One of the more intriguing things that was showcased at the Samsung SEA Forum was a tablet called the TabPro S. Being the Korean company’s first ever tablet that runs on Windows instead of Android, the TabPro S is made to directly compete with Microsoft’s own Surface 2-in-1. While it is not available yet, we’ve managed to get some hands on experience with it, and we can safely say that the TabPro S shows promise.
On the looks department, the TabPro S can be described as clean and simple. Its overall minimalist design gives it a touch of class, all while being relatively light as it weighs around 700 grams or so, which is lighter than its rival the Surface Pro 4.
The TabPro S sports a 12-inch Super AMOLED display that has a resolution of 2160 x 1440. The screen is roughly on par with the Surface Pro 4’s but the Super AMOLED tech gives the TabPro S a slight edge over Microsoft’s tablet.
For ports, the TabPro S comes with a USB Type-C port and a headphone jack. It also comes with a single SIM slot that supports 4G LTE Cat6 connectivity and the standard NFC and Bluetooth 4.1 support.
Specifications-wise, the TabPro S that was showcased at the event sports a 2.2GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor, 4GB of RAM and a SSD that comes with either 128 or 256GB of storage space. If memory serves me right, this particular specification is almost identical to the lowest-end configuration of the Surface Pro 4.
Bundled with the TabPro S is a Type Cover-ish keyboard that doubles as a kickstand for the tablet. Much like the Surface, the keyboard attaches itself to the tablet via magnetic Pogo pins. For the most part, the keyboard functions well, but some parts of it, particularly the trackpad, feels a bit rough around the edges. Seeing as it hasn’t been released yet, Samsung could still improve upon the keyboard before it launches. Even if the keyboard isn’t improved upon, I would still be somewhat fine with it seeing as the keyboard is bundled, meaning that I wouldn’t need to purchase it seperately, something that Microsoft really should be doing by now.
As for the cameras on the TabPro S, the tablet comes with two 5MP cameras located at the front and back of the device. The cameras on the TabPro S are functional, just don’t expect any stellar imaging on them.
In conclusion, we believe that the TabPro S is a 2-in-1 tablet that could give Microsoft’s Surface line a run for its money. We wouldn’t exactly call it a Surface Killer though, as the general impression it gave us was that it is an alternative to the Surface. When all is said and done, the thing that would make or break the TabPro S would be its pricing, which hasn’t been announced yet. Whatever the case, we will give you our full verdict when the TabPro S is officially available in the market.
