It’s not just True Wireless Bluetooth Ear Buds that are seeing a surge in interest. The shift towards WFH and study from home has also seen the tab category stage an almost unlikely comeback. Not long ago, large screen smartphones had almost pushed tablets on the edge of oblivion. But 2020 seems to have changed that. The biggest challenge for tabs has been their Content creation abilities; tabs like the iPad Pro and Samsung’s premium Tab S series (including the all-new Galaxy Tab S7+) have upped their productivity game. But these tabs don’t come cheap, often costing more than mid-range laptops. It’s why Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A7 should interest you, if you’re in the market for a tab under Rs 20,000.
The Tab A7 scores with its slinky design. It’s just 7mm thin and weighs just 476 gm. It’s remarkably portable and you can cling to it for long durations of time without feeling overburdened. Something I discovered while jumping from one racetrack to the next on Asphalt 9. It’s also comforting to see a 3.5 mm headphone socket squeezed in; this should please you if you’re still holding on to your favourite pair of wired headphones.
While the jury might still be out on the Content creation creds of a tab, they are geared for Netflix marathons and intense gaming. The Tab A7 is kitted with a 10.4-inch WUXGA+ ( widescreen ultra-extended graphics array) display (2000 x 1200 pixels). Colours are vibrant and the 80% screen: body ratio makes it quite immersive. My favourite feature however is the Dolby Atmos surround sound on the quad speakers that makes it a fun device for gaming or playing catch up on your favourite show.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor is at the heart of this tab. It combines with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of Internal storage (there’s also support for extended storage up to 1TB). It may not please heavy duty users who tend to hang on to spec sheets. The device clocked 1389 on our Geekbench (Multi-score) test. However, it may be all the firepower most users need. The tab didn’t stutter during my test gaming session (Asphalt 9) and managed multi-tasking without too much of a fuss. Battery life is quite solid too; the 7040 mAh battery should get you through a whole day of online meetings or an all-night binge of Dark or Schitt’s Creek.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 is a capable tab that should work for a wide cross-section of users. Whether the kids need it for their online sessions or you need to catch up on an E-book or a film as well as your work email. We dig the sleek form factor and the punchy speakers that make it a good value proposition at its sticker price.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 is available in three colours – Dark Gray, Silver and Gold.
The LTE model is priced at INR 21999 while the Wi-Fi model is priced at INR 17999.
