Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus vs. Apple iPad Pro 12.9": which should you buy?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

For Android users, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is a solid tablet to consider. It offers plenty of appealing features for both work and play, including the superior S Pen, the ultra-fast octa-core processor, gorgeous screen, long battery life, and quad speakers. While it's pretty expensive, it's a fully-featured, premium tablet with a large enough screen to use at home or on the go.

iPad Pro (2021)

Like other Apple products, the iPad Pro works seamlessly with other Apple devices, making perfect sense if you live within the Apple ecosystem. If not, however, you can still enjoy plenty of the benefits the tablet has to offer, including gorgeous design, sleek optional Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil, and superior augmented reality (AR) app experience.

When it comes down to it, whether you buy the Samsung Galaxy S7+ or the Apple iPad Pro might depend on what ecosystem you live in. However, if you aren't tied to either, it's a close race. In terms of specs, they are almost dead even, but Samsung's fantastic S Pen experience makes the Galaxy Tab S7+ a great option for productivity. In contrast, the Apple iPad Pro, true to the brand, is great for more creative types thanks to features like the TrueDepth camera and neural-engine and LiDAR scanner for superior augmented reality (AR) experiences. That isn't to say, of course, that you can't be productive on an iPad Pro nor get creative on a Galaxy S7+.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ vs. Apple iPad Pro (2021): Head-to-head specs

The Samsung Galaxy S7+ and Apple iPad Pro have generous-sized high-resolution screens and work with optional keyboards and their own styli — the S Pen and Apple Pencil, respectively. They both offer ultra-fast processing, great integrated camera experiences, and Bluetooth connectivity.

But let's run down the key specs to see how they compare at a bare-bones level.

Looking at the specs alone, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ is the more portable of the two. It has smaller overall dimensions and is more lightweight than the iPad Pro. The iPad Pro has more built-in storage, with up to 2TB of storage space, but keep in mind that you can expand the Galaxy Tab S7+ to up to this much with an optional microSD card only if you need to versus paying upfront for storage you might not use. You also get several hours more of rated battery life with the Samsung model.

The Galaxy Tab S7+ is definitely the better option for using on the go, whereas the iPad Pro is light and small enough to take with you. Still, it might be more comfortable to use at home, especially with the delightful optional Magic Keyboard attachment.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ vs. Apple iPad Pro (2021): The look

Both tablets have impressive, bright, responsive displays along with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy Tab S7+ screen offers HDR10+ support for the entire NTSC color range and eye care certification. The iPad Pro's Liquid Retina edge-to-edge display is almost all screen, with TrueTone P3 wide color gamut support along with support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

Both come in cool color options and work seamlessly with optional keyboard attachments and their respective styli. Neither, however, has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which means you'll have to use wireless headphones or a USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter if you want to listen with wired headphones.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ vs. Apple iPad Pro (2021): Getting things done

From a productivity perspective, both tablets have nice, large screens, though Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro might be far too big for some, especially if you're opting for a tablet for the sake of portability. And some might find the 12.4-inch Galaxy Tab S7+ too big to be truly portable but too small to rival a full laptop.

The larger size of the iPad Pro, however, does give it a nice advantage when you want to get work done, especially when paired with the Magic Keyboard, which connects to it magnetically. This essentially turns the iPad Pro into a laptop. You get backlit keys, a click-anywhere trackpad, and multi-touch gestures. The trackpad for iPadOS makes the cursor contextual, so it will turn into whatever tool you need based on where it is placed on the screen. You can also adjust the angle of the keyboard.

But you can get really productive with the Galaxy Tab S7+, either with an optional Bluetooth keyboard or by using the best part about this tablet: the Samsung S Pen. While the Apple Pencil lets you do cool stuff with the iPad Pro, the Samsung S Pen just works really, really well. You can use mark-up files in Samsung Notes, write on PDFs, export content to Office, convert handwriting, and more. It's important to note that you can also use the Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro to take notes in the Notes app, mark up documents, and draw, create, and more. And it charges while magnetically attached to the iPad. Both pens are low-latency.

You get a lot more battery life out of the Galaxy Tab S7+, which is rated at up to 14 hours per charge and offers fast charging. You'll only get up to 10 hours of use per charge with the iPad Pro, but it features fast charging, too. Both charge via USB-C.

It's easy to sync files between the Galaxy Tab S7+ and your phone, and you can do the same with the iPad Pro and other Apple devices. And with both, you can multitask with ease thanks to the super-fast processors: Apple's M1 chip is blazing fast.

However, the Galaxy Tab S7+ is the king of productivity here. You can use its smart home dashboard to manage connected smart appliances and even answer phone calls from your tablet using the auto hotspot feature. It also has Samsung DeX desktop interface, even though some users have found it to be finicky at times.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ vs. Apple iPad Pro (2021): Capturing memories

Both Samsung and Apple have been upping their games for photography, and these two tablets are no exception.

The Galaxy Tab S7+ has an 8MP front camera for selfies, video calls, and more, along with a 13MP rear camera and 5MP camera with auto-focus, flash, and the ability to shoot up to 4K videos at 30FPS. Apple loaded a ton of photo features into the iPad Pro, including not only great front and rear cameras for chatting via FaceTime, taking Portrait selfies, and more, but also features like auto-focus, smart HDR, and auto image stabilization. You can record up to 4K videos with this camera at up to 60FPS, along with slow-motion and time-lapse videos. The eight-core graphics processor Is ideal for editing 4K videos, 3D designs, and AR applications.

Speaking of AR, what sets the iPad Pro apart here is the neural engine for on-device machine learning and the LiDAR scanner that enhance the experience with next-generation AR apps. You can view them realistically, complete with adjusting the view to place AR images in front or behind real-world objects.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ vs. Apple iPad Pro (2021): Which is best?

When considering everything, you might find better value with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+. You can grab one for less money (when compared to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro) and enjoy considerably longer rated battery life and an unbeatable experience with the Samsung S Pen, which comes in the box - no need to buy one separately like with the Apple Pencil. There's a reason why the Galaxy Tab S7+ remains one of the best Android tablets on the market right now.

That said, if you're looking for a mobile laptop replacement, especially for creative tasks like sketching, drawing, and taking notes, Apple's iPad Pro is a worthy competitor. However, if this is the case, you'll almost definitely also want to invest in the Magic Keyboard, at which point you're paying as much for a MacBook Air anyway.

Both offer compelling productivity features, but those with more creative sensibilities and fans of Apple will naturally gravitate to the iPad Pro. But for an all-around great tablet for both productivity and fun, you can't go wrong with the Galaxy Tab S7+.