Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

[ian87w]

It's being sold for ~ USD $660 in my country, for the 128GB cellular model. (only cellular model available).
Why am I interested in this? It's 12.4" (good size screen for productivity) and it supports Samsung Dex, thus potentially can be the "laptop replacement" I was curiously looking for (I had a different thread about it a while back), and the price seems decent. The USB-C port is USB-C 3.2 some more!

Downside: Snapdragon 750G (way slower than the regular S7 tablet with SD865). And no biometrics at all, not even fingerprint scanner. Samsung really cut the corners on this part. No headphone jack either. Also, Samsung is not that great in updates for their tablets. Even the more expensive S7 tablets only get quarterly security updates.

But the price is quite attractive. The regular S7 tablet is at least $200 more for a smaller 11" screen. The S7+ is more than $1000, although you get AMOLED screen and 256GB storage.
For iPad comparison, the 64GB iPad Air 4 with cellular is ~ $950, while the 256GB version is almost $1200.
So $660 for a 12.4" tablet with cellular is quite attractive imo.

I wish Samsung would at least put a fingerprint scanner on the tablet. I mean cheap Poco phones can have fingerprint scanner.

 

[skaertus]

It's being sold for ~ USD $660 in my country, for the 128GB cellular model. (only cellular model available).
Why am I interested in this? It's 12.4" (good size screen for productivity) and it supports Samsung Dex, thus potentially can be the "laptop replacement" I was curiously looking for (I had a different thread about it a while back), and the price seems decent. The USB-C port is USB-C 3.2 some more!

Downside: Snapdragon 750G (way slower than the regular S7 tablet with SD865). And no biometrics at all, not even fingerprint scanner. Samsung really cut the corners on this part. No headphone jack either. Also, Samsung is not that great in updates for their tablets. Even the more expensive S7 tablets only get quarterly security updates.

But the price is quite attractive. The regular S7 tablet is at least $200 more for a smaller 11" screen. The S7+ is more than $1000, although you get AMOLED screen and 256GB storage.
For iPad comparison, the 64GB iPad Air 4 with cellular is ~ $950, while the 256GB version is almost $1200.
So $660 for a 12.4" tablet with cellular is quite attractive imo.

I wish Samsung would at least put a fingerprint scanner on the tablet. I mean cheap Poco phones can have fingerprint scanner.

At least it is great that Samsung is offering a 12.4-inch tablet for a lower price. Apple only offers its largest tablet for $1099 in the U.S. (and more expensive in other countries). I could use a large tablet for reading PDFs, but not at the price Apple charges.

I suppose the Snapdragon 750G is the weakest spot. An LCD screen with 60 Hz is OK, though not great. The lack of a fingerprint scanner is also a downside, but you only notice it when unlocking the tablet or when doing some specific tasks that require it. The processor could certainly be a bit faster. I suppose Qualcomm needs a little bit more competition to drop the prices of its decent processors.

 

[ian87w]

At least it is great that Samsung is offering a 12.4-inch tablet for a lower price. Apple only offers its largest tablet for $1099 in the U.S. (and more expensive in other countries). I could use a large tablet for reading PDFs, but not at the price Apple charges.

I suppose the Snapdragon 750G is the weakest spot. An LCD screen with 60 Hz is OK, though not great. The lack of a fingerprint scanner is also a downside, but you only notice it when unlocking the tablet or when doing some specific tasks that require it. The processor could certainly be a bit faster. I suppose Qualcomm needs a little bit more competition to drop the prices of its decent processors.

The lack of fingerprint scanner can be annoying (first world problem) since we are used to the convenience, and the fact that even $200 phones have one. On the bright side, Android has pattern unlock, which is less painful than entering PIN codes all the time. But still, would've loved a fingerprint sensor.

Yeah, the Snapdragon 750G seems to be the achilles heel. Saw a youtube video comparing this and the regular Tab S7, and when loading Dex, the S7 FE took a lot longer. But then again, the larger screen and cheaper price kinda makes it okay-ish as compromises.

I'm waiting for Samsung to have better promos. Really interested in jumping on this to be my "laptop replacement." Interested to see how the "ecosystem" of Samsung is (I already have an S21).

 

[sracer]

The lack of fingerprint scanner can be annoying (first world problem) since we are used to the convenience, and the fact that even $200 phones have one. On the bright side, Android has pattern unlock, which is less painful than entering PIN codes all the time. But still, would've loved a fingerprint sensor.

Yeah, the Snapdragon 750G seems to be the achilles heel. Saw a youtube video comparing this and the regular Tab S7, and when loading Dex, the S7 FE took a lot longer. But then again, the larger screen and cheaper price kinda makes it okay-ish as compromises.

I'm waiting for Samsung to have better promos. Really interested in jumping on this to be my "laptop replacement." Interested to see how the "ecosystem" of Samsung is (I already have an S21).

Yes, definitely wait for a Samsung promotional. They are often irresistible. Last November they ran a promo on the Galaxy Tab S6. I picked up a 128GB model was $329, book cover = $15, and book cover keyboard = $45. It's been a great experience so far.

Using DeX on it really does make it feel more notebook-like.

(edit: it has 128GB storage... the 32GB was my Tab A 10)

 

[ian87w]

Well, I did it. Samsung had a promo with the free keyboard so I bite. I just bring my own mouse. My journey towards “post PC era” has started. I shut down my Windows laptop, put it in a drawer, and will use thfull time and see how it goes.

Samsung Dex is really awesome, although there are few things that you cannot do while in dex mode. Office apps work well so far, I’ll just have to adjust my workflow from needing to open a ton of files at once.

Browsing is a joy, just like on a PC. Alas, Firefox doesn’t support dex mode, so I’m switching to Brave.

Android multi user has a lot of potential, but it’s quite buggy. Apps that are moved to SD card would go haywire when I switch between user. Plus, the second user cannot use dex mode. I ended up deleting it and just use single user. Still, the potential is there to be a true PC replacement.

Oh some of you might have read about my S21 unable to detect a USB-C Sandisk flash drive directly. Well, that flash drive works flawlessly on the tab, plugged in directly to the USB-C port. I’m happy.

Overall, there are some adjustment needed. But I’m really happy I can have a “laptop” that won’t heat up just because I have 4 tabs open. And I won’t have to worry about the battery draining out in a day.

The ugly part, no headphone jack. Grrrr. But the speakers are quite nice, definitely better than my old laptop.

I’m looking forward to the day I can finally wave goodbye to Windows…

 

[sracer]

View attachment 1819578
Well, I did it. Samsung had a promo with the free keyboard so I bite. I just bring my own mouse. My journey towards “post PC era” has started. I shut down my Windows laptop, put it in a drawer, and will use thfull time and see how it goes.

Samsung Dex is really awesome, although there are few things that you cannot do while in dex mode. Office apps work well so far, I’ll just have to adjust my workflow from needing to open a ton of files at once.

Browsing is a joy, just like on a PC. Alas, Firefox doesn’t support dex mode, so I’m switching to Brave.

Android multi user has a lot of potential, but it’s quite buggy. Apps that are moved to SD card would go haywire when I switch between user. Plus, the second user cannot use dex mode. I ended up deleting it and just use single user. Still, the potential is there to be a true PC replacement.

Oh some of you might have read about my S21 unable to detect a USB-C Sandisk flash drive directly. Well, that flash drive works flawlessly on the tab, plugged in directly to the USB-C port. I’m happy.

Overall, there are some adjustment needed. But I’m really happy I can have a “laptop” that won’t heat up just because I have 4 tabs open. And I won’t have to worry about the battery draining out in a day.

The ugly part, no headphone jack. Grrrr. But the speakers are quite nice, definitely better than my old laptop.

I’m looking forward to the day I can finally wave goodbye to Windows…

Congrats on the purchase... and thanks for following up.

Regarding apps that don't support DeX, if I recall correctly, there is a Samsung tool that can be used to force apps when in DeX mode. I'll have to poke around my S6 to see if I still have it. (I tend to switch to apps that natively support DeX).