South Korea’s answer to the iPad Air 2
Poor old Samsung. When it isn’t in court losing lawsuits to Apple over ‘copying’ iPhones and iPads, it’s winning them for the wrong reasons. Back in 2012, a British judge ruled that its Galaxy Tab wouldn’t be mistaken for Apple’s tablet – not because it wasn’t virtually identical, but because it was ‘not as cool’.
It’s one thing to hear that from kids on the internet, something else when it’s a bloke in a wig whose pronouncements can be cited by lawyers for years to come. At least he didn’t add a ‘crying with laughter’ emoji.
Perhaps stung by this, Samsung went on to launch the Galaxy Tab S 10.5, which was bigger than the iPad and had a widescreen display. That model is now being sold for £349, which is a bargain for a big tablet with a high-quality screen, even one that struggles with complex web pages and 3D games.
But once again the temptation to go head to head with Apple has proved irresistible. We tested the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, Samsung’s new rival to the iPad mini 4. The larger S2 9.7 matches the shape and size of the iPad Air 2, which hasn’t been updated since it was launched a year ago. So there’s a golden opportunity to improve on Apple. But has Samsung pulled it off?
The S2 comes in gold, black or white. It’s slightly thinner and lighter than the iPad Air 2, yet feels reasonably sturdy, even though it’s not quite as stiff as Apple’s aluminium unibody. Like the iPad’s, the Home button contains a fingerprint sensor, but there’s no chip built in for electronic payments.
The 9.7in screen has the same high resolution as Apple’s (2048x1536 pixels), and looks great, although on close inspection colours have a slight yellowish tint that the iPad doesn’t suffer from. The 8-megapixel camera on the back sits in the middle at the top, away from stray fingers, and takes good photos and videos as ong as there’s plenty of ight.
Samsung hasn’t tried to match the iPad Air 2’s high performance; the S2 9.7 averages out similarly to the slightly smaller HTC/Google Nexus 9, but lacks both rivals’ ability to cope with demanding 3D games. Android 5 (Lollipop) runs smoothly, though, and a multi-tasking option has been added to let you use certain apps alongside others, much like in Apple’s iOS 9.
Like other tablets, the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 is also available in a more expensive version that can connect to the internet over a 3G/4G mobile network as well as Wi-Fi. This costs £50 more, but also requires a SIM card with a network tariff. Pay-as-you-go deals are available, or you can spread the cost of the tablet by taking out a monthly contract. For example, you can get the Galaxy Tab 9.7 for just £29 if you sign up with Three for two years (www.snipca.com/18320).
That gives you up to 15GB of data for a fixed monthly payment of £39. At a minimum of £965 in total, it’s by no means a cheap option. Unless you really need the ultimate convenience of being able to get online when there’s no Wi-Fi, you’ll save a lot by avoiding contracts.
The S2 9.7 comes with twice the storage of the similarly priced iPad Air 2, at 32GB, and can also take a microSD card to expand this. Overall, it’s not as impressive as either the iPad Air 2 or Sony’s Xperia Z4, nor as cheap as the Nexus 9, which you can find discounted to under £300. But it’s a very good Android tablet.
VERDICT
Apple’s combination of software and hardware remains unbeatable, but if you want an Android tablet, this is a decent buy.
SPECIFICATIONS
1.9GHz Samsung Exynos 5433 eight-core processor • 32GB flash storage • 9.7in 2048x1536-pixel screen • 8-megapixel rear camera • 2.1-megapixel webcam • 802.11ac Wi-Fi • Bluetooth 4.1 • Android 5.0.2 • 237x169x5.6mm (HxWxD) • 389g • Two-year warranty