Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e- 128GB, Wifi Tablet - SM-T720NZDLXAR, Gold

So my old Samsung Tab S2 finally broke -- it was still working fine but it fell. I then thought: "It's 2020, I should try out a cheap low-to-mid-range brand, surely they've come a long way." Well, not really. I spend $200 on a Vankhyo tablet with case and pen (P31); when I first got it, the heft of the tablet, the pre-applied screen protectors (front and back, back is glass too), the fact that it came with Android 10 pre-installed, etc., gave me a somewhat good impression. But the quality of the IPS screen and UI and many other things on the cheaper tablet left much to be desired. There is one thing that econo-tablets lack: finesse. Well, that and just good hardware. This Samsung S5e tablet has all that and it makes a huge difference.The screen of the S5e is just leagues above cheap tablets. It is, of course, an AMOLED display which allows for very deep blacks. I'm talking about black as night blacks. Most of my reading I do at night, and the fact that (when you invert the text) the black can get pretty much as deep black as the bezels is just incredible. The resolution is 2560 x 1600 with pretty high pixel density and that makes for fine/crips lines and detail. My Tab S2 had all this too (and at only 8 inches!) and it's a must if you're reading with the lights off because you don't want a light-haze to blast your eyes right before you're going to sleep. The Vankhyo tablet, even though it had a pretty good resolution at 1200x1920 (IPS screen), could not achieve deep blacks. In fact, everything including videos just looked washed out. So if you're using your tablet to read at night or you appreciate good contrast in videos I would really recommend you get a tablet with an AMOLED (or: OLED) display that can achieve deep blacks. Cheaper tablets from Samsung that have IPS/TFT screens, although quite good, also can't achieve deep blacks like AMOLED can, although they're probably better than cheaper non-brand tablets. For example the new Samsung A7 does not have an AMOLED screen and it achieves a minimum brightness (or maximum darkness) of: 3.66 cd/m², whereas the S5e gets: 1.74 cd/m² -- so from that you can see how much darker the screen of the S5e can get at half the A7's value.A 10.5 screen is quite big for a tablet, especially when mainly used for reading books. In a way I prefer the 8 inch Tab S2 that I had because it's such a good size to hold in your hand and move around and has a better aspect ration for my use. Samsung has stopped making high end 8 inch tablets, but I'm hoping they'll return to that because there is utility to these. The Tab S2 has 4:3 ratio which is better suited to reading/editing documents and books. Widescreen tablets are really geared toward media consumption (i.e., movies, series, videos) but there is so much else you can do with a tablet that I think it shouldn't be given that much emphasis -- or at least they should offer 4:3 options as well. The S5e has a 16:10 ratio and if you read books in contiguous mode it is quite enjoyable. Since it's quite a large screen, you can keep the tablet at a greater distance which, depending on your position, can be useful.Everything from the material finish to the UI to the smoothness of operation to the overall feel just exudes quality and finesse. Yes, it cost $349 at my time of buying but the extra $ over the econo-tablets is more than worth it. I am sure that, for most people, the new Samsung A7 will be just fine as well and it currently sells at $249 and is going to be better than any cheap- or non-brand tablet. No. 1 for tablets are Samsung and Apple, of course; if you're already tied into the Apple eco-system it makes sense to go with Apple, but otherwise Samsung is king. If you have a PC and just want to drop some music or PDFs onto the tablet, it is way easier with an Android device. Apple's closed system makes it so you have to install iTunes on PC, etc.; just a hassle really, so I'd recommend going with Samsung for ease of use unless you have all Apple devices already.I think it's a sport for Samsung and Apple to make devices as thin and feature-rich as possible, but personally I wouldn't mind having the device a little thicker if it somehow increases longevity. I would also rather have a 3.5mm headphone jack rather than only the USB-C port and the headphone converter dongle. I did test the USB-to-3.5mm dongle with some Sennheiser corded headphones and the sound was good. The sound over the tablet speakers is surprisingly good. The A7 does have a 3.5 jack still so if that is important to you maybe get the A7 instead. All high-end tablets by Samsung have left behind the 3.5mm jack in favor of just a USB port. I don't like having wireless devices *on my head* for any great length of time so I'll always want wired headphones.The S5e is kind of the sweet spot right now. Its price is much lower than the newer high-spec tablets but you get a premium tablet with great picture and sound, and it is still getting Android updates from Samsung. When I received the tablet, Android 9 was installed on it. After configuring I checked for updates and it downloaded Android 10 (~2gb in size). After this installed and I rebooted, I checked for updates again and a 700mb November update was then installed. I read that this tablet is also slated to receive Android 11 (and UI 3.0 that comes with it) so it is still future proof for a while.If I had to find some negatives, I'd probably say that the touch swipes and such don't always quite register as I intend, but I don't think it's due to any hardware issue with the screen so it could just be an Android 10 thing. When I swipe up to get past the lock screen, it will require a more thorough (greater distance) swipe upwards to actually unlock it, while I would think that the movement in itself should indicate what I want to achieve and that it shouldn't require me to travel as great a distance. One the Tab S2 I would just do a half-hearted swipe up with my thumb while holding the tablet with the same hand and that would unlock it, but not so much with this tablet. I like the power button being inverted, whilst the volume button lever is extraverted (so you can easily tell the difference between the two) but, at least with a case around it, I often find myself having to feel around and then use my nail to "get in there" to press the power button.In summary: this is a great, high quality tablet and is the current sweet spot for people wanting a Samsung tablet with high-res AMOLED display. It is worth the extra money over cheap exotic brand "high spec" tablets. If an unknown brand tablet has similar specs like 4gb of RAM, 64gb of storage, etc., it doesn't mean it will perform the same -- it won't. Samsung tablets are at another level. This performs better in most things than a Samsung S6 Lite (it being in the price range of the S5e). The processor and graphics on the S5e are better, however the S6 Lite has an S-Pen included. The S5e does not support the S-Pen and doesn't offer palm-rejection, so if you need S-Pen functionality in this price range you're better off with the S6 Lite.

I have mostly Apple and some Windows stuff, including a MS Surface Go tablet w/MS keyboard, and an iPad Pro 10.5" with Apple keyboard. I always wanted to try a Samsung tablet, but didn't want to spend a lot for an S6, so compromised with an S5e for a significantly lower price, but which still has great specs and terrific reviews. I have to say I'm very, very impressed. As an Apple guy, I seldom find products that match Apple's in quality - this clearly does.I like my Windows Surface Go - with its excellent Microsoft keyboard with embedded touchpad and mouse capability, it's the closest small tablet I have seen in approximating a desktop environment and usability. However, the processor is decent but not extremely strong, and battery life is just OK. I absolutely LOVE my iPad Pro as an entertainment and communication device, and it's extremely powerful, but it's awkward to use as a laptop replacement. This Samsung does all of it well. The keyboard doesn't have a touchpad, but you can easily add a bluetooth mouse, and in DEx mode, it's just like using a laptop - it may be Android based, but it's fast, slick, and runs all the critical stuff (MS Office, Chrome, my many home control apps, email, etc).I added some pictures of the Surface Go, the iPad Pro (last gen., not the newest one), and the Samsung S5e in the middle. I initially bought an aftermarket keyboard which I wasn't crazy about, and found the Samsung keyboard for this device at a local store on sale and have to say it's the best fit. It clasps to the tablet in much the same way the iPad does with connectors, and doesn't require a bluetooth connection or charging. Plus, the Samsung keyboard cover folds to a much slimmer profile than the aftermarket ones do.Screen quality - phenomenal - every bit as good as an iPad, maybe even better in terms of color saturation. The Samsung device is noticeably smaller than an iPad Pro, but actually has more usable screen area due to its different aspect ratio and smaller bezels. All three machines here actually have good retina-like screen quality, though the iPad and the Samsung are both brighter than the Surface Go.Sound - plenty loud and clear. Four speakers. Comparable to what an iPad offers.Battery life - haven't had this long enough to fully evaluate, but it's been booted up and on battery power for about 5 hours and is still at 71% charge with mixed use. As good as or better than my iPad. Seems excellent so far. The Surface Go is the weakest of the three, probably lasting 5-6 hours on a full charge. Have not had a chance to determine how well it holds a charge when off; Apple devices are typically outstanding.Interface - The Samsung in standard mode has a typical Android interface. Not QUITE as slick as the iPad's, but close. However, I fell in love with the DeX mode (first picture), which is as usable as any Windows or Mac desktop. In fact, I had a small Logitech bluetooth mouse, and it installed easily and I can click around on the desktop like a regular laptop. It's fast and responsive. I plan on using mine in DeX mode 100% of the time. You can customize the desktop and place icons on it just as in any desktop environment. I downloaded MS Office, and Excel and Word open quickly and are completely usable - and with a mouse, it's much easier to use them, especially Excel, than it is on an iPad, despite the iPad Pro's stellar processor.Specs - This S5e is extremely thin, about as thin as an iPad, and much thinner than the S4. Much thinner than the Surface Go, but about the same weight. I got the 128GB version, which comes with 6 GB RAM. Has a gorgeous, bright 2560x1600 screen. The iPad Pro has 4GB for comparison. Comes with adaptive brightness turned on by default, but you can turn it off. Has a strong Qualcomm 670 processor which seems responsive and quick. EVERYTHING responds and opens quickly. The S6 tablet does have somewhat better specs, but I find the S5e completely satisfying in terms of speed, and this is coming from an iPad Pro.Storage - the base S5e comes with 64 GB on-board storage and 4 GB RAM. The next level up comes with 128GB and 6 GB RAM., which is what mine has. To get more base storage, you need to move to the S6. It also has a slot that holds a micro SD card, behind a door on the side you have to pull off with a little pin (included), similar to the door that hides a SIM card on a phone. So, the SD card is not visible at all when inserted, which is nice. There is a "My Files" app that allows you to access and copy files. I even transferred about 15 GB of files to the SD card on this tablet with a USB-C drive from my Mac without issue. It's a bit strange in that there's no "Paste" function; you "Copy" from one drive/folder and then "Copy" TO the target drive/folder. When I had the external drive attached, the internal storage, SD card, and the external USB drive all showed up in the File manager.You can also download and install a OneDrive app to allow access to your Microsoft files. I installed it and it works well. I also installed Google Drive with no issue. There's a third-party iCloud app which I didn't try. You can install apps from Google Play or the Samsung app store.Accessories - as stated, I got the Samsung keyboard, which seems to be a better fit and slimmer than the aftermarket keyboards, and allows connection via the connectors on the side of the tablet and therefore doesn't require a battery powered, bluetooth connection. I also got a capacitive stylus which doesn't require a battery like many of the pends out there. I read the Samsung S-pen does NOT work with this device, so make sure you get a compatible pen.Security - this tablet allows you to set up access via a PIN, facial recognition, or fingerprint reader. The Surface Go allows a PIN< password, or facial recognition (Windows Hello) but the iPad doesn't do facial recognition. The iPad allows fingerprint authentication, but the Windows Surface Go doesn't. The Samsung allows all of it. In addition, there are numerous security features that will allow you to keep the screen unlocked if you have a trusted device nearby, or if you designate a trusted location, like your address. Cool as heck and neither the Apple nor windows versions have that. I will say the Samsung facial recognition doesn't work well when I have reading glasses on, and I have to remove them to use it - Windows Hello seems to work equally well whether I have glasses on or not.All in all, I am loving this thing, For the price, it's an absolute bargain relative to its competition, and the quality feel and fit and finish are easily equal to any Apple product. If you have a Samsung infrastructure but don't want to spend big bucks on an S6, get this - you won't be sorry.