Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Review: One Of The Best Android Tablets
Apple's iPads have long been king of the tablet game, but Korean device manufacturer Samsung recently offered up a new Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 which boasts of features good enough for it be considered as a viable alternative to getting an iPad. According to a review in Digital Trends, Samsung's new tablet offers users a high-end tablet that does not run on iOS and is in fact thinner, lighter and cheaper than the iPad Air 2.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is the successor of the 2014 Galaxy Tab S, which was Samsung's first attempt to provide real competition for the iPad. Compared to the 2014 tablet, the Galaxy Tab S2, however, features a better looking design and, more importantly, is thinner and lighter than its competition. Both the 8-inch and the 9.7-inch models are only 5.6mm thick, thinner than the iPad Air 2. In terms of weight, the 8-inch Tab S2 only weighs 0.58lbs, while the 9.7-incher weighs only 0.86lbs. This is less than the iPad Air 2's 0.96lbs. The tablets' lightness however has a price – it is not made of premium metal, like the iPad Air, which is usually associated with sturdiness. On the positive side, the tablet's lightness makes it very portable.
Another notable feature of the Galaxy Tab S2 is its screen, which the review said is comparable to that of the iPad. Both variants have Super AMOLED screens with a "stunning" 2,048 x 1,536 pixel resolution which means that watching movies and reading visually rich content will be very satisfying. The review said, "the Tab S2 looks just as sharp and vibrant as the iPad Air 2."
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Internal storage is also the tablets' big plus. Both tablets have 32GB internal storage which is expandable up to 128 GB through a microSD card. This option, as most iPad users know, is not available on the iPad Air, or any Apple tablet for that matter. Under the hood, they are equipped with an octa-core Exynos processor, which consists of a quad-core 1.9 GHz chip and a 1.3 GHz quad-core chip. This processor is paired with 3 GB of RAM.
The Galaxy Tab S2 8-inch model sells on Amazon for a premium price of $350, while the 9.7-inch model is $400. According to the review, this price tag is surprising because the Tab S2 does not come with a premium metal build. Users who want a sturdier looking tablet may go for slightly higher priced offerings and may pass on the Tab S2.
