IPad 2017 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Is Apple’s £339 iPad good enough to compete with the likes of the £599 Samsung Galaxy Tab S3? While the Galaxy Tab S3 has had a warm welcome in the UK with its Super AMOLED display and 6mm thick body, Apple’s iPad has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. Here, we breakdown the differences between the 2017 iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 to help you decide which is best.
Interested in buying an iPad, but not sure which is right for you? Take a look at our iPad buying guide.
UK pricing and availability
Apple’s new iPad, the successor to the iPad Air 2, was announced and released in March 2017. Before we go any further, this year’s iPad isn’t related to the ‘Pro’ iPad series that Apple launched back in 2016, and the pricing reflects this. In terms of Wi-Fi only models, interested users can pick up a 32GB iPad for £339, or can splash out £429 for the 128GB variant – both are available from the Apple Store.
What about Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S3, you ask? It’s safe to say that it’s the more expensive option, setting potential users back £599 from the likes of Currys PC World following a March 2017 reveal.
That’s enough to buy the iPad with 128GB of storage and still have change left over. Is it worth the extra £140? We’ll let you decide once we break down the specs of the two 2017 tablets.
Design and build
The design of Apple’s iPad has remained largely unchanged for years, offering the same aluminium unibody with curved edges for improved ergonomics and a bright, high-resolution 9.7in display. It measures in at a 240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm and weighs 469g, making it thicker and heavier than not only the ultra-sleek Galaxy Tab S3 but also its predecessor, the iPad Air 2.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S3 is inspired by the company’s smartphone design and much like this year’s Samsung Galaxy S8, the Tab S3 features an all-glass back. It’s sleek and stylish if not a bit of a fingerprint magnet, and manages to be smaller, thinner and lighter than Apple’s iPad at 237.3 x 169 x 6 mm and 429g.
Both the iPad and Galaxy Tab S3 feature physical Home buttons on the front of the devices, and each feature a fingerprint scanner for security-related purposes. While the iPad only has a single Home button, the Galaxy Tab S3 features two additional touch capacitive buttons, allowing Android users to go back a single step or quickly access the multitasking window. You can also access the multitasking menu on the iPad by double-clicking the Home button.
That’s not the only similarity between the two 9.7in tablets either: both the iPad and Galaxy Tab S3 feature four stereo speakers, two at the top and two at the bottom of the display. Both should provide clear, crisp stereo sound, although Samsung has a trick up its sleeve. While Apple’s speakers were developed in-house, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S3 speakers were tuned by HARMAN.
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