Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 vs. S7 FE Comparison

With the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE, the Korean company released a Fan Edition of their premium tablets which is supposed to give us the most popular features at a cheaper price. However, it is a bit strange that the S7 FE and the standard Galaxy Tab S7 cost about the same right now which is 530 Dollars in the US. How can that be and why is the FE the better choice for some anyways? That’s what we’ll discuss in this Galaxy Tab S7 vs S7 FE comparison.

Design & Built Quality

The basic design of the whole Galaxy Tab S7 series is the same. And that means the FE too has an aluminum body that looks very high-end. It’s slim, has a pretty design, and is premium-feeling. But many premium features are missing.

While the S7 FE has two good speakers, the four speakers of the standard S7 are louder, a bit more pleasing, and have a deeper bass. The fingerprint scanner and the ultra-wide angle camera of the S7 are missing on the FE.

Both have a connector for a keyboard cover and the keyboard options for both tablets are fantastic. Since the FE is a bit bigger, the keyboards for it are bigger too and a bit more comfortable. With it, you can use the same keyboards meant for the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus.

Display: 11 or 12.4 inch LCDs?

With 12.4 inches, the screen of the Galaxy Tab S7 FE is a bit bigger than the 11-inch Galaxy Tab S7. On paper, 11 and 12.4 inches sound quite similar. But when comparing them directly, the difference is clearly noticeable and you do get a good amount of more screen area with the FE. It’s as big as the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus which has an AMOLED display but that one is pricier.

These two tablets have a standard LCD screen, so no AMOLED here. Their resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels is identical and that means the S7 looks a little bit sharper. Both are fully laminated and viewing angles are wide. When comparing them directly, the S7 looks a bit brighter and has better whites. The FE can look a bit yellowish.

Read: The Best Samsung Tablets You Can Buy

While the S7 has a refresh rate of 120Hz, the FE has a standard 60Hz display. That means animations look a bit smoother on the S7.

S Pen: Almost The Same?

I always notice the biggest difference between a 120Hz and 60Hz screen when using the S Pen and not so much with games or animations. Even though the pen technology is the same, on the S7 it looks like the stylus reacts faster. On the S7 FE, it looks like the writing lags behind the pen a bit when drawing fast.

Besides that, both are equally great for handwritten notes or for drawings. I think the S Pen is fantastic, very precise, and for the most part, the same software features like the Samsung Notes app are pre-installed.

There is one difference, though. Both pens do look identical from the outside but the inside is difference because the S7 pen has a built-in battery. It’s being charged when attaching it to the back of the tablet. For handwriting or so, you never have to charge an S Pen. But the battery is needed for Bluetooth gestures which just the standard S7 supports. Most of them are not that useful. But I like that you can use it to navigate through a PowerPoint presentation.

Hardware: Snapdragon 865+ against 750G

Inside the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor with 6GB or 8GB of RAM and a 128GB or 256GB internal storage. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE, on the other hand, ships with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G and 4GB or 6GB RAM and 64GB or 128GB internal storage. While the S7 can be bought with 4G, the S7 FE supports 5G as an option.

Well, Benchmark results are not surprising. No matter whether looking at Geekbench or 3D Mark, the Galaxy Tab S7 is much more powerful than the S7 FE. Not just a bit, but a lot faster. And that’s what my video render test in Adobe Premiere Rush shows too. The S7 is much faster at that.

My gaming test is confirming those results. While you can play Fortnite with epic graphics on the S7, the FE supports medium settings only. Instead of playing PUBG Mobile with UltraHD graphics on the S7, the FE can handle it with HD settings and you can’t even select anything higher. So, if you care about gaming performance, the S7 is much better.

With simpler tasks, the differences are not that noticeable. A good amount of multitasking is possible with both tablets and even Samsung DeX runs quite well on the S7 FE. But yes, of course, if performance is important to you, the S7 is the much better choice.

Software: Android 11 or Android 11?

The software is not a differentiator at all. Both tablets run the same Android 11 with OneUI in version 3.1. Except for those S Pen Bluetooth gestures, there are no real differences here.

Battery Life

In my battery test, the Galaxy Tab S7 got a runtime of 8 hours and the S7 FE lasted 7.5 hours. For this I’m always looping an HD video at maximum brightness on YouTube.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 vs S7 FE Comparison: Final Verdict

So, let’s get to the end of this comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7 FE. As you’ve seen, the S7 has the much better performance, the screen is brighter and supports 120Hz, the S Pen has more features, it has four speakers, and a fingerprint scanner. If you care about these premium features and especially the CPU performance, the S7 is the much better choice for you.

The Galaxy Tab S7 FE does have one big highlight and that’s its size. With 12.4 inches, it’s quite a bit bigger than the 11-inch S7. Usually, tablets of this size cost much more. So, if you want a big screen, the S7 FE is the better choice and a much cheaper alternative to the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. At the same time, we continue to get a great built quality, the same software, a fantastic S Pen, and good keyboard options.

You should check out the S7 FE if you want a 5G tablets too. The S7 supports LTE 4G only.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

Read now: Our Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE Review

At a mid-range price, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE offers a large and pretty 12.4-inch display. Just like Samsung's premium tablets, it supports and ships with the fantastic S Pen stylus. We get a high-end design, up-to-date Android 11 with Samsung DeX, and two great keyboard options. Premium features like four speakers and a fingerprint scanner are missing. And the performance could be better.

Positive

• Good 12.4-inch screen
• Premium built
• S Pen is included
• Up-to-date Android 11
• Samsung DeX
• Good keyboards

Negative

• Mid-range performance
• No fingerprint scanner
• No 120Hz screen

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Articles about this tablet

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 vs. S7 FE Comparison
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE Review : A Large Mid-Range Tablet