Samsung would badly like to be a player in the PC world. That’s evident from its continued PC roll-out in North America, and now the Korean brand is taking a jab at the Windows tablet market – including Microsoft’s Surface Pro — with the Galaxy TabPro S.
The slim tablet is powered by an efficient Intel Core M processor, paired up with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive (SSD), at least in our review unit. The screen is a Samsung favorite, a 12-inch 2,160 x 1,440 Super AMOLED panel. That should mean low power usage across the board, a trademark of modern 2-in-1s.
Despite how it looks on paper, Samsung is hard up for a win. Its past laptops have struggled to capture interest in the same way as its hugely successful Galaxy smartphone line. Can the TabPro S – which is technically a Galaxy product, after all – change that? Or is it another half-hearted entry into the crowded 2-in-1 market?
Making the Surface Pro 4 look fat
The TabPro S borrows more from tablet and smartphone design language than from other 2-in-1s or Windows machines. That means rounded edges, multiple buttons, and an incredibly slim waistline. Once detached from the included keyboard, the quarter-inch thick Samsung is more in line with the iPad Air 2 and Pro than any other Windows 2-in-1 we’ve tested.
It’s even slightly lighter than the iOS-powered 12-inch iPad Pro, at just one and half pounds without the keyboard. That’s no small feat considering Apple’s svelte device design. The TabPro S is also about a quarter of a pound lighter than the Surface Pro 4. Despite that, Samsung’s 2-in-1 doesn’t feel flimsy or cheap. Its metallic body is so stiff it feels like it could be one solid sheet of aluminum.
- Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
- Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
This does credit to the device when it’s used as a tablet. Time and time again, we’ve criticized Windows 2-in-1s for lackluster use in tablet mode, as they’re often too large and heavy to hold comfortably with one hand even for brief periods of time. Even the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 can quickly tire its user. The TabPro S seems to weigh nothing at all, by comparison, and is pretty easy to use as you would any Android or iOS slate.
Now, that doesn’t mean the TabPro S is also a cinch to handle. It has a 12-inch display, and that means it’s unavoidably large compared to an iPad Air or a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. You won’t like the TabPro S if you’re coming from an iPad Mini. If you don’t mind sacrificing some portability for a larger screen, though, the TabPro S will impress you.
The keyboard doesn’t hold up
Samsung generously includes a folding detachable keyboard in the $900 price tag, something most competitors don’t do. Unfortunately, there are some issues that prevent the keyboard and touchpad from providing the full value that we see on other hybrid machines, like the Surface Pro 4 or even Dell’s Latitude 12 7000 Series 2-in-1.
Changing the form factor of the TabPro S can cause odd UI and input issues. Windows 10 still isn’t well-suited for a removable keyboard and mouse. There are pop-ups to switch between tablet and laptop mode, but they aren’t consistent. Sometimes the mouse and keyboard won’t respond at all, solved only by separating and reattaching the keyboard.
The slim, rounded design means the TabPro feels a lot more like a high-end tablet than a 2-in-1.
We also ran into an odd bug with the NFC chip. When the keyboard is folded back, the chip is detected, resulting in a prompt which states the NFC tag can be turned off in order to save battery power. Often, the prompt would reappear continually so long as the keyboard was folded back, meaning it had to be removed entirely for acceptable tablet use.
The keyboard cover has some functional issues, too. It attaches magnetically to the tablet along one edge and folds to serve as a kickstand, but only a very weak magnet around the tablet’s rear-facing camera secures the top half of the cover. That magnet is not reliable, and jostling the tablet can cause it to pop out of position or, in the worst scenario, fall forward.
The cover also allows just two screen positions when the keyboard is in use — nearly straight up, and reclined way back like a beach recliner. Neither position is awful, but neither feels entirely natural. And, as we’ll discuss shortly, the screen’s flaws demand that it be viewed from an ideal angle.
Worst of all, the keyboard is bad. Its small, flat keys are difficult to discern from each other while touch-typing, and they offer little tactile feel. The layout is cramped, because the design of the stand forces the tablet forward, effectively wasting several inches of space that some competitors put to good use. A small, unresponsive touchpad puts the final nail in the keyboard cover’s coffin. The TabPro S keyboard is all right if compared to an Apple Smart Keyboard or the Google Pixel C, but it’s way behind most PC 2-in-1s.
Wireless, not wired
The thin design of the TabPro S doesn’t leave much room for ports. There’s just a single USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the lower right corner of the tablet.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/tablet-reviews/samsung-tabpro-s-review/#ixzz49f2cCEyA
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