Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE Review: Impressive android tablet

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE is the newest model from Samsung’s popular lineup, bringing all the features loved by the brand’s fans. This is indicated by the FE (Fan Edition) marking, as in the Galaxy S21 FE smartphone . The gadget received support for the S Pen, a powerful processor and a cool screen. Interestingly, the display diagonal and battery capacity are even higher than those of the Galaxy Tab S7. But at the same time, the tablet is cheaper than the product model.

Design and display

When you pick up the new Galaxy Tab S7 FE, you immediately notice how huge it is – the tablet has an impressive 12.4-inch display. The body of the device is made of metal – it is very thin and has clear edges (there are no slicked ends, like many smartphones, here). The model is available in 4 colors: black, silver, green and rose gold. The device weighs about 600 grams.

The aspect ratio is great for watching videos on YouTube and Netflix – there are small black bars only at the top and bottom. The display bezels are quite thin and uniform around the entire perimeter. The resolution is high enough, 2560×1600 pixels. Even if you look closely, you will not notice any individual pixels. The brightness is also at a height – the content is perfectly visible even when sunlight hits the screen.

But the color rendition has a bias in a warm gamut – by default, white appears yellowish, as if the eye protection mode is on. Unfortunately, this is typical of TFT panels. A separate “Comfort for the eyes” function makes the picture even more yellow, removing harmful blue radiation.

On the sides of the case are stereo speakers – they were developed in collaboration with the AKG brand. They support Dolby Atmos and produce quite loud and surround sound. It is also convenient that the speaker grilles are located at the top of the ends – even if you hold the tablet in your hands, you will not close them.

The gadget is also equipped with a system of 3 microphones – they are located around the screen in such a way as to pick up a voice during a video call, regardless of your location relative to the device.

S Pen

The main feature that distinguishes the tablet from other models is the support for the proprietary S Pen stylus. The pen comes in a set, so you don’t have to buy it separately – unfortunately, nowadays this is a very important advantage, because manufacturers are in no hurry to expand the set of their devices.

With the stylus, you can take notes in the Samsung Notes app, and then convert your handwriting into text, for example, to copy it and send it to mail or messenger. The program supports tags, handwriting search, and annotation over other documents (for example, to add edits to a presentation).

Also, the pen is convenient to use for creativity, to sketch and draw. To do this, you can download a 6-month trial of Clip Studio Paint or the free Canva software from the app store.

But you cannot create notes on the locked screen, as it works with flagship smartphones.

Performance and equipment

The model is powered by the powerful Snapdragon 750G gaming processor. As tests show, it is less powerful than the Snapdragon 865+ in the Tab S7. However, in practice, you will hardly notice this – the tablet also pulls all top games at maximum settings and works smoothly in multitasking mode. In total, you can use up to 3 application windows at the same time. And if you connect the gadget to a monitor and keyboard via Samsung DeX, it will completely replace a desktop PC.

The test model was equipped with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. There is also a version with 4/64 GB. Additionally, you can use microSD cards up to 1 TB – if, of course, you find such a “baby” on sale at a reasonable price.

The tablet runs on Android 11 and is fully compatible with the Samsung ecosystem. If you have several gadgets of this brand linked to one account, you can enable the “Keep apps running on other devices” function and work in the same programs at the same time. For example, copying text on a tablet and pasting on a Galaxy smartphone.

It is worth saying a few words about the camera. So, a rear sensor with a resolution of 8 megapixels and autofocus is installed here. Videos can be recorded in a maximum of Full HD at 30 frames per second. In good light, you can take decent quality pictures with it, but without fashionable effects like bokeh.

The front camera with a resolution of 5 megapixels is great for video conferencing and calls, but not more – after all, this is a tablet, not a smartphone for creating videos in TikTok.

The device supports Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 5, all current geolocation systems (GPS + GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo) and is equipped with a slot for SIM cards with 4G.

Autonomy

The tablet is equipped with an excellent 10,090mAh battery. In our test, it was 5% discharged in half an hour of HD video playback on YouTube. At the same time, Wi-Fi was turned on and the average brightness was set. Thus, a full charge is enough for about 10 hours of viewing – a good result for a 12-inch gadget.

The included charger is the simplest one – 15 W. The tablet also supports fast charging with a power of up to 45 W – with it, it charges up to 100% in about an hour and a half.

Conclusion

Prices for a regular Tab S7 start at $800. Overall, the difference in cost between the models is not that significant – however, the Tab S7 FE has a larger display and battery. So if the screen size and autonomy are more important to you, rather than performance, you can safely opt for the “fan” version.