Best in Class?
Android tablets weren’t met with great reviews when they were first introduced to the market several years ago. Google had problems optimising the Android operating system to work smoothly and efficiently on their initial builds. However after more than half a decade and millions of dollars poured into product development, we finally have a few high-end Android tablets that can go toe-to-toe with the Apple iPad. One of them is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, the successor to last year’s Galaxy Tab S.
Everything about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, from the hardware build and design to the software, was refined dramatically to deliver a near-flawless user experience. Just by looking at the spec sheet (see below) one can already get an idea of the performance of this beast. The big challenge really for Samsung is if the Php29,990 price tag that they slapped on it will get them the volume of sales that they need to call this a success.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 specs
- Octa-core Exynos 533 processor
- 3GB of RAM
- 9.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, 2048×1536 resolution
- 32GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 128GB
- 8-megapixel rear camera
- 2.1-megapixel front camera
- 3G, LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, fingerprint scanner
- 5,870mAh (9.7-inch) battery
- Android 5.0 Lollipop
We’ll answer that question and more in this review. Read on!
Hardware Build and Design: Phenomenal and Best-in-Class
The moment we laid eyes on the Galaxy Tab S2 and picked it up, we were floored with how ridiculously thin it was. Measuring just 5.6mm thick, this is thinner than all the other flagship tablet offerings including the iPad Mini 3 and the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet. You can almost chop vegetables with this thing.
The tablet felt solid and sturdy, thanks to it’s high quality mix of metal and plastic body and frame. Gone is the “dimple” style design of the back and instead we have a cool metallic finish that’s luxurious to the touch. In short, the Galaxy Tab S2 does not feel cheap at all and it deserves it’s flagship status.
Up front we have the glossy 9.7-inch glass display which is just absolutely stunning. We don’t have any bad words whatsoever for the quality of the visuals, brightness, and viewing angles for the Galaxy Tab S2. Heck, if we needed to give it a score, we’d generously rate it a 10/10. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best tablet displays that we’ve ever laid our eyes on. This is thanks mostly to the resolution and Samsung’s Super AMOLED panels. Colors and contrast were all superb.
One noticeable change is that the screen ratio of the Galaxy Tab S2 is now 4:3. This enhanced everything we did with it while it was in portrait mode. Web browsing, reading, and doing social were all great experiences on the Galaxy Tab S2. The trade-off here was that in landscape mode we kept seeing black fillers at the top and at the bottom especially when watching videos.
In terms of weight, the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 comes in at 389g while the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 weighs in at 256g. If you want something more portable and easy to bring with you, the 8.0-inch model is your best bet. The 9.7-inch model is really more for home or office use.
Software and Over-all Performance: Flawless
The earlier generation of the Galaxy Tab S series still had minor lag issues, especially with the Samsung TouchWiz software. That’s all but gone now with the Galaxy Tab S2. In the last two weeks that we’ve spent using this device for gaming, web browsing, social media, and a gamut of other activities, we can only count in one hand the number of times we had noticeable delays. 95% of the time it was super smooth sailing thanks to the optimization of the software and the monstrous processor, RAM, and graphics running under the hood of this beast.
Multi-tasking was no problem as we jumped from one app to the other with no issues. Sure there were slight delays when we were jumping to and from graphics and RAM intensive applications, but it wasn’t one that was out of the normal. Core services also ran beautifully well — from messaging, browsing, calendars, and encoding.
Perhaps where the tablet shined the most was in gaming. On the Galaxy Tab S2 we had the best graphics and animation ever for Marvel Future Fight. It was simply a joy using the Hulk to smash droves of mindless minions to dust without any lag and at a very good frame rate.
The only difficulty we had with playing Marvel Future Fight was that the Galaxy Tab S2 model we had was the bigger one (9.7-inches). It became a bit tiring holding it up for a while. On the flipside though the large screen surface delivered a superb Clash of Clans experience, hehe. Only issue there was that the game didn’t fully support the QHD resolution so there was pixelation especially when we zoomed in or zoomed out.
That said, if you’re into games like Marvel Future Fight your best bet is the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 model. If you’re more into strategy like CoC, go for the 9.7-inch.
When it came to videos, the 4:3 screen ratio became very apparent. As you can see in the photo below, there are thick black bars that sandwich the content. It doesn’t ruin the viewing experience totally but it is noticeable.
The good news is that the Super AMOLED screen delivers a phenomenal viewing experience, especially when you’re watching anime! We did a marathon of Attack on Titan using iflix on the Galaxy Tab S2 and we enjoyed it a lot. The external speakers were also slightly above average so we didn’t need to put on headphones or connect it to speakers.
Camera: Surprisingly Above Average
It’s accepted that almost all tablets have sucky cameras so we had very low expectations when we started testing the 8MP primary shooter of the Galaxy Tab S2. We were pleasantly surprised to find out it performed above average. If you’re in moderate lighting the shots actually come out nicely. There is a tendency though for it to be overexposed when there’s harsh light (check the shoe photo) and it doesn’t do too well in low-light.
>>>
Not too shabby.
Battery Life: Usual Android Tablet Life Span
Another pleasant surprise is the battery life! We were expecting it to suffer because Samsung used smaller batteries for the Tab S2 compared to the previous generation. However we consistently clocked in around 6.5-7.5 hours of Screen On Time. That was actually almost the same amount that we got from the previous generation Tab S! A possible explanation for this is that the slightly lower resolution of the newer generation puts less pressure on the processor and graphics which might have improved battery life. There’s also the supposed optimizations brought about by Android 5.1.1.
Verdict: Is it a Good Buy? Yes.
Now we answer the hard question that we put forward at the start of this article. Is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 a good buy considering the Php29,990 price tag? Our answer is a resounding yes. Here are our top two reasons why:
- The nearest competitor is the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet and that’s priced over Php40,000. This makes the Galaxy Tab S2 look affordable.
- The difference in performance between the Galaxy Tab S2 and the sub Php20,000 tablets is significant. It’s near flawless. It rarely lags. Samsung hit the ball out of the park with this one. This Android Tablet can really go BEAST MODE.
- It doesn’t look or feel cheap. Just by holding it you can tell that it’s worth what you’re paying for.
If you’re looking for a high-end Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab S2 should simply be on the top of your list.
