Samsung Galaxy TabPro S: the 2-in-1 outsider

Presentation

Announced at CES 2016, the Galaxy TabPro S is a new attempt by Samsung in the 2-in-1 market. To do this, the Korean manufacturer skillfully recycles the design of its Galaxy Tab S tablets, integrates Windows 10 into it and offers in series a case with a keyboard. For less than 1000 €, we therefore find ourselves with a direct competitor of Microsoft's Surface Pro 4, on paper at least.

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Construction

We could perfectly summarize the design of the Galaxy TabPro S by a mixture of Galaxy Tab S and Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. Samsung indeed takes up the ultra-thin chassis (6.2 mm without the keyboard), the magnesium shell, the metal contours, the rounded corners and a comfortable 12-inch diagonal. The tablet alone weighs 696 grams, and its case adds 388 grams to the scale, for a total of 1084 grams. We therefore remain in the "ultraportable" category. As often in this range of products from Samsung, the finish is excellent and the whole exudes solidity.

This famous case, precisely, is generally convincing. The "imitation leather" coating now well known at Samsung is pleasant to the touch, but still seems a bit fragile. It completely covers the tablet, but we found a slight offset at the rear camera lens on our test model.

Once the case is open, a magnet allows you to connect the tablet to the keyboard in the blink of an eye. The system is clever, works extremely well and allows you to switch to "laptop" mode very quickly. The screen can tilt in two different positions: either almost vertical, or almost horizontal. No other position, which is a bit of a shame and ends up impairing the comfort of use. Use on the knees is possible, the support remaining fairly stable once installed. We are far from the comfort of a "real" laptop, but still above the solution offered by the Surface Pro 4.

The keyboard, meanwhile, will not be remembered, but it does its job properly given the format of the product. The keys are glued together, the stroke is very short and the typing is not particularly pleasant. The mistakes will be numerous at first, but we end up getting used to them. The absence of backlighting is not surprising on this type of device, but still regrettable. The touchpad is small, but offers a pleasant and precise glide. Note also the presence of an NFC chip, right next to the touchpad.

A quick word on the stylus, or rather the absence of a stylus. Unlike the Surface Pro 4, the Galaxy TabPro S does not offer a series (in favor of a keyboard, of course). However, it should be possible to obtain an additional one by the end of March 2016, for a price around 60 €.

Let's take a look at the connectivity of this Galaxy TabPro S. On this point, we are clearly closer to a tablet than a laptop, since we have to be content with a single USB Type-C port, which is also used to charge the device. Note that Samsung plays it Apple here, and does not offer a USB Type-C to USB 3 adapter with the machine.

With an Intel Core M3 processor without a fan on board, the Galaxy TabPro S is a product that heats little and that makes absolutely no noise. After running the Unigine Heaven benchmark for an hour, we found a hot spot of 39.9 ° C at the front and 42.3 ° C at the rear.

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Screen

The Galaxy TabPro S takes advantage of a 12-inch Super Amoled panel in 3: 2 format and displays a definition of 2160 x 1440 px. A format similar to that of the Surface Pro 4, but a definition still a little lower. However, the latter is very largely sufficient. Of course, we were impatient to judge the contribution of an Amoled panel on a 2-in-1. We were not disappointed: the excellent brightness rate of 450 cd / m² and the almost infinite contrast rate provide very good readability. It is then not even necessary to set the brightness to the maximum in Windows 10, a rate set between 50 and 75% being mostly sufficient.

color dE = 4.4 gamma 2.4 temperature 7503 K

There is also a touch delay of 14 ms. An excellent figure, well above the average of 78 ms on the tablets. Here we are at the level of an iPad mini 4. However, we do not give 5 stars on this screen, because of a colorimetry not quite up to the rest. If the gamma curve is stable in any event, the average delta E is established at 4.4 and the color temperature at 7500 K. The result is a display which lacks a little fidelity and a tendency to pull towards the blue. It is therefore advisable to take a look at the Windows 10 calibration options to improve this aspect.

The configuration tested The configuration received in test includes an Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SSD.

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Performances

The Galaxy TabPro S benefits from an Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor. It is a dual-core CPU clocked at 900 MHz. 4 GB of RAM accompany it. In short, a well-known combo well suited to a PC of this type. We take advantage of a fluid Windows 10 and light applications that run very well. Machine start-up is quick (12 seconds), and almost instantaneous stop (3 seconds).

Useless, however, to hope to make video editing or photo editing: this type of configuration simply does not lend itself to it. Here again, we are above all faced with a tablet - powerful, certainly - equipped with a keyboard and we must therefore adapt its uses. The Galaxy TabPro S is thus ideal for typing text, surfing the web, or watching videos, but not much more.

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Games

Core M3 processor requires, the graphics part of the Galaxy TabPro S is managed by an iGPU Intel HD Graphics 515. It is therefore certainly not made for gaming and has never claimed otherwise. You can possibly launch 2D titles or very old 3D games, but not much more.

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Mobility / Autonomy

By its format, its lightness and its finesse, the Galaxy TabPro S is clearly to be classified in the category of "large" tablets accompanied by a keyboard. The result is a highly mobile product, which is very easy to transport and which can be stored in any medium-sized bag, especially since its case protects the whole well.

The assessment concerning autonomy is a little more mixed. The machine benefits from a 5200 mAh battery, for an announced autonomy of 10 hours. The reality is a little less rosy, since our video playback test under Netflix (under Chrome, headphones plugged in, brightness at 200 cd / m²) ran for 4h48. A disappointing finding, especially compared to other tablets on the market under Android or iOS, but which nevertheless deserves to be nuanced: in the context of a more versatile use, mixing office and web, and playing on the brightness and energy saving, it goes up easily to 9 hours of lifespan. Finally, note that a complete recharge cycle takes around 2 hours 30 minutes.

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Audio

The headphone output of the Galaxy TabPro S is very good: the distortion is very low (0.009%), the sound power is high (130 mVrms) and the whole sound spectrum is very well restored.

Speakers side, again, it's pretty bad (graphic above). Bass and midrange are absent, and treble tends to take over. The output power is also very low.

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Conclusion

The Galaxy TabPro S is a successful attempt to walk on the flowerbeds of the Surface Pro 4. By recycling the design of the Tab S under Android and, above all, by opting for an Amoled screen, Samsung manages to offer an attractive and highly mobile . However, its belonging to the category of tablets is not that good, since we regret very limited connectivity and a keyboard that would have deserved better treatment. If you are looking for a - very beautiful - Windows 10 tablet, without necessarily expecting a high-end laptop experience, this is a product of choice.

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