Samsung Galaxy TabPro S

GALAXY TABPRO S – DESIGN AND KEYBOARD

Design isn’t an area in which Samsung’s mobile division has traditionally been strong. The brand's opening wave of Galaxy Tabs and Galaxy smartphones universally featured plastic, slightly cheap-feeling finishes.
Recently, however, the company has managed to buck this trend with its smartphones, delivering truly gorgeous handsets such as its shiny new Galaxy S7. The Galaxy TabPro S is the first sign I’ve seen of Samsung’s improved design philosophy extending into the tablet space.
As tablets go, the device is outright stunning. The 12-inch convertible’s Gorilla Glass front and slightly rubberised back plate are housed within a classy metal frame. The combined effect makes it look like the tablet version of the Galaxy S7.
Samsung has designed the Galaxy TabPro S for use in a landscape, not portrait, position – like most convertible tablets outside of the iPad Pro. This may be an issue for those who want to use the device as an e-reader replacement on the commute to work.

 Unlike the iPad Pro, MateBook and Surface convertibles, the Galaxy TabPro S comes bundled with a keyboard dock. This is a huge deal, since competing devices charge as much as £120 for their keyboards.
With this dock in mind, the tablet’s aspect ratio makes slightly more sense; it means the Galaxy TabPro is one of a select few convertibles capable of functioning as a semi-laptop-replacement straight out of the box.
The device is also about as portable as you can get, with the ultra-thin keyboard doubling as a screen cover when closed – you'll be able to throw the Galaxy TabPro into your satchel without worrying.
The tablet has accompanied me to and from the office for more than a fortnight now and it's survived a variety of interesting encounters. The most concerning was an accidental meeting with a set of train doors, which the device survived unscathed.
Eariler I described the Galaxy TabPro S as only a "semi-laptop-replacement", and this is because there are a few serious flies in the ointment. Chief among these is the TabPro S's dire connectivity options.
The tablet section of the Galaxy TabPro S has a single USB Type-C charging port – and that’s it. There’s no micro-DisplayPort, SD, or full-sized USB ports. There isn't even a back-up micro-USB. The keyboard is similarly lacking when it comes to connectivity. Unless you’re willing to shell out more cash for a multi-port adapter, you’re going to have zero wired connectivity options.
I understand that Samsung has designed the Galaxy TabPro S to be as travel-friendly as possible, but with prolonged use the device’s lack of ports becomes a serious issue. On too many occasions I found myself wanting – but unable – to carry out basic tasks such as connecting the Galaxy TabPro S to my scanner, or pulling files from a USB stick.



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