Battle of the Tablets: Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 vs New iPad (2017)

For years, Apple and Samsung have been vying for the number one spot as the most popular choice of users. This year, there are two tablet models these technology giants introduced last March: the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 and the new iPad 2017. If you are baffled on which one to choose, it is quite understandable since these two companies always add interesting features to their devices. The best way to come up with a choice is to know what these two have to offer.

Body and Design

While both have solid designs as well as rounded and curved edges, the Tab S3 has a metal frame and a glass rear while the new iPad 2017 is all aluminum. Designed with a finger sensor incorporated with the home buttons, both also come with a front camera on the top of their displays. As for rear cameras, the two tablets have them but with a difference in the positioning. The Tab S3 has it at the center, along with a flash module below it while the iPad has it at the top left-hand corner.

For size dimension and weight, the Galaxy Tab S3 is better since it is thinner and lighter with a measurement of 273.3x 169 x 6mm and a weight of 429g. Meanwhile, the iPad measures 240 x 169.5 x 7.5mm and is a bit heavier at 469g.

Features

With both having 9.7-inch screens and a resolution of 2048 x 1536 at 264 PPI, there are still differences in display.  The Tab S3 boasts of AMOLED display while its contender uses LCD. Also, the Tab S3 comes with Mobile HDR.

As for the cameras, the Tab S3 has an edge with higher resolutions on both front and rear snappers with a 5-megapixel sensor for selfies and 13 megapixels at the rear, capable of 4K video recording and a flash. On the other hand, the new iPad 2017 comes in second with an 8-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video recording and 1.2- megapixel FaceTime HD front camera.

Hardware

The Galaxy Tab S3 is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor while the new iPad is designed with an A9 chipset and an embedded M9 coprocessor. Also, the Tab S3 has quad stereo speakers which are multi-directional while the iPad boasts of two speakers. Both have 3.5mm headphone jacks but the iPad has a Lightning port for charging. In terms of battery life, the 6000mAh battery of the Tab S3 offers up to eight hours of web surfing use and 12 hours of video playback while the fixed battery of the iPad can last up to 10 hours.

Software and Storage

The Galaxy Tab S3 runs on Android 7.0 with TouchWiz while the iPad runs on iOS 10.  RAM is 4GB on the Samsung device while the Apple slab has 2GB. Storage is limited for Tab S3 at 32GB but can be expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card while for the iPad, it comes with the 32GB and 128GB options for internal storage. Another edge of the Tab S3 over its competitor is its keyboard and S Pen compatibilities but both come in WiFi and WiFi + Cellular models. As for price, Galaxy Tab S3 is almost double the price of the new iPad 2017, albeit it offers better features and specs.

At the end of the day, your choice will depend on how much you are willing to pay and your personal preference. If you are an iOS user and have the cash to buy, you might want to check out Apple’s biggest tablet release – the iPad Pro 2.

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