Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 11" SM-T870 Black 2020

With a CPU that sits at the 98th percentile, this thing is still one of the fastest Android tablets for the dollar. The 120Hz display and two-day battery life are the real stars, but the aging Android 10 base and occasional S Pen Bluetooth quirks keep it from being a no-brainer. Grab a cheap renewed model and you've got a killer media slate; overpay and you'll regret it.

The Snapdragon 865 Plus inside this thing lands in the 98th percentile for CPU performance across all tablets in our database, which is pretty wild for a device you can often find renewed for under $300. Pair that 8-core chip with an Adreno 650 GPU that sits at the 97th percentile, and you've got a tablet that handles multitasking, gaming, and even some light DeX work without much fuss. The 11-inch 2560x1600 LCD runs at 120Hz, so scrolling and animations feel buttery smooth, and the 8000mAh battery routinely pushes through a full day of streaming or note-taking. Those are some serious hardware highlights that haven't aged into irrelevance yet.

But here's the kicker: this is a renewed model, and the price range across vendors is a staggering $248 to $5,167. We'd laugh off anything near the high end, obviously, but the low end makes this tablet fascinating. Owners consistently praise the vibrant display and marathon battery life, and Samsung's S Pen is included. However, real-world feedback reveals some persistent annoyances: S Pen Bluetooth quirks, missing accessories in renewed boxes, and the simple fact that Android 10 is the end of the software road for this slate. So you're buying flagship-era hardware on a strict budget with a side of compromises you can't ignore.

Our benchmarks place the Galaxy Tab S7's CPU performance at the absolute top of the class for Android tablets, beating out 98% of devices we've tested. In practical terms, that means app launches, split-screen multitasking, and even heavier games run with very little lag. The Adreno 650 GPU likewise sits in the 97th percentile, so you can push demanding 3D titles at respectable frame rates. With Wi-Fi 6 and optional cellular connectivity also ranking in the 97th percentile, wireless performance is fantastic whether you're at home or on the go.

The 6GB of RAM is the most underwhelming spec on paper, landing right at the 52nd percentile. That's average, not bad, but it can be a bottleneck if you're the type to keep dozens of browser tabs and apps suspended. For the typical media consumption, light productivity, and note-taking that owners seem to use this for, it's a non-issue. The 120Hz refresh rate makes every interaction feel snappy, and the display's DCI-P3 coverage (we see it sit around 80th percentile for screen quality) means Netflix and YouTube look punchy and sharp, even if it's not an OLED.

The price spread on this tablet is absurd, ranging from $248 to over $5,100 across vendors. The sweet spot is absolutely at the bottom of that range. Grab a Galaxy Tab S7 renewed for around $250 to $300, and you're getting a 120Hz flagship tablet with a top-tier chip and a decent S Pen for less than most budget slates. At that price, the missing Android updates and occasional S Pen hiccup become far easier to swallow. Just avoid anything priced above $400, because at that point you're wandering into newer, supported territory like the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro, which makes the Tab S7 look like an ancient artifact in software terms.

Stacked against the Apple iPad Pro M4, the Galaxy Tab S7 gets absolutely trounced in raw compute and app ecosystem, but you're also talking about a device that costs several hundred dollars less when renewed. The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro offers newer Android guts and a better update promise, though its GPU doesn't quite touch the Tab S7's 97th percentile Adreno 650. The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro and Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition both aim for productivity use cases where the Tab S7's middling 67.1 productivity score becomes a real problem—if you need full desktop expansion, those are the better picks. But for pure media and casual drawing, the Tab S7's display and chip combo still outpace cheaper rivals like the HOTWAV R9 Ultra 5G, which can't match its screen quality or social proof (4.6 stars over 1,916 reviews gives the Samsung an 87th percentile credibility boost).

If your workflow demands extensive multitasking or full desktop-class productivity, this tablet's 67.1 out of 100 productivity score and 6GB of RAM will feel tight pretty fast. Anyone who can't stomach running an old Android version with no more security patches should look elsewhere—maybe a newer Xiaomi Pad or an iPad. And if you rely on the S Pen's Bluetooth features (like remote camera shutter) to be rock-solid, the mixed user reports suggest you'll likely run into frustration.

If you can land a renewed unit at the lower end of the price spectrum and you don't mind living on an older version of Android, the Galaxy Tab S7 delivers an absurd amount of horsepower and one of the nicest 120Hz LCDs we've seen for the money. The S Pen experience remains above average for jotting notes, and the battery life is legitimately great according to most buyers. Just accept that software support has sailed and that some renewed boxes arrive without the original fast charger or extra S Pen nibs. For the price of a fancy dinner, you're getting a tablet that can still handle 97th percentile GPU tasks with ease—that's hard to beat.