The star tablet of Samsung he finally has the rival he deserved: Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), has presented its new tablets to us and we can finally take a look at a comparative which is presented as the great battle to win the title to the best tablet of 2017: iPad Pro 10.5 vs Galaxy Tab S3, Which one will you keep?
Both have improved their (very few) weak points in design
It is true that with neither of the two we have witnessed a radical change with respect to their predecessors, but it cannot be denied that both have introduced enough changes to make the renovation noticeable and it must be said that both Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), as Samsung have been completely right with the direction of the same: the iPad Pro 10.5 has streamlined its lines more (its frames have been reduced by 40%), something that had been necessary seeing how the best Android devices were evolving, and the Galaxy Tab S3 has finally embraced premium materials, with a spectacular combination of glass and metal. With regard to more practical issues, both of course already have a fingerprint reader and have their own stylus, as you already know (Apple Pencil vs S Pen). It should also be noted that both offer us an audio system with four stereo speakers.
IPad Pro 10.5 is bulkier, but makes up for it with a larger screen
As we have already said, the iPad Pro 10.5 It is more stylized, but it is difficult to improve the screen time / size of the Galaxy Tab S3 and a screen almost an inch larger, necessarily takes its toll, even if it is smaller than you would expect: the Samsung tablet, indeed, is more compact (25,06x17,41 inch against 23,73x16,9 inch) and lighter (469 grams against 429 grams). It must be said, yes, that in thickness we have a technical draw (6,1 mm against 6 mm).
Will the iPad Pro 10.5 be able to beat the Galaxy Tab S3 in image quality?
Offering almost an inch more screen on a device not much larger is certainly a major claim, but this is the section where the Galaxy Tab S3 shines brighter. As regards the resolution, in principle the iPad Pro 10.5 (2224 x 1668 against 2048 x 15236), but the truth is that it is just enough to compensate for the difference in size and maintain the pixel density of PPI 264. Instead, Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), Yes, he has insisted that he has expanded the range of colors and the level of brightness, as well as reduced reflections, and has highlighted that the refresh rate reaches 120 Hz. Unfortunately, there is little we can say here until we see them one side by side in a video comparison or we have the detailed analyzes of the experts.
The iPad Pro 10.5 should be the winner in performance
From A10X of the iPad Pro 10.5 It is perhaps the component of which we have more data, and the truth is that from everything we have heard about it, it should give the victory to the tablet of Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), in this section, even if with your Snapdragon 820 and its 4 GB RAM memory, Galaxy Tab S3 it's probably the best Android tablet at this point right now. The reality, however, is that the apple chip arrives with a 30% higher performance than the A9X, a processor that was allowed to test tablets like the Surface Pro 4 in benchmarks. The graphics performance has also improved significantly ( 40%).
Storage: internal memory vs micro-SD slot
With regard to storage capacity, the distribution of points is imposed: on the one hand, the tablet of Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), arrives with 64 GB of internal memory, which is a significant leap from the previous model and a figure that is not even Galaxy Tab S3 equal to; On the other hand, the problem that has always plagued Apple smartphones and tablets in this regard persists and that is not having a card slot micro-SD, which deprives us of the option to gain space externally.
Better cameras than we probably need in both cases
If we were strict, we would probably have to give the victory to the iPad Pro 10.5, which is on par with the Galaxy Tab S3 practically as far as the main camera (12 MP against 13 MP) and stands out a bit in what it does to the front (7 MP against 5 MP), but in practice, as always, we have to insist that for most of us, with either of us we are going to have cameras as good as we could need in a tablet.
Two promising tablets in autonomy
Those from Cupertino have assured us that they have managed to maintain 10 hours of video playback on their new iPad Pro 10.5 But, as is often the case, these estimates are of little use to us in comparing one tablet with another conclusively, even if we must recognize Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), that theirs are usually quite reliable. Our in-depth review of the Galaxy Tab S3 showed that it is doing well in this regard, so we will have to wait for comparable real-use test data to see who comes out ahead.
iPad Pro 10.5 vs Galaxy Tab S3: final balance of the comparison and price
It is possible that thanks to the improvements that Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), will enter with iOS 11 thinking specifically about improving the productivity of your tablets, your tablet is a more powerful tool to work with, but if what we want is simply to have the best tablet of the moment, thinking about a conventional use, it is possible that the scale is going to tilt from the side of the Galaxy Tab S3, with an exceptional sound and it remains to be seen if the iPad Pro 10.5 can approximate the image quality of your Super AMOLED panels.
Much will depend, as (almost) always, on our aesthetic preferences and in terms of the operating system and the price will probably again be a key factor: even despite the fact that the Galaxy Tab S3 it is much more expensive than its predecessor, $680, is still cheaper than the iPad Pro, $729, and also includes the S Pen. The difference is likely to deepen over time, because the prices of Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), do not move, while the tablet Samsung surely it will end up dropping something.
With all this in mind, what do you think? Which of the two would you choose? In the absence of getting to know the newcomer more closely, it seems to us that we have a duel higher than ever and that the two great of the tablets have lived up to expectations, at least.