There are two reasons why; I have a natural aversion to anything Apple (ie: the iPad) and I’ve never really found a tablet that was anywhere near as functional as a laptop.
Or to put it another way, I’ve never found using a laptop to be cumbersome enough to resort to the accessibility and portability of a tablet.
Then I met the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.
The problem with this device is I struggled to find a problem with it. I hate that.
The Tab S2 claims to be, “The Slimmest, Lightest AMOLED Tablet in the World.” Annoyingly, it is indeed noticeably slim and light. In fact, the Tab S2 is so skinny, I grew very nervous about dropping it every time I carried it anywhere, convinced it would shatter into a million pieces if it hit the ground. That was one test I wasn’t game enough to try.
Too often in the past I’ve found devices like this to behave just like giant smartphones, which always left me wondering why you’d bother when you could do most of the same stuff on your handset. While the Tab S2 uses Android’s Lollipop 5.02, which is essentially the same OS as any new Android phone, I was pleased to discover how well it performed as a landscape based device, auto rotating most apps by default, and more importantly, displaying the launch screen in landscape mode if that’s your preference too. That is definitely my preference and it’s a constant frustration of mine when I can’t get phones to do it.
Another feature that sets this tablet apart from Samsung’s smaller screened devices is the stock email format, featuring a split screen with the list of emails down one side and a preview of the highlighted message on the other. Phablets like the Note 4 show emails this way too, but Samsung seems reluctant to allow this function on anything smaller.
The Tab S2 includes Microsoft’s suite of Office apps by default and these now function just as the usual desktop versions do. Very impressive. So impressive I’m writing this review using Word on the Tab S2. Unfortunately, Samsung’s on-screen keyboard still leaves a little to be desired as it’s very labour intensive to have to swap between character screens and symbol screens all the time. I imagine if you’re serious about making the most of the Office apps available you’ll be better off pairing a bluetooth keyboard.
The battery life is impressive. I’d like to tell you exactly how impressive, but the truth is I never really managed to run it flat. I’ve grown so used to how disappointing most devices are when it comes to battery life, these days I automatically put everything on to charge whenever I can. Turns out the Tab S2 rivals devices like the iPad easily; day-long usage not even a challenge on a full charge. The downside is the length of time it takes to reach that full charge, but well worth the wait, knowing the battery will easily last the distance.
Perhaps the most notable feature of all is what I didn’t notice. No lag, no glitches, no crashes… the usability of this device is so smooth, it really is a pleasure. Browsing is fast and seamless and so is switching between multiple open apps. As with most Samsung devices, you can do the split-screen view thing with 2 apps at once, although I’m beginning to wonder what the point is when there are only limited apps with this functionality. For example, I don’t understand why I can’t split-screen this Word document when I can display a Chrome page and my email at the same time, it’s weird. That being said, the Tab S2 makes swapping between apps so effortless, it really doesn’t matter.
Without a doubt, this device is the closest thing to a “real” computer I’ve ever come across. I may have even tried a game or two (okay, mostly Minion Rush) and again, the Tab S2 provided the smoothest gaming experience I’ve encountered for a long time.
The screen is bright, sharp and clear and unlike some other devices Samsung has released lately, there’s still a slot for a microSD card, so you can expand the 32gb internal memory out to 128gb if you need to. You may not need to though, as the connectivity and streaming ability is, I’m going to say it again, smooth.
That’s my final word on the Galaxy Tab S2; smooth, smooth, smooth. All mobile devices should be this easy to use and this problem free.
Click here for more information on the Galaxy Tab S2
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