Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 hands-on: A better tablet than we expected

Usually, Samsung uses MWC to announce its new Galaxy S flagship. This year, though, the South Korean tech giant decided to delay the announcement for reasons we've talked about numerous times. So, the most exciting device we got was the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3. And while it doesn't compensate for the lack of a Samsung flagship, the Galaxy Tab S3 is a very solid tablet. And we're happy to bring you our first-hand impressions of the newest Samsung tablet.

The first Android tablet with a glass back

The Galaxy Tab S3 goes where no Android tablet has gone before – to glass-back land. While this design has worked for smartphones, only time will tell how this approach will work for the Galaxy Tab S3.

Other than that, the design of the Galaxy Tab S3 is pretty standard – flat front, housing the 9.7-inch display, and the standard set of buttons, with the home button having the embedded fingerprint scanner; and a flat back with the camera at the top. It's nothing inspiring or groundbreaking, but it works.

What's new in the design is the quad-speaker setup. The speakers themselves are professionally tuned by AKG, and they deliver a very satisfying sound, which is also pretty loud.

There are two covers available for the tablet – one with a keyboard and one without. Both work as both covers and stands, but the way they fold out and in is somewhat counter-intuitive and takes some time to figure out. Once you get the hang of it, though, they stop being awkward to use.

The keyboard is what really surprised us. It attaches with pogo pins to the tablet itself, and it's rather pleasant to use. Most tablet keyboard provide a disappointing level of comfort and tactile feedback, but this is not the case here. In fact, for such a small keyboard, it feels pleasantly clicky. Of course, it's nowhere near a laptop or a mechanical keyboard, but no one really expects it to be. This is why it receives a thumbs up from us.

The entire package measures at 9.34 x 6.65 x 0.23 inches (237.3 x 169 x 6 mm) and weighs 15.13 oz (429 g). The weight varies, though, as there is an LTE-enabled variation which adds 0.27 oz (15 g) to it. Still, the device feels pretty lightweight.

And as we talk about design, the accompanying S Pen also got some love. The tip of the stylus was trimmed down to just 0.7 mm, and its pressure sensitivity was improved for better writing experience. Not only that, but its body was enlarged, which really makes it feel like an actual pen, instead of an awkward toothpick.

Additionally, the hardware on the S Pen was obviously improved, as it can now sense when it's tilted slightly. In some apps this can produce different results, such as a thicker stroke when drawing, for example. A nice little touch that shows Samsung's dedication to details.

Samsung is betting on AMOLED with this one

The display on the Galaxy Tab S3, as expected, is a 9.7-inch Super AMOLED one. Its aspect ratio is 4:3, just like its predecessor's, so no surprises there. The resolution sticks to 1536 x 2048 pixels, just like before, so the pixel density of 264 ppi also remains unchanged.

With the Tab S3's new hardware you'll also get HDR 10 support, but the HDR content is still in somewhat limited supply. Trying to remedy that, Samsung partnered with Amazon for this one, so users can get instant access to HDR original videos.