Introduction:
Global mobile manufacturing giants Apple Inc. and Samsung Inc. have been producing tablets designed to compete head-to-head. The iPad by Apple’s and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab have been the flagship tablet devices offered by each company respectively, and these devices have continued to evolve over the years in terms of design, performance, and other features. Since there have been many generations of Apple iPads and Samsung Galaxy Tabs, an honest and accurate comparison of these two devices can only be done if we compare the most recent versions. In this regard, this paper shall pit the iPad Air 2 against the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 with regard to operating system features, camera resolutions (both primary and secondary cameras), screen display size and resolution, internal memory, and battery life. Other extra information such as future upgrades, accessories, device support and warranties shall also be outlined where applicable.
Apple iPad Air 2 vs. the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7:
Display and Physical Design:
In terms of physical size, the iPad Air 2 height, width and depth (HWD) dimensions are 9.40 * 6.60 * 0.24 inches and weighs just 0.96 pounds. The iPad Air 2 has an Aluminum build and comes in gray, silver or gold colors. The home button in the original iPad has been switched for the Apple Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the new model, and it lets you unlock the iPad, make online payments and even log into apps. The iPad Air 2 has a 9.7 inch LCD High-Definition (HD) display with 2048 by 1536 resolution, and a 264 pixels per inch (PPI) pixel density (Segan, 2014).
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 HWD dimensions are 9.3 by 6.7 by 0.22 inches making it slightly slimmer than the iPad Air 2. The Galaxy Tab’s 9.7 inch AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic LED display) is its major selling point since this type of screen has each pixel glowing on its own meaning there is no backlight required. Consequently, the AMOLED screen on the Galaxy Tab delivers vivid colors and even looks better when used outdoors under the sun unlike LCD models such as the iPad Air 2. The resolution on this screen is 2048 x 1536 just like the iPads. The Galaxy Tab has a plastic build which makes it lighter than the iPad since it weighs 0.86 pounds. The Galaxy Tab comes in white, gold and black colors. However, despite the different material builds, both tablets have a sleek and polished look (Radding, 2015).
Hardware Specifications, Performance, and Storage:
The Galaxy Tab S2 has a proprietary Octa-core processor, the Samsung Exynos 5433 which has four cores running at 1.9 GHz speed for performance, and the other four set to run at 1.3 GHz speeds to conserve battery power. On the other hand, the iPad Air 2 runs on Apple’s 1.5 GHz A8X 64-bit bit processor. The A8X is tri-core, and Apple has the ability to tune its processor to improve performance. Both the Galaxy Tab and iPad Air 2 offer great performance and can handle just any day to day mobile task thrown at them (Phone Arena, 2015).
In terms of RAM, the Galaxy Tab slightly edges the iPad with the former having 3 GB of RAM while the latter only has 2 GB. In this case, the Galaxy tab slightly edges the iPad Air in terms of multitasking. However, more RAM can also mean more power drain.
The iPad Air 2 comes in three versions i.e. 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB versions while the Galaxy Tab S2 only ships in 32 GB and 64 GB internal memory. However, the Galaxy Tab S2 has a slight advantage in that it has a memory slot which is expandable for up to 128 GB (Phone Arena, 2015).
Wireless Networking Capabilities:
The Apple iPad Air 2 comes with 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band Wi-Fi, that supports speeds of up to 866 Mbps which gives it great Wi-Fi reception and overall performance. One of the major additions to the iPad Air 2 networking capabilities is the inclusion of the Apple SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card and this feature is unavailable in earlier iPad models. In this case, the cellular iPad Air 2 (You have to pay extra from the cellular enabled version compared to the Wi-Fi only version) comes with a single SIM card which can be switched on the fly between three major carriers’ networks i.e. Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. These settings can be adjusted from the inbuilt iPad settings application. The Apple SIM card makes the iPad Air 2 a very flexible gadget for people who need to 4G LTE access on their tablet devices, especially when traveling around the country (Segan, 2014).
Just like the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab also supports 802.11 a/b/g/n dual bands Wi-Fi and is available in Wi-Fi only models as well as cellular options. The cellular model also supports all four major US carriers which makes it have the same advantages as the iPad in terms of flexible carrier choices (Radding, 2015).
Operating System Software:
The iPad Air 2 ships with the latest version of Apple iOS 9.0.2 mobile operating system and Apple continuously offers functionality and security updates as well as bug fixes. The Galaxy Tab, on the other hand, runs Google’s Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system, but there are expectations of future upgrades to the latest operating system version i.e. Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The iPad Air 2 also sports a new feature i.e. split-screen multitasking capability, but this feature has existed for long on the Galaxy Tab and even its previous models (Gardiner, 2015).
Ports and Speakers:
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has memory card slot. The iPad Air 2 lacks a memory expansion slot, but users can plug in a compatible flash drive in the iPad’s data port. Storage devices that fit in the iPad’s data port are available from manufacturers such as SanDisk. The Tab S2 has a standard micro USB port for data transfer and charging while the iPad has Apple’s Lightning port found in most of its devices. Both devices deliver good quality audio and have speakers located at the bottom part of the devices (Phone Arena, 2015).
Camera and Battery Life:
Warranties and Support:
Samsung provides 2-year smart care warranty for all its devices, and this covers software updates and upgrades. However, the warranty for hardware failure and faults only extends to one year (Samsung, 2016). Apple provides routine software upgrades and bug fixes over-the-air and also offers hardware warranty for a period of one year (Apple Inc., 2016). However, both companies warranty offering only cover hardware damages resulting from manufacturer errors and not damage by the user.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, both devices come at a close tie and both are recommended for productivity users who need a business tablet. However, the Galaxy Tab S2’s high-quality AMOLED screen makes this device a favorite for gamers and people who love watching movies on their tablets. The Galaxy Tab S2 also the advantage of expandable memory since the base 32GB version’s storage can still be upgraded by adding a micro SD card. The overall performance of the Galaxy Tab S2 is also better than that of the iPad since the former has 3GB of RAM. The Galaxy Tab’s main disadvantages are the less than average battery life, and the fact that the high-end tablet has a plastic case.
The iPad Air 2 has several advantages including longer battery life, a snappier operating system, and a good Aluminum build. The disadvantages of the iPad Air 2 are that it lacks a memory expansion slot, and has no USB port. Overall, in terms of performance, productivity and beauty, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 clearly edges out the iPad Air 2. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 also gives good value for money since its base model; the 32 GB version costs around $499 while the iPad Air 2 with 16 GB memory costs the same amount.
References:
Apple Inc.,. (2016). iPad Air 2 - Apple. Apple. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from http://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/
Barker, I. (2015). Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 is a great iPad Air 2 alternative [Review]. BetaNews. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from http://betanews.com/2015/12/21/samsung-galaxy-tab-s2-9-7-is-a-great-ipad-air-2-alternative-review/
Gardiner, M. (2015). iPad Air 2 Vs. Galaxy Tab S2: Which 9.7-inch Tablet Should You Buy?. iDigitalTimes.com. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from http://www.idigitaltimes.com/ipad-air-2-vs-galaxy-tab-s2-which-97-inch-tablet-should-you-buy-486729
Phone Arena,. (2015). Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7-inch vs Apple iPad Air 2 - Phone specs comparison. Phone Arena. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-S2-9.7-inch,Apple-iPad-Air-2/phones/9385,8948
Radding, B. (2015). Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7. PCMAG. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2490688,00.asp
Samsung,. (2016). Galaxy Tabs. Samsung Electronics America. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab
Segan, S. (2014). Apple iPad Air 2. PCMAG. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2470708,00.asp
