Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 Review: Should You Buy One?

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 Review: Should You Buy One?

It's the new 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab!
It’s the new 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab!

Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0

Samsung was the first company who popularized 7-inch Android tablets. Dozens of companies followed suit and it eventually created a market for it. The market became so big that it even forced Apple to come out with the iPad Mini despite Steve Jobs’ earlier statements that the 10-inch form factor is the best for tablets. Samsung recently refreshed their Galaxy Tab line comprising of 3 sizes: 7, 8, and 10.1. We’ve been using the 7-inch WiFi only variant for more than a week now and we’d like to share with you our review.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 Spec Sheet

  • 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8 or 16GB internal memory expandable via MicroSD up to 64GB
  • 7 inch TFT display (1024 x 600 pixels) 170 ppi
  • 3.15 megapixel rear facing camera with autofocus
  • 1.3 megapixel front facing camera
  • WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, WiFi Direct, WiFi hotspot, DLNA, Bluetooth 3.0, Infrared Port
  • GPS with A-GPS support
  • 4,000 mAh battery
  • Android 4.1 Jellybean
  • SRP: P9,490

Hardware: Same Old Plasticky Samsung

iPad 4th Gen side-by-side the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0
iPad 4th Gen side-by-side the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0

As with almost all of their other products, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 is made mostly of glossy plastic. This material has a lot of pros and cons that will definitely polarize the market. Pros being it being lightweight and slim while the cons are it feeling “cheap” and “low-quality”. Despite the material though the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 looks much better than its previous iterations. Thinner bezel, curved edges, and brushed metal band.

When it comes to the display, we only have 1024 x 600 pixels. Now this is mind-boggling. We don’t understand why Samsung decided to go with low resolution for this tablet. We know they’re trying to cut corners to bring down the price but this is such a huge compromise. The pixels are very evident with the display of the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0.

Performance: Hmmm…

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 can handle the usual casual, core, and light apps like messaging, social networking, and media. However it isn’t the best device for gaming. We tried playing Minion Rush on it and it turned out to be a very frustrating experience. First it took a while to load (over 15 seconds) and after that the game crashed causing the tablet to hang. We also noticed lag spikes in some parts of the game which is annoying especially in the later stages since that would probably mean your death in-game.

Minion Rush!
Minion Rush!

We fired up Antutu Benchmark Test to see how the tablet is compared to other devices and it was able to put up around 10,000. That’s in the same league as a lot of other dual-core Android tablets.

Antutu Benchmark Score
Antutu Benchmark Score

Over-all we weren’t really impressed with the Android experience delivered by the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 especially since we just finished reviewing the 2013 Google Nexus 7. In fact we were quite stumped as to why Samsung even bothered making this particular tablet in the first place. :/

Battery Life: Fairly Good

Battery lasted for more than 10 hours with light to moderate use. But when we stressed the battery a little bit (watched 2 movies, played Candy Crush which is the only game that ran smoothly, You Tube, social networks) we got up to 7 hours of battery life

Verdict: Go for the 2013 Google Nexus 7

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 is good for basic tasks like internet, social networking, and casual games. However you will still experience lag spikes and delays throughout your usage of the device. It will also have a hard time with graphics intensive applications like hardcore gaming titles. That said we believe it is a wiser decision to just go for the Google Nexus 7. Just save for a few more months so you can afford getting that one instead (around Php3,000 more expensive). Heck we’d recommend the first generation Google Nexus 7 over this.

>>> SEE ALSO: 2013 Google Nexus 7 Review – the Best Android Tablet To Date

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