The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Review
by Brandon Chester on October 15, 2015 8:00 AM ESTSystem Performance
Tablets have always been devices where performance can be pushed further than a smartphone. There's much more thermal headroom and bigger batteries to drive high performance SoCs. Both Apple and NVIDIA have SoCs that cannot feasibly be put in a smartphone due to their heat and power usage, and these chips find their way into tablets where these factors can be managed and the additional performance can be utilized by more sophisticated applications. At the same time, some vendors opt to use the same silicon in both phones and tablets. In the case of the Galaxy Tab S2, Samsung has decided to use their Exynos 5433 SoC which previously shipped in the Galaxy Note 4 Exynos.
The CPU side of Exynos 5433 is a quad core Cortex A57 cluster with a max frequency of 1.9GHz, and a quad core Cortex A53 cluster with a max frequency of 1.3GHz. The GPU is ARM's Mali-T760 MP6 GPU with a max frequency of 700MHz. On average the results should be similar to the Galaxy Note 4 Exynos, although software improvements to both the browser as well as Android itself will obviously have an impact.
As always, the first group of tests are our web browser tests to characterize JavaScript performance, followed by BaseMark OS II and PCMark to evaluate the CPU and other aspects of a device's performance.
Android, and most specifically Chrome's lackluster JavaScript performance is something we've been commenting on for a while now. On top of that, the Galaxy Tab S2 simply doesn't have Samsung's latest and greatest SoC, and these factors combined together give results that aren't very impressive when one considers how much better the iPad Air 2 performs despite being over one year old at this point.
Looking at the Javascript performance in Samsung's stock browser provides some interesting but not unexpected data. It's clear that there's a much higher degree of optimization for Samsung's SoCs in their own browser than in Chrome, which isn't surprising. However, Samsung's browser isn't without its own issues. It actually crashes in the zlib test of Google Octane, and although the incomplete score of 7354 is higher than what Chrome achieves, the fact that the JavaScript code couldn't be properly executed points to some more concerning issues than performance
The other problem with using a device's stock browser for comparisons is that Android devices shipping with Google Mobile Services also include Chrome, and in my experience users are far more likely to utilize Chrome based on their awareness of the Chrome brand than they are to use the included OEM web browser. In short, while stock browser results may give a better idea of what kind of JavaScript performance a device is technically capable of, the Chrome results are more relevant when examining the performance and experience that the average user will have.
When examining the overall score in BaseMark OS II one may think that the Tab S2 performs extremely poorly. However, when looking at the sub tests it becomes clear that the overall score is being brought down by very low storage and graphics scores. What's surprising is the large gap between the graphics resuIts on the Tab S2 and the Galaxy Note 4 Exynos which uses the same Exynos 5433 SoC. I re-ran the benchmark several times to see if there was anything strange going on but there doesn't appear to be any problem with the testing, and I'm not quite sure why there's such a large gap between the two.
Moving past storage and graphics, the Tab S2 gets fairly good scores in the web and system tests. However, it still lags very far behind the iPad Air 2, and there's really no way to excuse this when both devices cost the exact same amount.
PCMark is still an Android only benchmark so the results here will strictly be comparing to other Android tablets. Overall, the Tab S2 does well. Upon examining the sub tests it can be seen that the Tab S2 is always fairly close the top of the charts, with certain devices achieving extraordinary scores in some tests which makes the Tab S2 look comparatively slower than it would be with more devices for comparison.
Exynos 5433 is not Samsung's best silicon, and even Exynos 7420 would likely struggle to compete with an SoC designed exclusively for full sized tablets. In the end the Tab S2's performance is just not competitive with the iPad Air 2 or even the Nexus 9 which is priced at $399 and often sells for even less. If I were looking at the 8" Tab S2 I would probably consider its performance acceptable relative to the competition at that size and price, but the market segment of full sized flagship tablets costing $500 or more is a completely other story.
I think Samsung definitely needs to reconsider their process of designing tablets, and part of that has to involve using chips that befit the larger size and greater capabilities of a tablet compared to a smartphone. It's in everyone's best interest to not have one company holding an enormous performance lead in any market, and if there's any company that has the capabilities, integration, and resources to fight with Apple over the tablet performance crown I would think it would be Samsung.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
162 Comments
View All Comments
BoneAT - Friday, October 16, 2015 - link
Just a little note on my observations, Brandon.I measured a peak brightness level of 505 nits @100% white screen with auto mode on, under sunlight (actually phone flash over the light sensor). When white image was under 10% of the screen size, I measured a monumental 812 nits. The Tab S2 9.7 can get very bright under circumstances.
GreyFox7 - Friday, October 16, 2015 - link
Lackluster performance from a middling SoC. Why they heck would they put a Exynos 5433 in a tablet and try to compete head to head with iPad Air? They have better SoCs, this is just silly cost reduction but it wont sell so the result will be a complete wasted effort. More wood on the fire of declining tablet sales. Samsung, get your head examined.R. Hunt - Friday, October 16, 2015 - link
I very much doubt a more powerful SOC would make any difference in the big scheme of things, given the disparity in brand and ecosytems at this point. They're not going to sell as well as the iPad no matter what, so yeah, it's about cutting costs. There's a reason Samsung are pretty much, along with Sony, the only OEMs left still trying with high-end Android tablets.StrangerGuy - Friday, October 16, 2015 - link
It's called throwing mediocre stuff on the wall and hope something sticks.Frankly, there is so many Samsung tablets sharing the same Galaxy Tab branding from the low to the high end, coupled with not so stellar track record of providing updates for their devices that I get a complete apathy just by seeing the brand.
digitalgriffin - Friday, October 16, 2015 - link
With the poor battery performance,Poor CPU performance
Slow Graphics
Lower Resolution and smaller screen
Cheap Frame
And Expensive price
This has to be one of the WORST Tablets in it's price range.
nerd1 - Saturday, October 17, 2015 - link
I have used most tablets out there (apple one includes ipad 1, ipad air and ipad mini 3) and this one is the best for me. 8 inch one has good battery life BTW (14 hours video playback based on notebookcheck benchmark)Losttek - Saturday, October 17, 2015 - link
After my Nexus 7 died, I searched a long time for a 7-8" tablet replacement and eventually ended up with this. I tried the iPad Mini 4 and Zenpad Z580 (the $199 version since I couldn't find the $299 one in stock anywhere) but the Tab S2 was the superior option.The iPad Mini 4 is excellent hardware wise. It no longer uses a horrific screen with washed out colors and is easily comparable to the Air 2. Better than the Tab S2 even, with sharper text despite similar PPI (pentile screen at work again). Performance is quite snappy and tabs no longer had a reloading problem with 2GB of RAM. However, what killed it for me was iOS. I hate the locked down filesystem. I hate the vastly inferior notifications. I hate the crappy default keyboard, and 3rd party ones were even worse. And the list goes on and on. iOS was just to unbearable for me and I ended up returning it.
Zenpad. Oh ho, was this thing a piece of ****. Filled to the brim with ASUS bloatware that can’t be disabled, performance issues, intermittent WIFI, a bipolar screen that constantly adjusts brightness for no reason, and etc. Even at $199, it's not worth it. What's funny is the people calling this the Nexus 7 successor. Really, have you even tried using the device?
And the Tab S2. So-so battery life, but amazingly thin and light. Performance is good enough for me (I don't game) and the design feels great in the hand. The screen is good, but not superb. And unlike other Android tablets, it actually has built in multi-window support. This was the best Android tablet I could find, and I've been satisfied with it so far. But I didn't pay full price for it because I took advantage of a Best Buy promotion. Would I pay $399 for this thing? Eh, doubtful.
Android tablets are in a pitiful state right now, and the Tab S2 was the best I could find. If anyone knows of a better option, I'm all ears.
nerd1 - Saturday, October 17, 2015 - link
After trying the latest ipads and ipad minis I think tab s2 is better. Yes, the full price is silly but mine is from singapore. It is LTE version which I can use as a phone too.THEDKGUNNER - Saturday, October 17, 2015 - link
If beeing a power user means playing games, I'm not a power user, but I do have a few comments. I own a Nexus 9 and a tab s2 8.0, and seems the nexus more ore less obliterates the tab s2 in almost all those fine benchmarks. Funny thing is, my tab s2 blows the nexus out of the water in terms of fluidity, speed and feel. There's just no comparing the two.Same goes for screen. Maybe because I have the 8.0, but there is just no comparing the two. I couldn't care less about the comparison to the iPad. I just plain don't like iOS so not an issue. For an android tab though, I've tried nothing that comes close to the s2. All depends on your needs I guess, but the total bashing of this tab based on benchmarks and subjective feelings is kinda ridiculous.By the way, I love the plastic back. I can actually hold it without loosing grip. I hate that I need to have a cover on my s6 as well, just to keep it in my hands.
thedons1983 - Saturday, October 17, 2015 - link
I sure hope the software is better than it was on the first Tab S, because I hated that thing!! It was incredibly buggy and laggy, and overall was a complete disappointment. The reviews were great, but the actual experience was terrible. I hope that this review is more accurate.