Samsung Galaxy TabPro S: mid-range tablet
Samsung TabPro S
In the quest for portable computing devices, many people are turning towards hardware that doubles as both a tablet and laptop.
Enter Samsung’s TabPro S, the latest iteration of its Galaxy Tab line-up (I own one of the original Galaxy Tabs. It was good then: Not so great now).
The TabPro S is a 12-inch tablet, running Windows 10 and aims to take on the iPad Pro and probably Microsoft’s Surface Pro device.
The TabPro S in its locked, upright position
The TabPro S comes with a keyboard cover (yes, it’s included in the price) that snaps onto the base of the body via a magnetic coupling. At first, I wasn’t sure that the keyboard cover was strong enough to support the tablet in an upright position, but once I’d got the hang of it, I pretty much kept it in that position while I had it, using it to watch movies via streaming services like Netflix and Lightbox, web browsing and general tablet-related activities.
A close up of the TabPro S’s keyboard that acts as a cover
While the keys don’t have much travel and are quite close together, I was able to touch type accurately most of the time but definitely not to the accuracy that I could on a standard or mechanical keyboard. I also wouldn’t advise using the keyboard on your knees: It’s quite unstable so needs to be used on a sturdy flat surface like table or desk.
The super AMOLED screen is the hero with the TabPro S, offering full HD at a resolution of 2160 x 1440 resolution. The screen does have quite a large bezel, though, but it didn’t detract from my time with the tablet. Strangely, though, it doesn’t come with a stylus: I can see this device as just the ticket for design or art work.
The Samsung TabPro S in tablet mode
Under the hood you’ll find 4Gb of RAM and an Intel Core M CPU (a dual core CPU clocked at 2.24Mhz), which means that the TabPro S isn’t a powerhouse performer but it means that battery life is fantastic, offering several hours use before needing a charge. Apart from a 3.5mm headphone jack and the USB-C charge port, there are also no other connections on Samsung’s device so you can’t connect other devices or a USB flash drive. The TabPro S has 128Gb of flash storage, which should be enough, given the push these days to save most of your content to the cloud.
A nice touch is that you can pop in a SIM card and access 4G speeds if you’re out of Wi-Fi range.
I definitely see the TabPro S as productivity machine rather than a gaming one, but thanks to its Windows 10 operating system, you can stream content from your Xbox One console to the device. I streamed Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption to the tablet and it worked flawlessly and lag free. It’s a great feature if your Xbox One is connected a TV that is being used by other people but you want to get your game on.
A downside for me, is the lack of a USB port but Samsung are clearly going for portability (it tips the scales at less than 700 grams) and thinness with the TabPro S.
The TabPro S isn’t a laptop killer or replacement thanks to its medium range specs but it would be ideal as a BYOD device for a school student or a lightweight business tablet. It’s also a great device for consume multimedia content like Netflix or other streaming services.
A good effort from Samsung.
Great review. Have you heard that they’re bringing Rome:total war to tablets. Could be pretty awesome
No, I haven’t heard that. I’m currently looking at a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and I’m impressed that I can play Portal 2 and the Tomb Raider reboot on it (not ultra settings or super high resolution, but definitely playable).
I find it crazy that tablets can play games such as those now when only a few years ago they were considered cutting edge. I can’t imagine what it will be like in 5 years time.
Keep up the awesome blogs as useful Gerard.
Thanks, Jacob. I’ll never have as many reviews of games and hardware as other sites but I’ll keep going for as long as I can! Thanks for reading and commenting.