Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 LTE a powerful tablet in a premium thin 6 mm metal and glass case with a large 9.7 inch screen. The novelty works on newest android, equipped with a quad-core processor, four speakers providing surround sound.
Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy Tab c3 LTE: support for SIM card and 4G networks, 9.7 inch Super AMOLED screen with QXGA resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, operating system Android 7.0, 4 nuclear processor, powerful battery a capacity of 6000, 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory.
The powerful 4-core Snapdragon 820 processor and large 4GB RAM provide high performance, games and applications on the Galaxy Tab S3 LTE run without lags or freezes. Tablet with large built-in memory, expandable, the user can expand the memory from 32 GB to 256 GB by installing a memory card. Crystal clear and multi-channel sound is guaranteed by an advanced system with 4 adaptive speakers.
Thanks to the slot for installing a SIM card on Galaxy Tab c3 and support for 4G LTE networks, the tablet can be used as a phone and access the Internet at high speeds. Powerful battery large capacity 6000 mAh battery allows you to use the tablet for a long time from one charge up to 12 hours in video playback mode, and the fast charging function will help you recharge the device in a short time.
The new and improved S Pen on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 LTE not only resembles a regular pen, but also makes it much more comfortable to work with. No charging pen, now the S Pen is battery-free and you don't need to charge it all the time. For those users who often write, they can connect the POGO keyboard to the tablet and work by typing texts will become much easier and more enjoyable.
- More detailed specifications and reviews for Samsung Galaxy Tab c3 LTE, see below.
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All specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 LTE tablet.
- Body: metal, glass
- SIM card: 1 sim card / Nano-SIM (4FF)
- Operating system: Android 7.0
- Processor: 4-core 2.15 GHz and 1.6 GHz / Snapdragon 820
- Screen: 9.7-inch display diagonal / Super AMOLED / QXGA 2048 x 1536 pixels / S Pen support
- Main camera: 13 MP / autofocus / flash
- Front camera: 5 MP
- Video recording: QHD 4K 3840 x 2160 pixels at 30fps
- Battery: 6000 mAh / standard / non-removable
- Talk time: up to 36 hours
- Internet operation time 3G, 4G-LTE: up to 8 hours
- Internet browsing time via Wi-Fi networks: up to 8 hours
- Video playback time: up to 12 hours
- Audio playback time up to 127 hours
- RAM: 4 GB
- Built-in memory: 32 GB / 23.1 GB available to the user
- memory card: MicroSD up to 256 GB
- 4G LTE: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
- Wi-Fi Direct: yes
- Bluetooth: 4.2
- USB: 3.1
- PC Synchronization: Smart Switching
- 3.5mm audio headphone jack: yes
- Sensors: accelerometer / gyroscope / illumination / hallway / geomagnetic
- Fingerprint scanner: yes
- Navigation: GPS / GLONASS / Beidou / Galileo
- App and Game Support: Android
- Color: Black / Silver
- Size: (W.H.T.) 169.0mm x 237.3mm x 6.0mm
- Weight: 434 gr
After years of explosive growth, the tablet market has become saturated and stalled. For the most part, inexpensive models from China are now being produced in decent quantities. A-brands are mostly limited to updating their very small lines once a year or even less often. This is quite enough considering that they rarely buy or change an old tablet. I personally know several owners of iPad 2, which was released in 2011. I myself am the owner of an Android tablet in 2014 and it is more than enough for surfing the web or watching movies on the road. It looks like Samsung understands this too and the new one flagship tablet The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 comes out about a year and a half after the previous Galaxy Tab S2. Let's see what came of it.
What is it?
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is a tablet with a 9.7-inch SuperAMOLED display with a resolution of 2048x1536 (aspect ratio 4: 3), top processor Qualcomm 4GB random access memory and Android 7.0 Nougat with a proprietary shell on board.
Why is it interesting?
Technologies that were originally implemented in TVs are gradually moving to mobile devices: SuperAMOLED screen samsung The Galaxy Tab S3 supports High Dynamic Range HDR. The tablet supports pen input à la the Note ruler. That is, not just a capacitive stylus, but a full-fledged solution with angle and pressure recognition, with which you can really draw. The S Pen has a 0.7mm nib and recognizes up to 4096 pressure levels. Moreover, according to the announcement, the S Pen will be supplied with the tablet, although it cannot hide in the case, because it will be closer to the thickness of a ballpoint pen, while the thickness of the tablet itself is only 6 mm. Samsung continues to collaborate with AKG on sound, and the tablet has as many as four speakers, the development of which the latter had something to do with. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor that needs no introduction, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, plus a microSD card slot.
What does it look like?
Stylistically, the tablet is similar to the company's smartphones in recent years. More precisely - with the flagship and A-line. All front and back panels are made of glass and the frame is metal. It will be available in two versions: completely black and with a gray back panel and bezels. Above the screen are sensors front-camera and the Samsung logo. Under the screen - touch buttons to call the latest applications and go back, between which there is a mechanical "Home" button with a fingerprint scanner:
On the right side, in order from top to bottom: the power button, paired volume buttons, two microphone holes and a tray. The buttons are metal, like the entire frame, they feel well and are clearly pressed. Fitted well, do not stagger:
There are two versions of the tablet, both will be available in Ukraine. Wi-Fi version, which will only support MicroSD and LTE version with support mobile networks... We have it on our review, the tray looks like this:
At the bottom there is a symmetrical USB Type-C connector, a standard headphone jack and two speaker grilles:
On the left side there are magnetic contacts for connecting the cover keyboard:
At the top there are two more speakers:
Rear panel made of glass. Looks expensive, but collects prints abundantly. I think the gray option is more practical in this regard:
At the top of the back panel is the main camera with LED flash. Below is the Samsung logo. In commercial versions, there will also be an AKG logo below:
Everything is in order with the assembly, materials and appearance of the tablet. The only caveat is that glass collects fingerprints and the most avid esthetes should stock up on microfiber for cleaning. Plus, the glass can be broken, so it would be nice to get a cover for transportation. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is thin and light, making it easy to hold in one hand. The four built-in speakers produce a very decent sound and you won't be able to cover them all with your hands, so when playing games or watching movies with sound, everything is always in order.
How is he with the screen?
The tablet has a 9.7-inch display with a resolution of 2048x1536, pixel density - 264 ppi. A SuperAMOLED matrix is used, there is support for HDR, although this is more likely a reserve for the future, because the content is still a bit tight. The oleophobic coating on the screen (just like on the back panel) is of decent quality, which pleases with such a diagonal. The picture is saturated, with rich colors, as befits a SuperAMOLED screen. Everything is in order with the viewing angles, colors are not distorted, only the maximum brightness is slightly reduced:
The brightness margin is not bad for tablets. In the settings, you can adjust the brightness, scale of the screen and font, select the display mode and turn on the blue filter to reduce eye strain:
Measurements with a colorimeter showed results quite expected for SuperAMOLED. The measurements were carried out in the "basic" mode: the maximum brightness is 331.406 cd / m2, the brightness of the black field is 0 cd / m2, and the contrast tends to infinity. A total of four modes are available, plus it is possible to adjust the color balance:
The screen is calibrated very well, although you can make the color reproduction more accurate (if desired / necessary). There is a slight bias in cold shades, the color temperature is close to 7500K with the reference 6500K:
There is a slight lack of red and an overabundance of blue. Comparison with other models:
What about performance, memory and autonomy?
Despite the fact that formally Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 is one of the flagship processors of last year, its power is still more than enough for stable and smooth operation of the interface, applications, all modern games, watching videos and surfing the web. What else do you need from a modern tablet? At the same time, it does not really heat up even under heavy loads. As in modern Samsung smartphones, there is a Game Launcher utility, which contains all installed games, it is possible to start without sound and / or notifications in the game:
In Game Tools, you can take screenshots or videos of the gameplay:
The games themselves run smoothly, without any brakes:
The tablet has 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, you can add a microSD memory card up to 256 GB. There are wireless modules Wi-Fi ac / a / b / g / n (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS and Beidou, there is only NFC, although this is not so necessary in the tablet. Symmetrical USB Type-C version 3.1 is used for wired connection. The tablet is powered by a built-in 6000 mAh battery, to play FullHD video online tablet maybe about 11 hours, which is quite good, although the charging frequency in this case will very significantly depend on the usage scenario. This can be surfing the web and YouTube at breakfast or watching TV shows and games on the road, for example.
For those who want to know more
The tablet uses a 64-bit 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with four custom Kryo cores clocked at up to 2.15 GHz and an Adreno 530 graphics accelerator. 4 GB of RAM. Below are the results in synthetic tests, but they are for general and approximate understanding only. In our review, we had a prototype with a firmware far from the final version with automatic Debug-logs and so on, so the results of a commercial sample may differ significantly:
How user-friendly is the interface?
The tablet runs on Android 7.0 Nougat OS with a proprietary shell. As already written above, the firmware is far from final and it would not be entirely correct to consider it in detail. In general, it is in the spirit of all the latest Samsung shells in flagship devices, with a bunch of useful tricks. The settings menu has a familiar logic and minimalistic appearance... Of the useful tricks - at the bottom of most sections there are tips "Looking for something else?", Which sometimes help a lot:
The shell supports desktops, widgets and has a separate application menu with search and sorting:
The curtain is neat and comfortable. The switches are located on two horizontal tabs, there is a separate brightness setting, search and transition to settings:
There are a bunch of additional functions and software for use with the proprietary S Pen stylus, but it did not work to use it due to the lack of the S Pen itself. Multi-window mode is supported, which can be convenient given the large screen diagonal:
Fingerprint lock settings are standard:
As well as their registration (the only thing at the final stage is to put your finger at different angles for more accurate reading):
Standard Samsung Application Manager with the ability to switch applications to windowed mode:
There is a proprietary utility for cleaning RAM, built-in memory and enabling battery saving mode:
How are things with the camera?
The main camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels, has autofocus, aperture - f / 1.9, video recording is supported in UHD (3840x2160) @ 30fps. Front - 5 megapixels with f / 2.2 aperture and fixed focal length. The interface is standard and straightforward, there are filters, different shooting modes. The only drawback is that HDR is not displayed on the main screen:
Of course, this is not top smartphone with a flagship camera, and even using a 10-inch tablet for photography is a dubious thing, but the photos are very decent:
In the dry residue
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 does not have any special drawbacks (except perhaps for an impressive price tag), so if you are sure that it is worth getting a new one or replacing an old Android tablet, then it is definitely worth taking a closer look. It has a high-quality, large screen and powerful internals, which are more than enough for any task in the foreseeable future. It is thin, light and well-built, equipped with four high-quality speakers, the fresh Android 7.0 Nougat OS with a functional shell and a good time autonomous work... A nice bonus is the branded S Pen stylus in the kit, which is functionally interesting and quite suitable for creating some kind of sketches and sketches.
5 reasons to buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3:
- High-quality display;
- excellent build and body materials;
- high performance;
- complete stylus S Pen with recognition of 4096 levels of pressure and proprietary software;
- loud external speakers.
1 reason not to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab S3:
- high price.
For those who want to know more:
With the growth of the diagonal of smartphones, the need for tablets began to gradually decrease. In fact, only two different-pole categories remained popular: ultra-budget (they are used as a bedside viewer, and Chinese manufacturers and Russian B- and C-brands reign in this camp) and premium. The latter includes the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, which can be called an "improved and supplemented" version of the previous flagship of the tablet line - Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.
| Display | 9.7 ″, 2048 × 1536, 264 ppi, Super AMOLED, glossy, aspect ratio 4: 3 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 (2 cores @ 2.15 GHz and 2 cores @ 1.6 GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 515 |
| RAM | 4 GB LPDDR4 |
| Built-in storage | 32 GB |
| MicroSD support | yes, microSDXC |
| Wireless networks | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP |
| SIM | 1 Nano-SIM in LTE version |
| Camera | main 13 MP with flash and autofocus, front 5 MP |
| Gps | with A-GPS and Glonass support |
| Sensors | accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity sensor, light sensor |
| Ports and connectors | USB Type-C Charge & Sync with MHL Support, 3.5mm (Audio), Dock Connector |
| Battery | 6000 mAh (claimed up to 12 hours of battery life in video viewing mode) |
| Dimensions and weight | 237 x 16 x 9.6mm, 429g (434g LTE) |
| Color solutions | GREY-black |
| OS | Android 7.0 |
| Built-in speakers | yes, four speakers |
| Fingerprint sensor | there is |
| Extra features | S Pen with 4,096 pressure levels |
| Product card on Yandex.Market | , |
Prices for the LTE version:
Prices for the Wi-Fi version:
Unfortunately, the device came to us without retail packaging, so we can't say anything about the package bundle. But the characteristics are quite interesting. The dimensions remain the same as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, but the weight and thickness have increased, albeit slightly.
Used the flagship processor Qualcomm 2016 - Snapdragon 820. In 2017 there are more productive solutions, but, nevertheless, this SoC remains very, very fast. However, we will talk about this in more detail in the testing section.
RAM - 4 gigabytes. On the one hand, in the flagship "Chinese" there is even more (6 GB), and on the other hand, the cost of LPDDR4 is quite high, and for most tasks this volume is enough.
Another nice feature is support for the S Pen, which now comes with the tablet.
If the previous version of the tablet was plastic, then in this one the Korean company switched to current trends - the widespread use of glass and metal. It looks, of course, just fine (especially in the storefront), but from the point of view of usability, this approach, in my opinion, is not the best. The black version turned out to be very, very brand, it is noticeable even by the bezel around the screen.
In the lower part there is a single protruding button, combined, sensor-mechanical. It can be configured to be triggered by both touch and pressure. It also houses a fingerprint scanner, which can be used, among other things, to wake up the tablet from sleep mode. Touch buttons "Home" and " Context menu"Are located off the screen and do not" eat off "precious space. True, their position cannot be changed, this is bad.
Charging and sync connectors, as well as a headset connector are located on the bottom of the device. Here you can see the grilles of two of the four stereo speakers.
A USB Type-C connector is used for charging and synchronization. In my opinion, this is an absolute plus: having used it once, you will no longer want to go back to the flimsy Micro-USB.
On the left side of the device (if you hold it in a portrait position with the buttons facing you) there is a connector for an external keyboard. Unfortunately, we did not have it at our disposal.
In the promo photo, the keyboard looks very similar to the one on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2. It was comfortable enough when working on a desk, but completely uncomfortable when trying to place the tablet on your lap.
The controls are concentrated on the right. There is an on / off button and a volume rocker. Also on the right side is the tray for the SIM card and microSD card.
The tray is double, but, of course, it was not delivered with the "two-sense" one.
The build quality and body materials are top notch.
Above are two more speakers of the stereo system.
The edges are not "monolithic" - they have plastic inserts. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for tablet developers to make an LTE version.
The back of the tablet is glossy and collects fingerprints just fine. Apparently, the developers thought that he would spend most of the time in a case.
The camera rim protrudes slightly beyond the surface, so the tablet is comfortable to use, even if it is lying on the table.
Despite the fact that a stylus is supplied with the device, there is no special hole for storing it (like in Note series smartphones), so you have to take care not to lose it.
The stylus itself is very comfortable, with an additional button, it fits perfectly in the hand.
A detailed examination using measuring devices was carried out by the editor of the sections "" and "" Alexey Kudryavtsev... Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are worse than those of the screen (hereinafter simply the Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, then they can be distinguished by their size):
The screen on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is slightly lighter (photo brightness 140 versus 114 on the Nexus 7) and has a slight bluish tint. The doubling of reflected objects in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (such as glass / air) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense ambient light, but their repair in case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. The outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are much easier to remove, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of regular glass.
When the white field was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 285 cd / m² under normal conditions and rises to 375 cd / m² in very bright light. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value, for example, when displaying a white field on half of the screen and black on the other half, we for the above conditions, the values obtained were 325 cd / m² and 435 cd / m². As a result, the readability in the daytime in the sun should be at a fairly good level. The minimum value is 1.3 cd / m². The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device without any problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the logo on the front panel). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness control, by which the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If the brightness slider is set to maximum in an office environment, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 17 cd / m2 (normal), in an office illuminated with artificial light (about 550 lx) sets it to 285 cd / m2 (a bit high), in in a very bright environment (corresponds to illumination on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 285 cd / m² (something will be visible), and conventionally in the sun, the brightness rises to 380 cd / m². If in an office setting the brightness is slightly lower, then the screen brightness for the four conditions indicated above is as follows: 15, 220, 285 and 380 cd / m² (ideal combination). It turns out that the automatic brightness control function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize his work for individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is significant modulation at approximately 239 Hz. The figure below shows the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) for several values of brightness adjustment:
It can be seen that at the maximum brightness and close to it, the modulation amplitude is not very large; as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, when the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a large relative amplitude; the presence of such modulation can already be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.
This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full color image is created with equal numbers of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) subpixels. This is confirmed by a fragment of a micrograph:
For comparison, you can see the screens used in mobile technology.
The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, when deviated even at small angles, the white color alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color remains simply black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. For comparison, here are the photos on which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 (profile Main) and the second comparison participant displayed the same images, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m2, and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K.
White box:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field.
The color rendition is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens is slightly different. Recall that the photograph can not serve as a reliable source of information about the quality of color reproduction and is provided only for a conditional visual illustration. In particular, the pronounced reddish tint of white and gray fields, present in the photographs of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 screen, is visually absent when viewed from a perpendicular view, which is confirmed by hardware tests using a spectrophotometer. The reason is that the spectral sensitivity of the camera matrix does not exactly match this characteristic of human vision. The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Main in the screen settings, there are four of them:
Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment of the color rendition to the type of the displayed image and the surrounding conditions:
Saturation and color contrast are greatly increased, looks terrible. What happens when you select the two remaining profiles is shown below.
AMOLED movie :
Saturation and color contrast are also increased, but not so much.
Photo AMOLED :
Saturation is slightly lower, but color contrast is slightly higher than in the case AMOLED movie.
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Main). White box:
The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is increased compared to previous photos), but in the case of the Samsung tablet, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the screen of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 visually looks much brighter (in comparison with LCD screens), since the screen mobile device often you have to look at at least a slight angle. And the test picture:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung tablet is noticeably higher at an angle. The switching of the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the turn-on front there may be a step with a width of about 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is how the dependence of brightness on time looks like when switching from black to white and vice versa:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high definition and even some "jerky" movements.
The gamma curve plotted using 32 points with equal intervals in terms of the numerical value of the shade of gray showed that there was no significant blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power-law function is 2.11, which is slightly less than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve slightly deviates from the power-law dependence:
Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond a little to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.
Color gamut in case of profile Adaptive display very wide:
In profile AMOLED movie coverage is a bit narrower:
When choosing a profile Photo AMOLED the coverage is compressed to the borders of Adobe RGB:
When choosing a profile Main coverage is compressed to sRGB borders:
Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:
In case of a profile Main with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:
Note that normal sRGB-optimized images appear unnaturally saturated on screens with wide color gamut without proper color correction. Hence the recommendation: in most cases, watching movies, photos and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Main, and only if the photo was taken on the Adobe RGB setting, it makes sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED... Profile AMOLED movie despite the name, the least suitable for watching movies and anything else.
The grayscale balance is good. The color temperature is close to 6500 K, while this parameter does not change very much in a significant part of the gray scale, which improves the visual perception of the color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) for most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and this parameter also changes slightly:
(In most cases, the darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there does not really matter, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
Let's summarize. The screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and has good anti-reflective properties, so the device, most likely, can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable value. It is permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and a good color balance. At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), noticeably less than that of an LCD, the drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include modulation of the screen brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience increased fatigue due to this. However, the overall quality of the screen is good.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 runs Android 7.0 Nougat with its own software shell.
The general shell logic is classic, with desktops and a separate application menu.
The notification shade is comfortable, in bright colors, it is possible to configure notifications or disable them for certain applications.
The settings are also redrawn and conveniently grouped, there are hints and a search.
One of the main features of the new tablet compared to the old one is pen compatibility. There is a special software, overall, significantly more comfortable than the S-Pen that came before. It is easy to use the notebook, there is an opportunity to draw and choose different "brushes". Unfortunately, I'm not an artist, so I can't test the quality of the pen - I can only say that it really draws differently depending on tilt and pressure.
There are such nice additions as password-protected folders, as well as the ability to run "two identical applications" (not all applications are compatible with this).
Another nice feature is the ability to launch applications in a small window in overlay mode (again, only those applications that support this). You can also configure, for example, blocking notifications from different applications. As expected, there is work with the Samsung cloud.
A lot of time has passed since the first Korean shells, the developers have worked fruitfully, today use shell Samsung comfortable and pleasant.
As for the communication part, here Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is in no way inferior to modern smartphones. The device works as standard in 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth generation LTE networks, and the maximum number of frequency ranges is supported, including those used by domestic operators FDD LTE Band 3, 7 and 20. In practice, in the Moscow region, the device is confident registered and worked in 4G networks, quickly reconnected after a break, did not lose connection in areas of poor reception.
The tablet can work in dual-band Wi-Fi, supporting the Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard, so with quality and speed wireless transmission he has no data problems. There is Bluetooth 4.2, but the hero of the review was deprived of NFC support. Supported by Wi-Fi Direct, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The USB Type-C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode, while the USB Type-C to HDMI adapter did not work in our case.
The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing phone number the search is immediately carried out by the first letters in the contacts.
Testing in benchmarks showed that the tablet is doing well: fast RAM, excellent write speed to the internal flash, and the overall performance of the platform is excellent.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in game tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 | Huawei MediaPad M3 | Asus ZenPad 8.0 (Z380KL) | Huawei MediaPad M2 8.0 | Alcatel OneTouch Hero 8 | |
| Bonsai benchmark (more is better) |
4189 (60 fps) | 3369 (48 fps) | 1475 (21 fps) | 3662 (52 fps) | 1357 (19 fps) |
| Epic Citadel (High Quality) | 60 fps | 58 fps | 55 fps | 59 fps | 51 fps |
| 3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited) | 29765 | 20114 | 4305 | 11443 | 7102 |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot (more is better) |
2592 | 575 | |||
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen) | 19 fps | 3 fps | |||
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen) | 32 fps | 6 fps | |||
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen) | 59 fps | 16 fps | 9 fps | 15 fps | 11 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen) | 91 fps | 23 fps | 5 fps | 16 fps | 11 fps |
It would be strange to expect a different result from such a powerful combination of a processor and a graphics card.
Testing in latest version GeekBench:
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Testing in Antutu:
As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can be truly correct only on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 platform is almost top-end today. It's safe to say that the performance of this tablet with a margin will be enough for several years.
Theoretically possible support for adapters for outputting to external device We could not check the images due to the lack of an adapter option that connects to the USB Type-C port, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. For this we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see ""). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and the frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In our tests we used the MX Player video player in the "Hardware" mode. The test results are summarized in the table:
| File | Uniformity | Skips | ||||||||||
| OK | few | |||||||||||
| OK | not | |||||||||||
| OK | not | |||||||||||
| OK | not | |||||||||||
| OK | not | |||||||||||
| OK | not | |||||||||||
| OK | not | |||||||||||
| OK | not | |||||||||||
| OK | few | |||||||||||
|
According to the criterion for outputting frames, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the device itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform interval alternation and in most cases without frame drops. Also note that the refresh rate of the screen is slightly lower than the typical 60 Hz, so in the case of files with 60 fps, one frame is skipped no-no. When you play video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on the tablet screen, the image of the actual video file is displayed exactly along the wide border of the screen. The clarity of the picture is high, but not perfect, since there is no escape from interpolation to the screen resolution. However, for the sake of experiment, you can switch to the "one-to-one by pixels" mode, there will be no interpolation. There are no artifacts on test worlds. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235: in the shadows, only a couple of shades merge with black, and in the highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed. Note that in the darkest grayscale area, the color tone variation is negligible. Below is a thermal image back surface obtained after 10 minutes of battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:
It can be seen that the heating is highly localized above the center and close to the right edge, which, apparently, corresponds to the location of the SoC microcircuit. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 41 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is the average heating in this test. The sound system of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 tablet is positioned as "high-end" - during the presentation of the device at the MWC, Samsung representatives especially insisted that the audio part was developed jointly with AKG. Despite the fact that the tablet has as many as four speakers, the matter, of course, did not come to quadraphony, here the most common stereo. Additional speakers are used to distribute sound more evenly in space in both portrait and landscape modes. The sound itself is distinct, with good positioning in space. The well-positioned speakers make them difficult to block when playing games or watching movies. The bass is not bad, but, in my subjective opinion, it is not enough. The camera is rarely the main reason for buying a tablet, but many people use it for everyday filming. In addition, tablet photography is popular among older people who find it easier to frame on big screen.
The front camera is not so good. Apparently, it lacks autofocus, and all images come out slightly out of focus. Nevertheless, this camera is more than enough for Skype and video calls. It's safe to say that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 has one of the best main cameras of any tablet. In terms of quality, it is approximately the same as that installed in the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 has a non-removable battery of 6,000 mAh - not much for a tablet, especially given the large, high-resolution screen. It is clear that in this way the developers were able to achieve a small mass of the device, but the autonomy was slightly affected. The tablet is clearly not a long-liver, although the level of autonomy cannot be called a failure, everything is at an average level. The tests were carried out without using any energy saving functions. Continuous reading in the Moon + Reader program (with a standard, light theme, with auto-scrolling) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m²) lasts about 15 hours. When you watch Youtube videos continuously in high quality (720p) at the same brightness level over your home Wi-Fi network the device operates for at least 12 hours. In 3D games mode, the device works only for 4 hours - the high screen resolution and high load on the powerful SoC affect. The tablet has a quick charge function, but unfortunately we did not have a complete charger at our disposal. The Adaptive Smart Charging supplied with the Samsung Galaxy S8 + took about 2.5 hours to charge the tablet. Wireless charging the tablet does not support. Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 has already gone on sale in Russia, its official cost is 50 thousand rubles for the version with Wi-Fi and 60 thousand for the version with LTE. Both modifications can be found a little cheaper, you can always look at the current prices on Yandex.Market using the links: and. Of course, the price is high, but it is worth noting that this is a top-end solution with the highest performance, good autonomy, and an excellent screen. Collectively, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is now one of the best Android tablets on the market. |
Metal and glass - new premium body
Discover the luxurious and unique design of the Galaxy Tab S3, a combination of metal and glass typical of Galaxy flagships... The glossy glass on the back shows a rich depth of color, creating a modern look that is complemented by strong and durable metal.
An immersive entertainment experience
Watch HDR videos on the Galaxy Tab S3's high-contrast and bright Super AMOLED display, while four AKG-tuned speakers deliver surround sound for a truly immersive experience.
Ready for any content
The powerful Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM allow you to easily complete complex tasks, provide work with several applications at the same time, and the ability to play the latest games. The high-contrast Super AMOLED display ensures accurate reproduction of the entire color range.
Improved speaker system from AKG
Wherever you go, the Galaxy Tab S3 fills your space with high-quality sound. This is the first Samsung tablet with four adaptive speakers, so you can enjoy multi-channel audio, even on the go. The advanced speaker system brings you rich sound from absolutely any position of the tablet. If you turned the tablet upside down, the audio stream will also be redistributed to other speakers. Thus, the sound always matches the picture. Together with the experienced specialists of the Austrian audio manufacturer AKG, you get the purest, professional quality sound for an even more unforgettable tablet experience.
Give me games!
The Galaxy Game Launcher is optimized for the Galaxy Tab S3 screen and includes options such as Power Saving Mode, Game Recording and Uploading to Web, Silent Game and Ongoing Call Support. Add the 3D graphics capabilities of the Vulkan API to existing graphics, as well as numerous games from the Galaxy Game Pack, and you have non-stop entertainment.
Improved S Pen
The new S Pen looks and works like a real pen. The pen nib is designed to provide the same feel as when writing with a pen on paper. The S Pen itself does not have a built-in battery, which allows for perfect design and weight.
This is not a simple pen
The S Pen has changed significantly. Now, using an electronic pen, you will experience the same sensations as when using a familiar pen. The S Pen is very easy and simple to use. You can edit images, do video editing or translate text. Plus, the S Pen doesn’t need to be charged, which saves anxiety. There is also an opportunity to use the S Pen in graphics and music applications in which you can express yourself to the fullest.
Improved battery
Thanks to the 6,000 mAh battery, you will enjoy your pastime for as long as possible. Watch more movies, play more games, and listen to more music. Full Galaxy charging The Tab S3 allows you to play videos over 12 hours *. Charging times have also been significantly reduced thanks to the presence of fast charging.
- Battery - 6,000mAh
- Video playback - 12h
Synchronization and data storage
Samsung app Flow makes it easy to transfer files from smartphone to tablet and vice versa. Send content from your smartphone to the Galaxy Tab S3 for big screen viewing, and keep track of incoming notifications without taking your smartphone out of your pocket.
You get 15GB of cloud storage in Samsung Cloud to free up tablet storage and keep your files close at hand.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 turned out to be beautiful and quite original, as much as possible for a tablet.
The device looks unusual due to the glossy glass back. Nice, but rather dubious in terms of practicality. Otherwise, it is a typical monotone rectangle - thin, with rounded edges and keys under the screen. One of them is physical, with a built-in fingerprint scanner, on either side of it there are two backlit touch buttons. The rear panel is also quite typical - the camera lens is at the top center and the flash eye. In addition, you can note two speakers at the top and bottom, as well as docking contacts for the keyboard on the side.
Like most tablets, the Galaxy Tab S3 is inconvenient in terms of ergonomics. The wide screen format makes it difficult to hold in one palm. Slim body difficult to grasp with your hands, and because of the narrow frames, you can accidentally press your palm on the screen. True, all this can be said to one degree or another about any tablet. However, in this case, a glass back can be added to this "standard" set. It is not only slippery, but also easily collects fingerprints and small scratches. In general, the tablet is assembled with high quality, made of metal and glass, but nevertheless it is thin and noticeably lends itself to bending.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is available in two colors - black and white.
Dimensions and weight - 4.3
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is one of the thinnest and lightest 10-inch tablets around.
By weight (434 grams) the model is comparable to, but heavier than the old one. Tablet dimensions - 237 × 169 × 6.2 mm. Despite the relative compactness and lightness, it is not so convenient to hold it in one hand. Due to the wide screen format (4: 3), the tablet barely fits even in a wide palm. But you can easily take it with you by throwing it into your bag - you will hardly feel the weight of the device.
Ports and interfaces - 4.7
The set of ports and communications of the tablet is wide, except for the NFC chip. Otherwise, this is a typical top-end set with fast Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, A-GPS (with GLONASS included) and Bluetooth v4.2. Infrared, FM radio and the increasingly popular NFC could be added.
The connectors and buttons are in the following order:
- on the right - the power key, volume rocker, microphone, slot for microSD and nanoSIM, microphone;
- at the top - speakers;
- at the bottom - a pair of speakers, a connector for and USB Type-C;
- on the left - contacts for the docking station.
As usual, the Galaxy Tab S3 9.7 can be purchased in two versions: with and without an LTE modem.
Performance - 4.8
The performance of the Galaxy Tab S3 is strong and quite comparable to flagship smartphones 2016 year. The device works quickly and smoothly, but not always stable.
The tablet does not have the freshest, but rather powerful Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 processor, introduced at the end of 2015. In total, it has four cores, two of them operate at 2.15 GHz and two at 1.6 GHz, and Adreno 530 is responsible for solving graphics problems. Together with 4 GB of RAM, this is more than enough for solving any tasks, applications and games. Nevertheless, there is a desire to save money, which, again, is strange for the high price for the device.
In various benchmarks, the tablet gets typical flagship ratings:
- SunSpider (browser speed) - 378ms, almost twice as slow, but still fast;
- GeekBench 4 (processor test) - 3927 points, inferior, but only due to fewer cores;
- 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (graphics test) - 29915, comparable to.
The results are good, and the tablet itself is fast. However, during our Galaxy Tab S3 benchmarks, we noticed issues with device optimization. They manifest themselves either in microlags or in periodic departures from applications.
Display - 4.7
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 has a high-quality and crisp AMOLED display, although it is slightly inferior to the screen.
The screen resolution is high, 2048 × 1536 pixels with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and a pixel density of 264 per inch. This is clear enough. The unevenness of the image can be seen, but only when you get close to it. There are models on sale with clearer screens, but, as a rule, this is achieved due to a smaller diagonal, as, for example, in the case of. But there are also exceptions like. The tablet uses a luscious AMOLED matrix with natural blacks and high, almost infinite contrast. An interesting feature is the support for HDR content - even if there is not enough of that, but it is a prospect for the future.
The range of brightness measured by the colorimeter is wide - from 2 to 440 nits. The lower limit turned out to be, perhaps, the best among. The screen is comfortable both in the dark and in the sun, although it is read a little worse than the same. The display has a noticeable glare, but this is noticeable either when the screen is off, or when viewing an image against a dark background. The contrast of the picture tends to infinity - this is one of the main chips of display technology. The backlight uniformity turned out to be rather average - 90%. The color gamut depends on the picture mode. If you select "Adaptive", "Video AMOLED" or "Photo AMOLED", then it will cover up to 100 Adobe RGB, and in "Main" the color gamut narrows to about sRGB, sometimes "falling out" of it. At the same time, in the first three, you will get oversaturated colors and an overestimated color temperature. Color performance was also quite high, but if you are a designer or enthusiast, you may notice slight deviations.
The screen has an oleophobic coating. It does not save you from fingerprints, but you can simply wipe them off with it. The touch panel of the device is sensitive, but there is no glove mode. In addition, due to the thin bezels, you can accidentally touch the screen with your palm and it will stop responding to your finger. As disadvantages, we note the absence of a special protective glass- nevertheless, it is easily scratched. For that kind of money, you could expect Gorila Glass, and even on both sides.
Battery - 5.0
The autonomy of the device is at a very high level, although it is slightly inferior to the latter.
The battery capacity is 6000mAh. This is slightly more than the direct predecessor, but less than the 8827 mAh in Apple iPad(2017). Nevertheless, the manufacturer promised up to 12 hours of video viewing, and did not cheat. Our tests showed up to 13.5 hours on a moderate screen brightness of 200 nits. In games, the tablet lasts for 5-6 hours, and in standby mode at minimum brightness - up to 22 hours. These are good results, but they are still slightly inferior to the autonomy of the latest Apple iPad (2017).
Interestingly, the device charges quite quickly - just over 2.5 hours using fast charging. It seems like a long time, but not for a tablet.
Cameras - 5.0
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 received 13 and 5 MP cameras worthy by the standards of tablets, comparable in photo quality to smartphones. It may be inconvenient to shoot on a tablet, but if the need arises, it can replace your budget one.
Compared to its predecessor, the camera interface has changed slightly, but still remains quite simple. With a "swipe" on the left you get into different shooting modes, with a "swipe" on the right - in effects. As usual, the main part of the menu is hidden behind the settings gear. Interestingly, the camera has a Pro mode. True, you can only change the method of exposure metering, the exposure itself, ISO and choose one of five options for white balance. By the standards, it would be very modest, but for a tablet it is already good that it is in general.
Somehow to highlight the main camera for high quality we can not. It focuses quickly, reproduces colors fairly well, but otherwise matches the camera of an average smartphone. For a device for 60 thousand rubles, this is not impressive.
The 5 MP front camera can shoot Full HD video (1920 × 1080 pixels). She takes selfies quite decently outdoors or indoors with good lighting. The shots come out with good detail and a wide dynamic range, although if you zoom in on the photo, you can see the graininess. As it should be, the front camera received decorating filters, a wide-angle or panoramic selfie mode, burst and virtual shooting (photos of objects from different sides).
Photos from the camera Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 - 5.0
Temperature - 2.7
The Galaxy Tab S3 was not that cool, although its heat test results were average.
In standby (screen on) mode, the tablet can heat up to 32 degrees like. This is a comfortable temperature, but noticeably higher than room temperature. Under load, the device heats up to 41 degrees on the top right backrest and to 41.4 degrees at the top of the display. It is not hot, but it is already uncomfortable. For comparison, the latest iPad in 2017 always stays cool, while of other current flagships, it only gets hotter.
Memory - 4.0
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 has 32 GB of permanent memory (approximately 23.7 GB is available to the user). Not bad, but for that kind of money, you could count on 64, if not all 128 GB. But, unlike, there is a slot for a memory card, that is, you can expand the original volume.
Features of the
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 has received a lot of features, the main one of which is the incredibly high price. The tablet is running with the proprietary Grace interface.
A bit unusual, but a stylus is included with the tablet, it is also an S Pen. The stylus is lightweight, comfortable and battery-free. True, it is not clear how to carry it anywhere with you and not lose it. For example, there was a special connector for a stylus in the body, but there is none here. Also special is a four-speaker system, a separately sold Bluetooth keyboard and a glass case, which is still outlandish for tablets.
Separately, we note that a lot of proprietary software is preinstalled on the device, which cannot be removed. In addition to them, applications from Microsoft are initially installed, such as Skype, Word, Excel and so on, but at least they can really be useful in work.
There are also unpleasant features like unstable operation of the device. The camera periodically refuses to start, microlags and short freezes flash, and once the touchscreen “fell asleep” and did not respond to fingers until the tablet was rebooted. In general, Samsung still has a lot to work on. Like the Galaxy S8 Plus, the device is still damp. It all looks almost indecent for his money.