This Samsung Cyber Monday tablet deal beats all the iPad sales

This Samsung Cyber Mon tablet deal beats all the iPad sales

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE with a Cyber Monday badge

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The best Cyber Monday tablet bargain I've found so far this year isn't for an iPad, simply a Samsung tablet I love. I've been using the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE for several months every bit a work device, and this sale makes it an easier recommendation for those looking for a practical tablet among the Cyber Mon deals, fifty-fifty if you're an iPad fan.

Android tablets aren't established in the fashion Apple tree tablets are. In fact I can't recall of anyone outside of my tech journalism buddies who owns a tablet that isn't an iPad or an Amazon Fire. Withal fifty-fifty I, a defended Mac, iPhone and even iPad user, have grown to adore this tablet.

First off, it's much more attractively priced. The 2021 Tab S7 Fe (Wi-Fi/U.S.) is $429 on Amazon ($100 off the $529 cost) and the Tab S7 Atomic number 26 (5G/U.K.) is downwards to £449 on Amazon (£140 off the £589 MSRP). Yeah, the $579 iPad Air has seen like discounts, but it'due south a) already a twelvemonth old, and b) those deals are long gone.

You become a lot more tablet for your money too. The Tab S7 FE'south 12.4-inch frame is larger than whatsoever iPad (save the 12.9-inch iPad Pro), and information technology features skinny bezels, which the ninth-generation iPad has even so yet to shed.

And that entry-level iPad hasn't gotten whatever sales so far this season (and we're hunting for them on our Cyber Monday iPad deals roundup). And while we've seen discounts of $100 or more on the iPad Pro, those are for models that are much more expensive and cost-prohibitive. The most frequent iPad Air and mini deals we've found are around $50 off, and not exactly thrilling.

The Tab S7 Atomic number 26 also has a longer, skinnier design than an iPad, and its front-facing photographic camera is located on the long side of the display, making it much easier to employ horizontally when using it with a stand or keyboard comprehend.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE's front camera — (Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

I had heard horror stories of how bad Android tablets were to use, and perchance that'southward true for tablets running stock Android. Samsung tablets however run OneUI, which is a heavily modified version of Android, and I found it yet runs merely as well on a larger brandish every bit it does on a smartphone-sized ane, making smart employ of the actress infinite with resized app interfaces and a uncomplicated-to-use multi-app display mode.

My favorite function of the whole experience though is the Due south Pen. For one, it's included in the box, dissimilar an iPad where information technology's $100 extra. Information technology also comes with a physical push to enable actress functions, and Air Command controls which offer app and feature shortcuts without even touching the screen. Another handy benefit is that information technology doesn't utilise an inbuilt battery, and so it's always set up to go, unlike the battery-powered Apple Pencil.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE being written on with an S Pen — (Paradigm credit: Tom'south Guide)

A stylus is a key accessory for any tablet, and fortunately writing with the Due south Pen is wonderful. I don't mind the start-gen Apple Pencil I apply with my own 7th-gen iPad, only since it's a hard-tipped "pencil" rather than a "pen," it doesn't offer much feedback when you write. The soft-tipped Southward Pen nevertheless does, and every bit a result information technology feels and then much nicer to write with. Information technology's fabricated the Tab S7 Fe invaluable as my notepad for taking notes in meetings or jotting down quick ideas to check over again later.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE stood on a table with its keyboard case and an S Pen in front of it — (Paradigm credit: Tom'southward Guide)

It'south not a complete no-contest in favor of the Samsung tablet. Even the base iPad is much more powerful than Samsung's tablets courtesy of Apple's mighty A-series chips, and all iPads do good from fantabulous displays, longer-lasting batteries and effective cameras. Plus it'll be difficult to say no to an iPad given how well information technology will play with iPhones, AirPods and Macs via Apple's Continuity system.

If you're not wedded to the Apple walled garden though, this is a deal I heartily recommend. The Samsung Milky way Tab S7 FE has go my regular work companion both at my desk and during my commute, and this would hands become yours too if you need something to encompass the duty of a laptop, a notepad and a streaming device. It's not form-leading in every respect, but information technology'due south and so constructive for its price, the Tab S7 Iron is hard to say no to this Cyber Monday.

Richard is a Tom's Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, audio and whatever else people demand advice on. Post-obit on from his MA in Mag Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's likewise written for WIRED U.K., The Annals and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he'south probable thinking well-nigh how to brew the perfect loving cup of specialty coffee.