an iPad Air ii-matching 1536 10 2048. It's a shame that it's a step downwardly, but it's withal plenty sharp plenty and a real joy to utilize.

The visitor has also inverse the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:three, clearly in a bid to compete more than directly with Apple's slates. The change makes information technology worse for watching movies, only better for web browsing.

If it seems like we're making and so many comparisons with the iPad, y'all'll observe it hard not to when you pick this upward - and most of the changes from Samsung seem to have been designed to fight toe-to-toe with Apple's tablet.

Away from the screen, there's a fingerprint scanner packed into the Galaxy Tab S2, making it speedy to unlock. It mostly works well and equally you can register upward to four fingers y'all're not stuck using the aforementioned digit every time, but it failed to recognise the print about i in four times and on those occasions but typing in a Pivot would accept been faster.

Functioning

With an octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is a clear flagship and it performs like i, though it'south non quite as fast equally the Samsung Galaxy S6 or the monstrous iPad Pro.

In exercise you lot won't notice. Everything feels smoothen under the finger and it fifty-fifty copes well with loftier-end games. In that location'south an occasional pause when swiping across the habitation screen, just that's likely the TouchWiz result rather than a lack of grunt.

Battery life is a bit more than of a worry, as if you do plan to use it for a lot of gaming or video y'all'll run across information technology come up crashing downwardly in a matter of hours. With moderate mixed use you lot'll get a twenty-four hours or more than out of it, only it won't see you lot through a full Star Wars marathon, so choose your starting trilogy carefully.

The camera is what it is - an okay 8MP snapper strapped to something that'southward far too big to ever apply as a camera. In overcast autumn days information technology struggled to have whatever shots which weren't a bit dark, but go the lite right and it's non awful.

The arguably more useful front-facing camera is just a 2.1MP one, which again struggles unless the lighting is bright and consequent.

Usability

The Milky way Tab S2 runs Android Lollipop overlaid with TouchWiz. Samsung's modifications have never been the all-time, only at that place are some decent features here. Flipboard is baked right in for i, and then a swipe to the leftmost screen will requite you easy access to news and entertainment stories.

Samsung has also taken advantage of the large ix.seven-inch display to offer a split screen mode for easier multi-tasking - the tablet is powerful enough to handle this smoothly, but the screen is just a little too pocket-size for it to be entirely comfy.

T3 verdict

Is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 the slate to unseat Apple? Non quite, just in many ways it feels like an Android iPad.

It'due south a joy to use thanks to a sparse and light design, a big and bright screen and enough of power, which are the almost important things really.

Well, those and battery life, which isn't quite as good as information technology could be, but there's however enough juice here to see you through an average day of use with ease.

All that and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 won't cost y'all any more than an iPad mini iv. It'south not as beautiful to behold as Apple's tablets and with a not fully premium design information technology doesn't feel quite as loftier-end, merely if you're later an Android slate with a great screen and so this is right upward there.