Price: $229.99
CPU: Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662
GPU: Adreno 610
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB of internal storage
Display: 2000 x 1200-pixel display
Battery: 13:13
Size: 9.8 x 6.2 x 0.3 inches
Weight: 1 pound
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (reviewed at $229) is a mid-range tablet that, at first, did not make the best first impression with its ho-hum chassis design and dim display.
However, the Galaxy Tab A7 won me over with amazing battery life, multitasking capabilities and Dolby Atmos quad-speaker setup. Don’t get me wrong — the Galaxy Tab A7 still betrays its position in the market as a mid-range tablet with its less-than-impressive overall performance, but the Samsung slate has some stellar features that will seduce you into becoming a fan.
The Galaxy Tab A7 is one of the best tablets for budget-conscious folks seeking a device for media consumption and light productivity. While this slate may not be as snazzy as the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus with its OLED display and Samsung DeX, the Galaxy Tab A7 is an excellent option for users who need a decent tablet without all the bells and whistles.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 price and configuration
The Galaxy Tab A7 has a starting price of $229.99 and comes with an octa-core Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 CPU, an Adreno 610 GPU, 32GB of internal storage and 3GB of RAM.
For $279.99, you can bump up your storage to 64GB. The Galaxy Tab A7 is available in Dark Gray, Silver or Gold.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 design
The Galaxy Tab A7 design is reminiscent of the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet, which sports a 5-megapixel camera on the right bezel. This invites users to join and host video calls in landscape mode, providing a wider viewing angle during video conferences.
You’ll also find a squircle-shaped, 8-megapixel camera on the top-left corner of the Galaxy Tab A7’s steel-colored underside. The Galaxy Tab A7’s design isn’t particularly striking — its dark-gray chassis is simple, minimalist and uninspired with an unostentatious Samsung logo stamped on the center. The Samsung slate has a decent build quality with a solid aluminum body.
The 10.4-inch display isn’t eye-catching, either. The bezels are thick-ish on all four sides, snitching on the Galaxy Tab A7’s status as a non-premium tablet. On the right side of the Galaxy Tab A7 (in portrait mode) is a power button and volume rocker; dual-speaker grills can be found on the top and bottom edges of the Samsung tablet.
At 9.8 x 6.2 x 0.3 inches, the one-pound Galaxy Tab A7 is similar in thickness, but heavier than the Amazon Fire HD 8 (0.4 inches, 0.8 pounds) and the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus (0.3 inches, 0.6 pounds).
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 ports
The Galaxy Tab A7 has a USB 2.0 Type-C port on the bottom edge; 2.0 is the operative term here.
While the Galaxy Tab A7 uses a Type-C connector, the port’s underlying technology is USB 2.0, so this means you can’t do video output. However, you can use it to connect external storage drives and peripherals. You can also use it to charge your device.
You’ll also find a 3.5mm headset jack on the bottom edge of the tablet. On the left side of the Galaxy Tab A7 is a microSD card slot.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 has a 10.4-inch, 2000 x 1200-pixel display framed by large bezels, which is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, the thick bezels detract from the slate’s attractiveness, but on the other, it offers ample grip territory while holding the Galaxy Tab A7 during media consumption.
When I watched the Monster Hunter trailer, I ogled at the radiant yellows and oranges that emanated from Milla Jovovich’s flaming swords. On close-up shots of Jovovich’s face, I spotted subtle details such as fine lines and the beautiful melange of green and gold hues in her eyes. The Galaxy Tab A7’s display is exactly what I’d expect from a mid-range tablet; there’s nothing mind-blowing about the screen, but its colors and definition are decent and satisfactory.
The touchscreen gestures on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 were smooth. The display responded to all my commanding swipes with ease, whether I was using pinch-to-zoom on an article or scrolling through Netflix to find a show I wanted to stream.
The Galaxy Tab A7’s screen covers 102% of the sRGB color gamut, which trumps the color-coverage score of the average tablet (100%). The Samsung tablet is also more vivid than the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus (99%) and the Amazon Fire HD 8 (80%).
The Galaxy Tab A7 has a Delta-E color accuracy score of 0.23 (the closer to zero, the better). The colors emanating from the Samsung tablet are more accurate than those on the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus (0.25), but not the Amazon Fire HD 8 (0.19).
At 329 nits, the Galaxy Tab A7 doesn’t have the brightest screen; the average tablet has 413 nits of brightness. The Samsung slate outshone the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus (322 nits), but the Galaxy Tab A7 is dimmer than the 444-nit Amazon Fire HD 8. I went outside to test the Galaxy Tab A7’s display. When the sky is overcast, the screen is still perceptible. However, on bright and sunny days, the panel loses some visibility.
It’s also worth noting that the Samsung tablet features a blue-light filter that you can easily toggle on or off at your leisure. When I switched on the blue-light filter, my eyes felt an immediate sense of relief. Unfortunately, the filter does subdue the display’s vividness.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 audio
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7’s Dolby Atmos quad-speaker system delivers well-amplified sound that filled my medium-sized testing room. I listened to “Blinding Lights'' by The Weeknd; the snappy synth-pop tune was finely tuned, clear and loud. Even at max volume, there was no audio distortion. Of course, the speakers aren’t the best on the market, but expecting top-of-the-line audio from a sub-$300 tablet would be asking for too much.
The Galaxy Tab A7 comes with a Dolby Atmos tuning app. Along with an Auto option are three presets: Music, Movie and Voice. Music and Movie are my top preferences to optimize the sound for punchy tunes and video content, respectively. Overall, the Samsung tablet’s speakers offer a sweet listening experience for the price.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 performance and mobile gaming
If you’ve got a bad habit of opening a boatload of apps at once, don’t worry, the Galaxy Tab A7 has got your back.
The Samsung tablet packs an octa-core Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 CPU and 3GB of RAM; I flooded the slate with several apps, including YouTube, 20 Google Chrome tabs, Spotify and Netflix without issue. To test the tablet’s app juggling prowess, I opened the Samsung Internet browser and began surfing the web. I scrolled through the Daily Mail and I breezed through several articles without any lag. Some pages took a few seconds to fully materialize, but the load time didn’t last long enough to be a concern.
On the Geekbench 5.0 overall performance benchmark, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 achieved a score of 1,405. Despite being cheaper, the Amazon Fire HD 8 smoked the Samsung tablet with a score of 2,437. The Galaxy Tab A7 had its moment of redemption when the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus could only muster up a score of 966.
When we ran the JetStream 2.0 test, which examines web-browsing performance, the Galaxy Tab A7 offered a score of 32.8. The Samsung tablet bested the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus (17.6) and the Amazon Fire HD 8 (15.2).
If you’re interested in how well mobile games run on the Galaxy Tab A7, you’ll be relieved to know that the Samsung slate can handle light gaming like a champ. Games such as Subway Runner, Among Us and Talking Tom 2 operated smoothly. I also played Call of Duty Mobile on the Galaxy Tab A7 and the first-person shooter game ran like a dream. However, when I played Asphalt 9 on the Samsung tablet, I noticed some stuttering when the car performed barrel rolls in the air, but in all other instances, Asphalt 9 did not lag.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 battery life
I was pleasantly surprised by the battery life on the Galaxy Tab A7. The Samsung tablet lasted an impressive 13 hours and 13 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test (continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits), which beats the category average (12:19). The Galaxy Tab A7 also outlasted the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus (8:55), but the Samsung tablet ran out of juice quicker than the Amazon Fire HD 8 (13:49).
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 webcam
Similar to the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet, the front-facing, 5-megapixel camera can be found on the side bezel, which encourages landscape-oriented video calls and selfies. The camera quality is exactly what you’d expect from a mid-range tablet — the definition is poor, lacks crispness and there is some visual noise. My curls lacked delineation in selfies, but on the plus side, colors were relatively accurate.
I can say the same for the rear-facing, 8-megapixel camera located on the top-left corner of the Samsung tablet — it’s simply alright. It would be unfair to say that the two cameras are awful, but they’re far from terrific.
As long as you are in a well-lit room, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7’s cameras are fine for non-professional video conferencing, but if you’re hoping to curate a high-quality Instagram account with picture and video content from this Samsung tablet, you may want to consider a device with sharper cameras.
The Galaxy Tab A7’s front-facing webcam also features facial-recognition technology for biometric authentication, which worked like a charm each time I unlocked the tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 software and warranty
The Galaxy Tab A7 runs on Android 10. The Samsung tablet has an abundance of pre-installed apps that you may find useful, including YouTube, Netflix and Spotify. You’ll also discover some popular Microsoft properties, such as Office, OneDrive and Outlook.
Galaxy Tab A7 is particularly ideal for users within the Samsung ecosystem. The 10.4-inch tablet lets users engage with compatible Samsung Galaxy devices via an easy pairing process. You can receive your phone’s notifications and texts straight to your tablet or make calls and send messages. If you have a Samsung TV, you can use the Galaxy Tab A7 to manage and control it.
Countless more apps are at your fingertips thanks to the Google Play Store where you can download popular favorites such as Among Us, Subway Surfers, Twitch, Disney+ and more.
Lastly, parents will be pleased to know that the Galaxy Tab A7 features a Kids Mode setting that transforms the tablet into a child-friendly UI with drawing apps, karaoke, games, songs and even a kid-oriented browser.
The Galaxy Tab A7 tablet comes with a one-year limited warranty. Check out our Best and Worst Brands and Tech Support Showdown reports to find out how Samsung fared this year.
Bottom line
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 won’t blow you out of the water with beastly performance scores and killer features, but it’s a mid-range tablet, so you shouldn’t expect it to. The Galaxy Tab A7 was designed to be an adequate tablet — sans all the bells and whistles — that can serve as a media consumption device that won’t break the bank. That being said, Samsung hit the nail on the head with the Galaxy Tab A7, providing a decent tablet that doesn’t have top-of-the-line specs but operates smoothly nonetheless.
The Galaxy Tab A7 shines among mid-market tablets thanks to its 13-hour battery life, colorful display and quad-speaker Dolby Atmos setup. The 10.4-inch tablet is also ideal for users seeking a slate compatible with the Samsung ecosystem for easy device pairing, whether it’s with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or a Samsung TV.
On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab A7 does have some mediocre features, including its not-so-bright display. The Fire HD 8 is brighter and more color accurate, but the Amazon tablet is riddled with annoying advertisements. Overall, if you’re on the hunt for a tablet that will offer you a lot of bang for your buck, the Galaxy Tab A7 is an excellent choice.
