Samsung Galaxy TabPro S 12-inch targeting iPad Pro 12.9 & MS Surface Pro 4 12.3

Samuel Tan12-inch Tablets, 2-in-1s, Laptops, Tablets 0

The new Samsung Galaxy TabPro S is Samsung’s new premium Windows tablet that has both Apple’s iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface Pro in its sight but does it measure up to the competition.

When looking for a Premium 12-inch tablet, a bigger tablet than most standard 10-inch tablets, you are bound to consider the Apple iPad Pro 12.9 with iOS, Microsoft’s Pro 4 12.3 and now from Samsung, the Galaxy TabPro S 12-inch with Windows 10 operating system.

Since the launch of Surface tablets by Microsoft, more and more manufacturers are designing their own 2-in-1 tablets capable of accepting an optional keyboard to turn it into a laptop when need be. However, most manufacturers are focusing on a convertible laptop with 360 degrees rotating hinge and where a tablet is offered, these are typically 10-inch or 11-inch devices and is powered by Intel’s Atom processors.

A new age of tablets with the ‘Pro’ label is set to change that.

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Premium Tablets from Samsung, Apple and Microsoft

When it comes to 2-in-1s, the de facto leader is Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 4, packing the best in hardware for performance and built quality. Microsoft sells this as a true convergence device, a tablet and laptop combined with the optional snap on keyboard and stylus. In a way, it is building a reference machine for other manufacturers to follow.

Apple, not wanting to miss out, made a bigger tablet capable of using a stylus, the iPad Pro with 12.9-inch display to woe corporate and business users away from Microsoft and Windows 2-in-1 devices in general. Its essentially an iPad running iOS with a digitizer for stylus or as Apple would like to call it, an Apple Pencil.

Samsung, another big name launched the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S Windows 2-in-1 tablet. The S series is synonymous with Samsung’s premium products such as the Galaxy Tab S2 tablets, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones and now the Galaxy TabPro S. The S series design DNA is carried onto the TabPro, just look at how slim the tablet is.

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S vs Surface Pro 4 vs iPad Pro 12.9

Manufacturers struggled to make super slim and compact tablets to compete with Apple’s iPad Pro sleek design mainly due to the processor in use. Older generation processors requires active cooling and vents making the tablet a lot bigger and heavier. Manufacturers resort to using under-powered Atom processors but with Intel’s 6th Generation Core m3 processor, things are looking better. Samsung, Microsoft and Huawei have taken advantage of the processor to come up with ultra slim and ultra portable tablets.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 uses Intel Core M3-6Y30 as well as Core i5 and i7 processors
Huawei MateBook 12-inch uses Intel Core M3-6Y30 and Intel Core M-5Y70 processors
Samsung TabPro S uses Intel Core M3-6Y30 processor

So here is what you need to know about the TabPro S; at the time of writing, it comes only in one size, one processor, one memory and one storage but available in two colours, white or black. If the TabPro S is a runaway success, just like the Galaxy S smartphones and Galaxy Tab S tablets, we sure to see more TabPro S Windows tablets. For now we shall have to content with this super sleek, ultra slim (even slimmer than the iPad Pro 12.9-inch).

The Samsung Galaxy TabPro S has the same Intel^® Core™ m3-6Y30 as the Surface Pro 4 entry level model.

Powerful PC Performance

Not an all singing, all dancing processor, but the Intel Core M processor strikes a balance between performance and efficiency, bringing PC performance to a tablet. The Galaxy TabPro S runs Windows 10 combines with Intel^® Core™ M processor with 4 GB RAM and 128 GB solid state drive. Again, this is identical to the entry level Microsoft Surface Pro 4.

Using the new generation power efficient Core M processor, the Intel^® Core™ m3-6Y30 clocking at 900MHz, and pushing up to 2.2GHz with Turbo Boost when needed, Samsung is able to design the tablet to be a fanless device. No fan equals no noise equals super slim design. The Galaxy TabPro S is the only device you’ll need in your bag. As powerful as a laptop and as mobile as a tablet, it’s your most efficient workstation yet.

We cannot really compare the iPad Pro’s processor as it is of an entirely different architecture, one designed by Apple for use with iOS. The iPad Pro 12.9 uses the A9X 64-bit architecture chip and M9 co-processor. The dual core processors runs at 2.2GHz frequency. It is paired with a PowerVR series 7 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) with 12-core. The flagship tablet also has 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 128GB of onboard storage.

Samsung TabPro S 12: Intel^® Core™ m3-6Y30 2.2GHz processor – COMPETENT CPU
Microsoft Surface Pro 4: Intel^® Core™ m3-6Y30 2.2GHz processor and other Core i5 and i7 options
Apple iPad Pro 12.9: A9X chip 64-bit architecture 2.2GHz processor with M9 co-processor and PowerVR series 7 GPU

Super AMOLED Display

The TabPro S has a vibrant Super AMOLED^® display. If you are a fan of the Super AMOLED, the tablet is going to be a show stopper. Plenty of brightness, rich colour, crisp and detail in the image and deeper black as well as great contrast under all lighting conditions. The 12-inch display packs plenty of pixels at 2160 x 1440 pixel resolution FHD+ for incredible accuracy for watching videos or going through photos.

Samsung TabPro S 12: 12-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display 2160 x 1440 pixel resolution multi-touch screen – SUPER AMOLED
Microsoft Surface Pro 4: 12.3-inch PixelSense display 2,736 x 1,824 pixel resolution (267 ppi) aspect ration 3:2 with 10 point multi-touch
Apple iPad Pro 12.9: 12.9-inch LED backlit 2732 x 2048 resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi) Multi-Touch display

Slim, Sleek & Stylish

There is no denying that the TabPro S is a showy tablet out to accomplish what other Windows tablets failed to do. The tablet measures only 6.3mm thin. To put it in perspective, it is as thin as the iPad Air 2 with 6.1mm thin with a 9.7-inch display. Something more up its street, the iPad Pro with 12.9-inch display measures 6.9mm thin. The TabPro S is aimed squarely as an iPad Pro alternative. The TabPro S is also lighter at 693 grams so it won’t weigh you down. Again, for comparison, the iPad Pro 12.9 weighs 712/723 grams owing to a bigger 12.9-inch display.

Samsung TabPro S 12: 198.8 x 290.3 x 6.3 mm, 693 grams – SLIMMEST & LIGHTEST
Microsoft Surface Pro 4: 292.10 x 201.42 x 8.45 mm, 766 grams
Apple iPad Pro 12.9: 305.7 mm x 220.6 mm x 6.9 mm, 713 grams (WiFi only) or 723 grams (WiFi and Cellular)

Amazing Keyboard Cover

The keyboard cover is amazingly thin and it is included. Unlike Microsoft and Apple who charge a premium for their keyboards, Samsung’s approach is definitely a game changer. The keyboard attachment is designed to work specifically with the tablet and is yours when you get the tablet.

Keys are bigger because Samsung has removed the space between the keys making it significantly bigger than those on island-style keyboards or chiclet keys. Typing on the keyboard is great as you will quickly get used to how efficient and ease it is to work on the device.

Samsung TabPro S 12: Keyboard included. No stylus – KEYBOARD INCLUDED
Microsoft Surface Pro 4: Surface Pen included, keyboard optional
Apple iPad Pro 12.9: Apple pencil and keyboard cover optional

Connect your Samsung Devices

If you have s Samsung smartphone, use Samsung Flow to enable seamless connectivity between the Galaxy TabPro S and your Samsung smartphone.

Unlocking the tablet by simple tapping your unlocked Galaxy smartphone and scanning your fingerprint. You can also easily enable your mobile hotspot to keep your TabPro S connected, and check and reply directly to your phone’s notifications with just the touch.

The integration is similar to iMessage and FaceTime on Mac and iOS. With the tablet and a Samsung smartphone, you can respond to texts and get phone notifications in real time right on the tablet screen.

Specifications

Intel^® Core™ m3-6Y30 processor 900MHz up to 2.2GHz turbo frequency
12-inch Super AMOLED display 2160 x 1440 pixel resolution
Memory: 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD storage
Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4G+5GHz with WiFi Direct, VHT80 MIMO, Bluetooth v4.1 (A2DP, AVRCP, DI, DUN, HFP, HID, HOGP, OPP, PAN), 3.5mm stereo jack.
Cameras: 5MP front camera, 5MP rear camera. 4x digital optical zoom, Full HD (1920 x 1080) digital video recording.
Keyboard included