Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ review

Design, build, handling

The Galaxy Tab S7+, being a tablet, has little leeway for design originality. Usually, tablets are either made of plastic or metal, and they have either rounded or square edges. It is that simple, and the Tab S7+ is also a slate made by the book - though we see high-end components and plenty of attention to detail.

Samsung chose brushed aluminum for the Galaxy Tab S7+ unibody and it looks marvelous on the Tab S7+. The frame is flat, as is the back, and there are no curved parts in-between whatsoever. In fact, the sides are so perfectly flat, that the tablet can be left standing on any of its sides.

The brushed aluminum is good, sure, but it is also a fingerprint magnet, even if you opt for the Mystic Black option (read graphite-like) as ours.

But let's take a step back and look at the front - the place everyone will spend working on most of the time. It is mostly occupied by the 12.4" Super AMOLED screen with 266ppi sharpness. It is surrounded by an even black bezel, about 10mm thick, which will come great for when you are using the Tab S7+ in hand (probably most of the time). The front 8MP camera is on that bezel - centered at the top side if working in landscape mode, or on the right - if you are using the S7+ in portrait orientation.

There are no other distractions around the screen and the front is symmetrical no matter how you are looking at it. The fingerprint scanner is under the screen near the bottom if you are holding the tablet in portrait orientation, or just under your right or left thumb if using in in landscape. The sensor is of the optical type and works very well - it is fast and accurate.

The back is fairly boring and that's great. Nobody really expects a tablet to have more than a camera on its rear side. Well, the Galaxy Tab S7+ has two of those, actually, both sharing a small glass piece that's protruding just a tiny bit. The main snapper is a 13MP shooter with autofocus, while the secondary is a 5MP cam for ultrawide shots. A single-LED flash is also around.

Notice this thin black strip that ends with the camera setup? That's the S-Pen magnetic holder. Just move the stylus to close this strip, and it will click on it quite nicely. The pointy end should be, well, pointing towards the camera. Otherwise, the S-Pen won't stick properly and may fall, plus it will not charge this way.

Indeed, the Galaxy Tab S7+ has the same active S-Pen like the Galaxy Note20 series, it's just bigger. The S Pen has an integrated battery, which is needed for the Air Actions and the clicker to work via the Bluetooth connection. Recharging the thing happens while it is laying on the mentioned magnetic strip and takes less than 5 minutes to go from 0% up to 100%.

This surely isn't the best place for an S-Pen, but it isn't the worse either. We would not put it on some of the sides for example, as it would constantly get in the way of holding the slate. Unless you opt for a Book Cover with S-Pen holder, the back should do fine for the stylus. Or your shirt's or bag's pocket, if you feel you may lose it in your busy daily routine.

Putting the tablet on its back with the S-Pen attached may feel awkward, but eventually we welcomed this as it adds a minor but important angle that's better for working or viewing content. Once again, it is not ideal, and eventually, a Book Cover that doubles as a tablet stand may be the answer. It's kind of a bummer that the original one retails for about €80.

The sides of the Galaxy Tab S7+ are pretty busy. Each of the short ones houses two speakers, plus the left one has a mic, while the right side packs the USB-C port.

The bottom side of the frame has the pins for the Keyboard Cover, while the top one has the power and volume keys, a second mic, and the microSD tray.

Holding the Galaxy Tab S7+ feels like you are handling a premium tablet, and indeed you are. The unibody is brilliant as there are no gaps whatsoever, the speakers are positioned just right so you won't muffle them in either orientation, and the weight of the slate is balanced perfectly.

The Tab S7+ is big yes, but if you are eyeing it, you are probably fine with its size. It is super thin though and yet with a massive battery, and its flat and sharp sides give it an edge over other curvier competitors, at least in our opinion.