Samsung once started a new hefty phone market with the Galaxy Note. Then in Berlin everyone wondered why such a big screen. Already at that time, a rethinking of mobile productivity began. Samsung has long wanted to offer a versatile device for full-fledged office work on the go. Today I got a very interesting Galaxy Note PRO 12.2 tablet in my hands: it is huge, it has an S-Pen (smart pen), and it is all so stylish and beautiful. Let's take a look at this leather-bound giant...
No, the binding is definitely not leather. This is plastic, designed to resemble a leather notebook as much as possible. I think everyone who held devices with such a design will confirm that the sensations are really like from a leather notebook. I even had to prove to one girl for a long time that this was not a natural material, but good plastic. In general, I am from the category of fans of such a decision.
As with all devices of this design idea, the side faces are made of chrome-plated plastic. On the bottom are the Home, Back buttons and the multitasking menu button. Above is a 2-megapixel camera and the company logo. The relatively small bezels make the whole tablet feel rather modest despite having one of the largest screens at 12.2 inches.
On the back, there is an 8-megapixel camera with flash and another logo. On the right side is a deep pen slot with a bunch of features called the S-pen. There is also a MicroUSB 3.0 connector, the first speaker, a SIM card slot and a MicroSD card slot. On the left side there is a second speaker and a headset jack. Top – paired volume button and off button, microphone and infrared port.
I'm trying to imagine a person who will use such a healthy tablet as a TV or air conditioner remote control, although maybe the infrared port is here for some other needs. And yes, it didn’t seem to you that the tablet has a SIM card slot. By connecting a headset, you can talk while working on the tablet. The second option is to use a Bluetooth headset. There are no problems at all. But, in my opinion, the most adequate use of such opportunities, of course, is not to make calls, but to use the Internet on the go.
The most impressive thing about this tablet is the screen. 12.2 inches accommodates a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels. The device is powered by an Exynos 5400 Octa processor clocked at 1.9GHz. The operating system is Android 4.4 KitKat. At first, I was a little worried that 3 GB of RAM for such hardware and a screen might not be enough, but a few days of active use dispelled my fears. Built-in memory 32 GB, but do not worry, the memory can be expanded using microSD memory cards.
Here, it seems, the company has worked the most. A special shell with widgets can occupy both 4 and 5 screens. News, weather, phone, notes, market, browser, office, calendar, file manager, all kinds of hubs and content aggregators - all this is already preinstalled in the tablet and is not a dead weight. All these features are quite usable. Sasha, for example, dashed off a whole article on how to use his pearl. I happily use the calendar and TouchWiz dialer all the time when I have a Samsung device in my hands.
There are also standard Android features that allow you to install Gmail widgets, bring the most frequently used applications to the desktop for quick launch. A one-finger swipe from the top side brings up the notifications panel, the same two-finger swipe brings up the quick settings menu with a bunch of toggle switches. Here you can turn on / off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, airplane mode, screen rotation and much more. There is a “Reading Mode”, in which the light scale of the screen is translated into a softer and “papery” tone, but only in special applications for reading books.
I love it when software developers take full advantage of large screens. Therefore, I appreciated the radically redesigned tablet settings system. All of them are divided into 4 areas: “Connection”, “Device”, “Management” and “General”. By the way, this tablet has the largest number of settings that I have seen in mobile devices. It seems to me that in a modern ultrabook on Windows 8 there are fewer options for customizing it.
Of the interesting, I note the function of accelerating the network. If you enable this mode, one file will be uploaded to the Internet partly via Wi-Fi, partly via mobile Internet. This makes sense when the Wi-Fi is not fast in a cafe.
There is a Screen Mirroring function that allows you to fumble the image from the tablet screen to external displays that support this function through the air. It could very well be a Samsung TV.
Fine-tuning the font, notification bar, display, and multi-window mode will allow you to appreciate the gigantic resolution of the large screen. I won't go into some very useful features, but just list them: multi-user mode, gestures, built-in synchronization with dropbox, security features (in particular, encrypted login and remote control). In general, I can say that the Samsung Galaxy Note PRO 12.2 is as close as possible to an ordinary computer in terms of functionality.
I can't wait to announce a little experiment that I'm starting. Within one month, I will try to completely abandon the use of a Windows computer in favor of this device. I will periodically acquaint you with my difficulties and joys, and I will specially mark the materials that will be published during this period so that it is clear to you that it is quite possible to work with such a device ... I hope :)
First of all, I’ll say that there is bluetooth here, which means that it’s not a problem to connect a bunch of everything over the air. In my case, I connected the keyboard, headset and mouse, while charging was plugged into the USB. On another day, I connected my SteelSeries Sensei RAW gaming mouse to MicroUSB via an adapter - the same setup, but everything works. If necessary, you can connect a USB hub to a MicroUSB-to-USB adapter and plug in a good keyboard, a good mouse, and an external 1 TB screw. At the same time, the device will not charge, but it will become a hundred times more pleasant and faster to perform office tasks on it.
By the way, in this mode, I worked the whole working day from 9 to 7 without recharging, while I used a tablet for telephone conversations with a wireless headset, browsed the Internet, wrote to Twitter and Facebook. In short, autonomy is enough not to take charging with you to the office.
A complete pen, or stylus, or smart pen, in short, S Pen is a very interesting tool. Optionally, it can be configured so that when the user removes it, the touch display stops responding to touch and only responds to the stylus. Thus, you can safely put the brush on the screen and write as it is already customary to do with a regular pen. You can also “hover” the menu cursor without touching the screen to make a drop-down list appear. Previously, it was impossible to do this with your fingers.
Of the branded accessories, there is a keyboard-stand-cover, made in the same “leather” style. When closed, the keyboard protects the screen of the tablet and prevents the entire structure from slipping, which means it reduces the number of scratches. By itself, it is no different from all portable ones - flimsy, reduced, and you need to get used to it. The location of some buttons raises questions. And another joke is that there is a LANG key, which, as it were, hints at changing the input language with one click, but no, the keyboard layout is changed by the Ctrl + Space combination (I already noticed this combination somewhere :)).
There is also a universal set of keyboard and mouse. It is more stylish, also wireless, the mouse is made “under the skin”. This whole set is quite decently assembled for such an accessory and is suitable for stationary work at the table with this tablet.
By the way, having connected a mouse and keyboard, the first thing I thought about was to install Dead Trigger 2 and try to play the usual shooter with W, A, S, D and a mouse. But, unfortunately, this option did not work.
I give an idea for a startup: to make a shooter for Android that would support “classic” control from the keyboard and mouse.
I understand that in the list of people who would need it, there is only me ... But still!
Another surprise is to receive an incoming call by dragging the green circle from left to right with the mouse, a kind of mouse-swipe.
Big tablet, with all the consequences. First of all, you need to understand its positioning. This thing is primarily for work and people who want to get rid of a Windows laptop and are not afraid to experiment. Strict business design, smart pen S Pen and software stuffing testify to the business orientation of the device. The huge resolution of the beautiful screen allows you to conveniently work with documents, browser and media content. In true Samsung tradition, the connectivity features make this hefty tablet a phone to use.
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How to apply 12.2 inch tablet in your life? I think that Samsung asked this question for a long time before approving the development Galaxy Note Pro 12.2- a device that stretches the maximum dimensions of what is called a tablet.
I am also interested in this question, and besides, it is annoying that such dimensions put this tablet dangerously close to 11 and 13 inch laptops, which are currently divorced in huge numbers.
In addition, the larger screen also inflates the price: $750 for the 32GB model and $850 for the 64GB variant. Both of these tablets are WiFi-only, with LTE models due soon (Samsung hasn't announced pricing yet). The company states that Note Pro 12.2 is not aimed at the average consumer, but at the advanced user. Whatever that means.
In terms of design, the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 isn't far behind other Samsung tablets. In fact, this device is a copy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, just a different size. There's also plastic leather and stitching, and a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel display. So what, besides the big screen, makes the Note Pro 12.2 different from other devices in the series, and how does it work out its far from low cost? Let's find out.
However, my prejudices were dispelled immediately, as I examined and felt Note Pro live. What I thought was a silly design overhead turned out to be a good move by Samsung. Somehow, they managed to give the device a professional look: the black leather texture goes very well with the rest of the design and makes the tablet look expensive. The Note Pro 12.2 looks so good that you can almost forgive it for its price. Nearly.
As I wrote earlier, Note Pro 12.2 can be easily confused with the elongated Note 10.1 of 2014. Both of them are eerily similar to each other and even their ports are located in similar places. On top of the sides, speakers are installed on the device. In the upper right corner is the S Pen compartment, below it there is a microSD card slot and a USB 3.0 port. On the top left, you will also find a headphone hole and power and volume buttons, and an infrared port is installed on top.
The front of the Note Pro 12.2 has remained unchanged: the Samsung logo is still looking at us from the top of the frame, and the physical buttons are still installed at the bottom.
Speaking of bezels, apparently, Samsung has finally found its ideal size and now the user always has somewhere to put his fingers without fear of accidentally pressing the touchscreen. At the same time, the bezel width doesn't take away any screen space, not to mention that at 295.6mm by 203.9mm, Samsung didn't have the right to make this tablet even bigger. However, it should be said that for its size it is very light (750g) and thin (7.95mm). These two words rarely accompany devices of this type, and Samsung should be thanked for the effort.
On top of that, you are given the choice between 32GB and 64GB of storage, and you should be aware that only 25 of the 32GB is available for personal use. Thankfully, you can expand the space using a microSD card, so storage shouldn't be an issue. The tablet also houses a massive 9,500mAh battery that powers a huge 12.2-inch screen with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600.
Of course, since this device uses the S Pen, Samsung has loaded several apps on the tablet to work with this stylus. Action Memo, Scrapbook, sketchbook, as well as S note, which integrates directly into your Evernote or Samsung account. All these applications perfectly show what the tandem of this tablet and S Pen is capable of.
While Remote PC has obvious advantages, there is one aspect that an absolute number of users will find annoying, and that is text input.
Let me explain. Since Note Pro 12.2 is a tablet, the keyboard will take up most of the screen, and it will pop up in the place where most windows for entering this very text usually pop up - at the bottom. As a result, it turns out that you do not see what you are typing and, as a result, you can miss a huge number of errors. This by no means begs the merits of the tablet, but it's an unfortunate omission that will take some getting used to.
When it comes to viewing multimedia files, it's hard to go wrong with such a large screen. The 12.2 inch screen is ideal for displaying photos or presentations. It is incredibly good for watching videos and can even compete with laptops in this, if of course you can manage to comfortably position the tablet in front of you. In addition, the speakers also behave quite well and as a bonus, they do not grunt when they are working at maximum.
From the tests it can be seen that Note Pro 12.2 has performed well next to its relative Note 10.1 from 2014 HP SlateBook x2 running on Tegra-4.
And since there are not so many tablets with a screen size of more than 10 inches, there is not much to compare the Note Pro 12.2 with. Interestingly, although both Galaxy Note devices use identical processors and amounts of RAM, the Note Pro 12.2 fails to catch up with its predecessor on two counts. However, these tests do not reflect real situations and are translated for reference only.
During a typical eight-hour work day, the Note Pro 12.2 lost about half its charge, which is not bad. And while I haven't used this tablet too much (checking email, Twitter, and surfing the internet a few times), I'm sure I can stretch its battery for two days using all the features to a minimum.
In our battery life test, the Note Pro 12.2 lasted ten hours and four minutes. That's almost 2.5 hours longer than the 2014 Note 10.1. And although this result is an improvement, it does not reflect the real state of affairs. Only you and your needs can decide how long this tablet will last, and if you're not careful, the huge screen will quickly eat up the battery.
Note Pro 12.2 creates files with a maximum resolution of 3.264 x 1.836 in 16:9 aspect ratio or 3.264 x 2.448 in 4:3 aspect ratio.
As additional features, Samsung has added support for continuous shooting, as well as digital image stabilization, both of which are initially turned off.
I have no complaints about the quality of photos taken by Note Pro 12.2. But also, I'm not going to do any chanting either. Images come out average or slightly above average. In terms of video, my recorded 1080p video clip, even with stabilization, turned out to be unplayable. The Note Pro 12.2 records reasonably clear audio, but it can't maintain normal frame rates, which makes videos just plain awful.
As for iOS options, 9.7-inch WiFi iPad Air$600 seems like a good deal. And although it has a lower resolution screen (2,048 x 1,536) and 32GB of non-expandable memory, you are given access to the system iOS. However, there is also no replacement for the S Pen, so, as always, the choice depends only on your desires and needs.
As for the price, $750/$850 is hard to swallow with just two extra inches of screen and specs that are so similar to the Note 10.1.
pros
Huge 12 inch tablet Samsung, which is too big and this is its advantage.
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, a huge and powerful tablet aimed at users who are going to do more than just watch movies, play games and surf the net. Here's our Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 review.
At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is a 12-inch tablet with - OS modified with TouchWiz user interface and Journal UX - made by Samsung, along with an innovative and pressure-sensitive S-Pen, 32 GB of internal memory, a 3 GB microSD card RAM and a powerful 8-core processor designed to handle both heavy and simple tasks. The display resolution is 2560 x 1600 pixels, which is not surprising for a 12-inch panel.
From the point of view of competitors, the market simply has nothing to offer the same size as the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. However, it's clear that the Note Po 12.2 is geared towards professional users - that comes from its name and features. Thus, its closest competitors are the iPad Air (2048 x 1536 pixels), as well as the Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2.
All three tablets (even though the Surface is a hybrid, it's still a tablet) approach maximizing productivity differently, and to be honest, we feel like the average user looking for some serious performance and the ability to work on the go should look to the Surface Pro because the one, in fact, offers the full functionality of a laptop and has almost the dimensions of a portable computer. The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is also not without merit, on the other hand. Next in our review: the key features and design aspects of this Android tablet.
Design
In terms of design, it's better to split the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 into two different parts. First of all, we want to review the build quality of the tablet and then focus on the size and feel of a 12-inch tablet.
To reflect the quality side of the new tablet, Samsung needed to focus on the design of the Note Pro 12.2.
The faux-leather back panel, familiar to us from the Note range, really helps the tablet stand out with an eye-catching and sophisticated look. The thick frame around the screen is justified by the presence of a physical home button, the front camera and sensor are neatly recessed. The aluminum rim around the case continues the neat design.
There is a slight issue with the tablet's overall dimensions (295.5 x 204 x 8mm) and weight (739 grams). You have to understand that a 12-inch tablet will be difficult to handle, and Samsung hasn't redesigned the Note Pro to make up for that. Instead, the manufacturer opted for a traditional flat and evenly balanced layout. It's no big deal if you're using the tablet on your lap, but stand up and try using it in your hands and you'll see how difficult and tiring it is.
What is the undeniable advantage of the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, it exudes power, and you will feel it in the performance of even routine tasks, like changing the orientation of the main screen and opening / closing applications, which are child's play for it. Further down in our Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 review, you'll find benchmark results to give you an idea of what it's all about.
InterfaceAnddisplay
What's really different about the 12.2-inch Galaxy Note Pro's interface is not the TouchWiz that Samsung ships with all of its smartphones and tablets, but the recently released Journal UX. It's Samsung's attempt to justify the Note Pro 12.2's huge screen by dividing it into multiple tiles that can be filled with the content of your choice - be it sports, business, news, email or more. Journal UX becomes a nice extra feature of the Note Pro. It's quite convenient to switch to a screen and see the content you need in a large and accessible tile, but it's not groundbreaking technology.
Samsung S Pen
When a tablet really outperforms the competition, you just need to grab the S-Pen. The pen tip is pressure sensitive, which is already great, but you should spend some time with the pen to get to know and appreciate Air Command's features for yourself. Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 becomes much more interesting and enjoyable to work with when you take out the S-Pen.
Air Command comes with five features. Action Memo is great for quickly jotting down your thoughts without having to switch between apps, and it's really easy to use on a big screen. Scrap Booker allows you to draw a square and take a screenshot from that square. Screen Write lives up to its name, it's a very useful tool for drawing anything when you get bored, just like S Finger, which also lives up to its name. The last feature, Pen Window, demonstrates the multitasking benefits of Samsung's large 12-inch screen. You just need to draw a rectangle, and then select a utility such as a calculator, calendar, and others, getting the application in a separate window.
The only downside to the S Pen is that the pen is a little thin and slippery at times, which makes using the Air Command button particularly tricky.
Screen
The 12.2-inch tablet's screen is impressive, boasting a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels at 247 pixels per inch, and the image looks incredible at arm's length. Pictures and videos look stunning, so if you're looking for a big screen to watch movies or play games on your next trip, a tablet could be your portable cinema.
Over the years of reviewing mobile screens, we've found that the best way to gauge screen sharpness is by reading text. We can say with confidence that the sharpness of this screen will not leave you indifferent.
The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 also offers decent viewing angles, and while the screen feels overly glossy, it still performs well in sunlight.
Camera
As you would expect from a high-end Samsung tablet, the camera that's on board the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 shows real quality. The rear camera offers an 8-megapixel auto-focus sensor with zero shutter lag and LED flash, and there's also a 2-megapixel front-facing camera that's primarily aimed at Skype and Snapchat.
The main camera is also equipped with several modes we've come to expect from leading smartphones rather than tablets, including Best Face and Best Photo, which rely on a series of snapshots and then offer automatic or manual selection from multiple images of the best. Here is an example of using the Best Photo mode without manual settings.
OverviewSamsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2: Benchmarks
As expected, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 performed well in our tests. It returned a good score on GeekBench 3 with 919 points in the single-core test and 2700 points in the multi-core test. It also performed equally well on GeekBench 2 with an average score of 3967. Not surprising for a tablet with such impressive specs.
Battery
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 with a large battery, which is not surprising for a large tablet with a great feature set. There's a huge 9500mAh beast on board so you can draw an analogy, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z only offers 6000mAh and the flagship smartphone Samsung Galaxy S5 only offers 2800mAh which is an impressive battery size for a smartphone.
Reviewabout
The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is a bit of a fun tablet because it's hard to imagine who would buy an oversized tablet. The whole idea of tablets and mobile technology, for that matter, is portability and easy use on the go, and the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 we reviewed offers none of that.
To be fair, the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 impresses from a technological standpoint, raising the bar in the performance and features category. On the other hand, we can't overlook the fact that this is a big, bulky and expensive Samsung tablet.
The first thing you notice when you pick up the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is its size. Those two extra inches don't sound like much when you read about them, but when you pick up the tablet, you'll understand. Is it good? It all depends on how you want to use the tablet. The average user wants to use the tablet to surf the Internet, watch videos and play games. However, the "Pro" designation in the name is not without reason, the tablet is not intended for everyday use on the couch or on the way to work. In short, unless you're purposefully looking for a huge tablet with plenty of room to spare, buying the Galaxy Note 12.2 won't make sense, you should look at traditional consumer tablets.
However, if you're looking for a big tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro we reviewed has a lot to offer, especially since it's a Galaxy Note pedigree tablet. If you're familiar with the current Note range, you don't need to take a deep dive into the new tablet, the Pro 12.2 can be described as a bigger version of previous Notes. Samsung retained the leather back, metal rim, and Super Clean LCD capacitive touchscreen.
The tablet feels surprisingly light and balanced in your hands - even at 750 grams - you can hold it with one hand for a while, within reasonable limits, then your hand starts to hurt. The faux leather back panel offers good grip and build quality.
In practical terms, the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is exactly what you've been waiting for. It opens and closes apps instantly, and navigating screens and app menus is lightning fast with great responsiveness. The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 tablet comes with 32 GB and 64 GB of internal memory, so you get plenty of storage space for your files. It's annoying, though, that Samsung's software and bloatware takes up 6.5GB of onboard storage and can't be removed from the device either. So essentially you are buying a 25.5GB and 58.5GB tablet.
One of the Note's main features is its multi-window mode, which allows you to open four windows at the same time - it really makes using a 12.2-inch panel worthwhile, and this feature will come in handy in daily use of the tablet.
The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 also offers a new Journal UX instead of Samsung's traditional TouchWiz interface. Journal UX is essentially a home screen broken into smaller windows with personal information. Journal UX is obviously designed to offer as much information as possible in the shortest possible time while the user is switching between screens. However, even with the Samsung tablet's large 12.2-inch display, it feels bulky and gives the impression of information overload.
Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2 Pro features top of the range, 2560 x 1600 pixel TFT LCD, dazzling resolution, along with 3GB RAM, 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera, 9500mAh battery, Android 4.4 OS KitKat and more, all designed to provide a big tablet with a lot of power.
Final word onSamsungGalaxynotePro 12.2
The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is a tablet that is pretty much self-driving in the Android market, plus it's well built and packed with tons of cool software. It's not a tablet that we can recommend to the average user, but if you're looking for a powerful tablet with a big screen, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is a great choice.
Review - Judgment
The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is a seriously impressive tablet that will blow away most Android tablets and leave them in the dust when it comes to performance. If you have $26,000 and you're looking for a tablet that's over 10 inches, this machine won't disappoint you in terms of performance and looks, to be honest, it's the only tablet on the market that fits that bill.
Functions:
9Price quality
6Performance:
10Perhaps Samsung decided to oppose the rules of the market, and not just offer another gadget with non-standard sizes. If you remember, the GALAXY Tab 7.7 a few years ago became the ancestor of a new class, although nominally it can be considered almost a standard tablet with a 7-inch screen. But in the end, it was this model that turned out to be the first of its kind, the Apple iPad mini appeared much later.
Be that as it may, now we are talking about a large gadget, which is similar in its filling to the previously tested 10.1-inch model, a review of which can be read here. From the key points of the novelty CES can be identified a new mode of simultaneous work with four applications on one screen, as well as a modified shell.
There are no new ideas in the appearance of Samsung's most expensive Android tablet, the model looks exactly the same as its more compact 10.1-inch version, introduced a few months ago. It looks like an exact copy, only increased in size. If there is no smaller device nearby, then it is difficult to understand which of the two options is in front of your eyes, there is a complete resemblance. It makes no sense to criticize the manufacturer for this, now most companies use such a simple tactic. On the one hand, this allows you to save money on product development and at the same time creates a holistic image of the product line, when everything looks almost the same, you just have to decide on the sizes of gadgets that are convenient for you.
The tablet is well built, Samsung will definitely appeal to those who love well-made devices. There is no metal finish here, but to say that the gadget is not interesting in terms of materials will also be incorrect. The back surface is made of pleasant plastic, whose texture resembles leather. In terms of tactile sensations, everything is identical to the Samsung GALAXY Note 3, a popular model with a large screen.
On the front panel you can see a sensor for adjusting the brightness, a front 2 megapixel camera. Speakers are located on the sides, and there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the left. On the right are the slots for the SIM card and memory card. The IR port, microphone and volume control and screen lock buttons are brought to the top.
You can see the camera lens at the back, next to it is a flash, and a stylus mount is provided on the side.
Samsung did not rework the concept of keys under the screen. As before, it consists of one mechanical button located in the center, and a pair of touch keys next to it. They were inconvenient to press in Note 10.1, and along with the growth of the size of the device, the same negative emotions have to be experienced in this case too - also in an enlarged size.
The screen resolution remains the same, it is 2560 x 1600 pixels, diagonal 12.2 inches. The dot density is slightly reduced compared to the Note 10.1, but that's the trade-off for the larger dimensions. If you want to get the largest possible display, then this is an interesting option.
Detailed testing of the Samsung GALAXY Note Pro 12.2 screen
conducted by our expert Mikhail Kuznetsov.
The screen of Samsung GALAXY Note Pro 12.2 is somewhat reminiscent of Note 10.1, but, as it turned out, a number of characteristics have changed for the better. The resolution remains the same - it's an impressive 2560 x 1600 pixels, which on a diagonal of 12.2 inches provide a density of 247 ppi. The density is expectedly lower than on the 10.1-inch version, but the image is by no means "loose". Sharpness is still at an excellent level, and, holding the tablet at the usual distance, there is absolutely nothing to complain about in terms of clarity.
The maximum brightness was up to 384 cd / m2 in the "Standard" screen mode, but in other modes the brightness is barely different. The contrast ratio is about 1200:1, which is a noticeable increase compared to other versions, and generally an excellent result for an IPS / PLS LCD panel. The Samsung screen also has an effective anti-reflective coating that prevents external light. Therefore, in the light it looks no worse than in other conditions, and the minimum thickness of the air gap here is also beneficial. The viewing angles are wide, the image at an angle does not lose legibility and is slightly distorted.
As usual, Samsung offers a choice of several screen modes that differ in color reproduction: "Dynamic", "Standard" and "Cinema".
"Dynamic" mode has sub-optimal performance and overly distorted gamma, but the overall image hue is surprisingly correct.
"Standard" mode has a linear gamut of 2.36 and adequate color balance - this time you don't want to switch it to something else. This mode is quite suitable for everyday use.
Cinema mode shows even better color reproduction. The average gamma is 2.35, the semitones are slightly darker than with the reference gamma of 2.2. In general, the gamma setting is similar to the "Standard" mode.
The average color temperature in Cinema mode is close to the 6500K reference.
The color gamut is close to the sRGB standard. The main flaws fall on the brightness of colors. However, the shades are quite accurate, so the average Delta E color error is 3.85 units. Colors in real images do not cause any particular complaints.
Summarizing the above, the screen of the Samsung GALAXY Note Pro 12.2 definitely pleased - it is moderately bright, contrasty, and there are no critical mistakes in color reproduction. Of all the tablets we've tested, the Samsung Note Pro 12.2's screen is arguably one of the best. Here, the capabilities of the LCD display have been “squeezed out” properly, and for any significant increase in quality, probably, it remains only to wait for OLED. Nevertheless, the screen of the Samsung GALAXY Note Pro 12.2 does an excellent job with everyday tasks and will please any user.
The large tablet received the well-known Samsung Exynos Octa 5420 chip. This eight-core processor received 4 Cortex A15 cores at 1.9 GHz and four more Cortex A7 cores at 1.3 GHz. A multi-core system is used to ensure that a more powerful chipset works for more demanding tasks, and a second one is connected instead of it at low load. Mali-T628 MP6 graphics, 3GB RAM. After downloading, a little more than 1 GB is available, then about 200 MB remains if you keep running applications in the background. The performance margin is impressive, but nevertheless, the shell does not always work perfectly smoothly, and small twitches (for example, when switching between applications) can still occur. How many years must pass before we can finally see a smoothly working interface is a mystery. Subsequently, we can expect the appearance of a version with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, which works in LTE networks. Instead of 8 cores, there will be 4, but in practice there are no losses, the operating frequency is 2.3 GHz.
The amount of built-in memory depends on the version, there will be models with 16 or 32 GB for data storage, and if you use a maximum capacity card in tandem with the device, you can get up to 64 GB inclusive. This is convenient, for example, you can put games on a memory card, especially if they take up a lot of space in the built-in storage. Additionally, it is possible to work with USB-OTG, you will need to connect an adapter that will allow you to play data from an external drive. This adapter is not included in the kit, it must be purchased separately.
The battery has increased along with the size of the device, the power supply capacity is 9500 mAh. The operating time indicators are impressive, the gadget easily works for about 11 hours in Full HD video viewing mode at the maximum brightness level with hardware decoding. With games it turns out about 5-6 hours of work. The tablet takes a long time to charge, it takes about 7 hours, it will not work quickly, like the Apple iPad.
The tablet received the most current version of Android to date, 4.4 Kit Kat. Useful applications can be displayed on the lock screen, as well as additional data, such as the weather forecast or the clock. On the desktop is a grid of icons arranged in the proportion of 8x5. There is no escape from twitches in the menu, they can still be found even in this model with such a powerful filling.
The shell has also been improved, now there are large multi-colored areas on the desktops that resemble Windows 8 in their appearance. News and various applications are displayed here. It turns out a rather original version, which replaces the standard design. Nevertheless, no one canceled the addition of widgets, shortcuts and folders to work screens.
An interesting innovation was the modified multi-window mode. So, now you can immediately work not with two, but with four applications. Moreover, the user can scale their size. The windows move across the screen, so you can allocate more space for priority tasks. Thus, you can immediately watch something on YouTube, read the news, display notifications from social networks, there are a lot of use cases. I don’t think that in practice this will turn out to be a really popular option, for most people two windows open at the same time are enough, but in this case something new and original is offered, it is worth noting. Of the applications installed on the tablet, this function is supported by the following programs: Hangouts, Gmail and mail client, browser and Chrome, video, S Note, S Finder, music, messages, phone, YouTube, maps. The appearance of other applications in this list depends on the developers.
Samsung offers a familiar software package that brings out the power of the S Pen. This includes notes, a dedicated S Note app. The latter program allows you to use ready-made templates for all occasions. They have a beautiful design, as well as a well-thought-out scheme of use. You can draw, add graphics, make notes. The tablet works great with formulas, and it correctly recognizes manually entered characters. Powered by Wacom technology, the S Pen is lightweight, comfortable to use, and recognizes up to 1,000 pressure levels, allowing you to apply pressure very precisely and get different results on the screen. This is especially important for those who plan to draw with a pen. This is a very strong quality of the device, none of its counterparts on Android or iOS have this. Alternatively, you can consider solutions on Windows 8.
If you take out the stylus or press a key on it, a menu of additional actions opens, which is displayed on the device screen. With it, you can perform various actions: call the context menu, navigate between applications, make notes. Moreover, it is not even necessary to touch the screen, the stylus works at a short distance.
Active notes turn handwriting into a character set. A snippet album is clippings that can be collected from various sources: the Internet, video, mail, or the gallery. S Finder is a fast data retrieval system that searches for any relevant associations on request. If you type text or numbers on the screen, and then select an object with the stylus, a context menu opens that allows you to perform additional actions. Moreover, this feature is active in any application, you do not need to go into any particular program.
The keyboard allows you to type texts using both handwriting and the usual pressing of buttons. The keyboard can be given a comfortable size, which makes it easier to work with text in various conditions. It should be noted that handwriting in Russian is supported, but there are quite a lot of erroneous recognitions. However, if you do not write the text very quickly and accurately, the device will work much more correctly.
The office suite of applications includes a complete software for viewing, editing and creating new documents represented by Hancom Office. On the tablet, you can compose texts, create spreadsheets or make presentations. It is convenient to do this on a large screen, the stylus helps when you can type texts by hand or carefully move elements around the screen when creating presentations. However, there are times when the text in presentations is displayed incorrectly, there are inappropriate hyphenation of letters and breaks.
You can also find a functional calendar, a function for controlling equipment, when the tablet plays the role of a remote control. In addition, several news readers are installed. On the one hand, nothing prevents you from viewing feeds through a browser, but someone may like the presence of separate software. True, it should be noted that it does not work as quickly and smoothly as we would like, we have to put up with twitches. Like a number of other Samsung tablets, this model can support 3G or 4G networks, it all depends on the hardware capabilities of the device. In any case, the tablet can work as a navigator, go online where there is no Wi-Fi. In addition, he knows how to send and receive messages, as well as call, acting as an alternative to the phone. It does not have its own speaker, so you need to connect a headset to talk.
A tablet for its category takes good pictures and writes videos in decent quality using an 8 megapixel module, which is complemented by an LED flash. There is autofocus, a large set of additional settings, HDR mode, panorama, effects. There is also a front camera.
It is unlikely that anyone will use such a large gadget as a media center, but nevertheless, if you wish, you can listen to music here. The speakers are powerful and loud enough for the tablet to work as a speaker in a room. The sound in the headphones is traditionally good.
The device perfectly manifests itself as a movie center. Rich codec support, loud speakers, the ability to use a memory card. A huge screen with a high-quality picture and extensive video player capabilities will be a useful tool for watching videos. There are problems with sound in AC3, but this is solved by using a separate player.
The Koreans have chosen a peculiar way of development for themselves: to produce the same type of gadgets, but with different screen sizes. On the example of a 12-inch panel, you can see that this path can be rather strange. It is difficult to surprise a buyer with one “PRO” prefix, I want to understand in practice what opportunities the device gives in order to be considered useful for those who choose a gadget primarily for work. To be honest, a redesigned shell, a redesigned shell and a stylus in the kit are not the trump cards that will be key. The sluggish menu and the obvious lack of FPS in games will also not please. The nominally high resolution is a plus, but if you want to play, you will have to face the fact that applications are not adapted for such a screen. As in the case of Note 10.1, you have to put up with a stretched picture when the software is not able to remake the dignity of the screen. However, this problem is not a specific device, but the platform itself as a whole.
Samsung GALAXY Note Pro 12.2 is not a cheap device, it is expected to be on sale in March, the model with Wi-Fi costs 34,990 rubles, and at a price of 39,900 rubles for the LTE version, it will have to compete with windows devices. There are new models on the latest generation Intel processors, here are Haswell and Bay Trail for those who do not need maximum performance. But in any case, buying a tablet or ultrabook with Windows inside, the user receives a well-known set of programs. Then again, there's the Apple iPad Air, which is lightweight, lasts a long time, and offers a lot of apps for it. We must not forget about internal competition among Android tablets either. On the one hand, Samsung GALAXY Note Pro 12.2 turns out to be an original device, it simply has no direct competitors. But if you ask yourself who needs this model and why, then you cannot find an unambiguous answer here. The tablet can be considered as a niche device, but the weight and dimensions for the constant use of such a gadget still make you think about the appropriateness of the choice.
Alexander Pobyvanets [email protected]
New graphical interface and virtually unchanged design
The South Korean giant is experiencing a new and understandable surge of interest in tablets. At the Consumer Electronics Show CES 2014, where Samsung had probably the largest booth, the focus was on this particular class of devices. Both series, Tab and Note, received powerful reinforcements in the form of four models with the Pro suffix.
Gigantomania is now, as they say, "in favor." Samsung is not used to falling behind trends, so two of the four new products have an unusually large display with a diagonal of 12.2 inches. Previously, single solutions like the Voyo A15 looked like white crows. Today, when Samsung has already introduced larger analogs, and the answer of an irreconcilable opponent is only a matter of time, let's pay close attention to the top of the new lineup - Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2.
Usually we choose tablets for comparison based on the diagonal of the display, but the new Galaxy Note Pro will have to make an exception.
| Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 | Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) | iPad Air | Toshiba Excite Write | Asus Transformer Pad Infinity (2013) | |
| Screen | IPS, 12.2″, 2560×1600 (247 ppi) | PLS, 10.1″, 2560×1600 (299 ppi) | IPS, 9.7″, 2048×1536 (264 ppi) | IPS, 10.1″, 2560×1600 (299 ppi) | |
| SoC (processor) | LTE: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @2.3GHz (4x Krait 400 cores) Wi-Fi + 3G: Samsung Exynos 5420 (4x Cortex-A15 @1.9GHz, 4x Cortex-A7 @1.3GHz) | Apple A7 1.3GHz 64bit (2 cores, Cyclone architecture based on ARMv8) | NVIDIA Tegra 4 @1.8 GHz (4 ARM Cortex-A15 cores + 1 auxiliary core) | NVIDIA Tegra 4 @1.9 GHz (4 ARM Cortex-A15 cores + 1 auxiliary core) | |
| GPU | LTE: Adreno 330 WiFi + 3G: Mali-T628 MP6 | LTE: Adreno 330 WiFi + 3G: Mali-T628 MP6 | PowerVR G6430 | NVIDIA GeForce ULP | NVIDIA GeForce ULP |
| Flash memory | 32 to 64 GB | 16 to 64 GB | 16 to 128 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Connectors | Micro-USB 3.0 (with OTG support), 3.5mm headphone jack | Micro-USB (OTG capable), 3.5mm headphone jack | Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headphone jack | Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack | dock connector, Micro-USB, Micro-HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Memory card support | microSD (up to 64 GB) | microSD (up to 64 GB) | No | microSD | microSD |
| RAM | 3 GB | 3 GB | 1 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| cameras | front (2 MP) and rear (8 MP) | front (1.2 MP) and rear (8 MP) | front (1.2 MP) and rear (5 MP) | ||
| Internet | Wi-Fi + 3G (optional LTE), Ethernet | Wi-Fi + 3G (optional LTE) | Wi-Fi (optional - 3G, as well as LTE) | WiFi | WiFi |
| Wireless modules | GPS/Glonass, Bluetooth, IrDA | GPS, Bluetooth | GPS, Bluetooth | GPS/Glonass, Bluetooth | |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 9500 | 8220 | 8820 | 8920 | 7820 |
| Operating system* | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.3 | Apple iOS 7.0 | Google Android 4.2.1 | Google Android 4.2.x |
| Dimensions (mm) | 296×204×8.0 | 243×171×7.9 | 240×170×7.5 | 262×178×10.2 | 263×181×8.9 |
| Weight (g) | 753 | 544 | 478/469 | 671 | 585 |
* - at the time of publication of the relevant article
The specifications of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 hint that the potential hidden under the “Pro” suffix is limited only by the increased display diagonal, dimensions, battery and the new version of the Micro-USB connector. Otherwise, the novelty has inherited the features of Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014), and in both versions.
The tablet came to us for tests equipped only with a network adapter (5.3 V, 2 A) and a rather long Micro-USB 3.0 cable. Of course, the sales version will come with a wider range of accessories.
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, at first glance, is no different from its ten-inch predecessor. But last time we had a white tablet for testing, and for today's article, a black one is posing.
The front and rear panels are separated by a shiny plastic rib. In the design of tablets, Samsung carefully avoids metal. From a practical point of view, this is justified: the mass is reduced and, theoretically, the quality of communication does not deteriorate. And the aesthetic side is already a matter of taste.
The back wall is made of plastic, successfully textured under the skin. The design of the panel was approached diligently: the only element that clearly betrays the nature of the material is the imitation of the seam along the edge of the tablet.
An unusual element for the majority of tablets here is a flash - we are spoiled with it, basically, only by eminent manufacturers. A small gray Samsung logo is applied just below.
Next to the rear camera, on the upper edge, there was a place for an infrared port and a microphone. The latter was moved here from the opposite side, which is quite reasonable. But problems with voice perception are still possible, and we will consider this aspect in the corresponding section.
The bottom face has lost all functional elements, including the Micro-USB port, which has migrated to the side face. With such an arrangement, the enthusiasm of the creators of docking stations with keyboards can be greatly reduced, although the diagonal is conducive to such accessories. Perhaps in this way Samsung wants to ensure that users use the display for full-fledged work. Not the most pleasant move.
Most of the connectors are concentrated on the right: Micro-USB 3.0, Micro-SIM and microSD. The last pair is covered with lids.
On the same side is one of the stereo speakers and a groove for the stylus. The color scheme of the stylus repeats the color scheme of the tablet.
On the opposite side, there is a headphone jack, due to which the side face had to be slightly thickened, and a second speaker. Speaker volume is average; The quality of the stereo sound does not deserve any comments.
The final touch in a familiar portrait is the standard Android buttons, narrow, with a short and clear stroke.
The build quality of the tablet, in general, is at a high level. In our case, however, in the upper right corner, the back panel moved away from the side edge, but we are sure that this only applies to the test sample.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is resistant to scratches (although there were a couple of scratches on the tested specimen - and mineral glass can be scratched). Judging by the reflection of objects, there is very effective anti-reflective filter, which is approximately equal to the screen filter of Google Nexus 7 (2013) in terms of reducing the brightness of the reflection (hereinafter, we compare it with it). For clarity, here are photos in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens of both tablets (Samsung Galaxy Note Pro, as you can easily determine, on the left, then they can be distinguished by size):
Visually, the reflection in the Note Pro screen is slightly lighter. Indeed, statistics from the graphics editor show that the Nexus 7 screen is slightly darker (average brightness value of 89) than that of the SM-P901 (average brightness value of 96). We also note that visually, the Note Pro screen (or rather, the reflections in it) in the off state looks a little more cloudy than the Nexus 7 screen, since the first surface of the matrix under the glass is less even and reflects side light a little more.
The reflection of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the outer glass (it is also a touch sensor) and the matrix surface (OGS type screen, One Glass Solution - but with a short equivalent in Russian it is better to avoid incomprehensible foreign abbreviations in Russian-language materials). Due to the smaller number of borders (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, other things being equal, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. It is almost impossible to separate the outer glass glued with UV-curable adhesive from the matrix.
The outer surface of the screen has special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, even slightly better than Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.
With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 385 cd/m², and the minimum 2.8 cd/m². The maximum value is not very high (however, see the text below), but given the good anti-reflective properties, in bright daylight, the image on the screen should be fairly well distinguishable. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front camera eye). You can adjust the operation of this function by moving the adjustment slider from -5 to +5 units. Next, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values at three values of this setting: −5, 0, and +5. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 2.8, 9.3 and 17 cd / m², respectively; in the conditions of an office lit by artificial light (approximately 400 lux), the brightness is set to 80, 130 and 200 cd / m²; in a brightly lit environment (corresponding to a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) rises to 420, 570 and 570 cd/m². The result of this function is as expected, while the maximum brightness is noticeably higher than with manual backlight control, so in a bright environment it makes sense to turn on automatic mode - readability will noticeably improve. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.
This tablet uses a matrix type IPS. The microphotographs show a subpixel structure typical of IPS (fragments of microphotographs of this and other types of screens are given in a separate article).
In this case, a white subpixel is added to the triad of red, green, and blue subpixels. This solution allows you to increase the brightness of the white field without increasing the cost of backlighting. A side effect may be that the brightness of the color image may be disproportionately lower than the brightness of the white areas. This, apparently, is partly offset by the dynamic adjustment of the brightness of the backlight (not in this case) and individual subpixels. Note that a matrix with the same set of subpixels is installed in the Toshiba Excite Write and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) tablets.
It turns out that the resolution specified by the manufacturer is achieved only when outputting a black-and-white image, and the resolution of a color image is lower. However, the fact that the color clarity is lower does not actually affect the quality of images (especially "real" ones - in photographs and videos), since the color clarity of human vision is also lower than the brightness clarity, moreover, in most cases, when compressing an image, the color resolution and so it is halved. However, this does not mean that the image on such a screen looks exactly the same as on a screen with the same resolution, but with all the pixels consisting of the RGB triad. For example, here are fragments of a test image generated by the Test Card 1.1 program, which is displayed without interpolation, strictly by pixels (the fragments refer to the whole template). When displaying on the Nexus 7 screen:
And on the screen of the tested tablet:
In the second case, discontinuities in color lines one pixel thick are clearly visible, while white and green lines look less discontinuous, since green and white subpixels are included in their formation. Other artifacts are visible in the full images of the template. Fragments with very small text, Nexus 7:
and on the SM-P901 screen:
In the second case, the lines of letters, especially colored ones, look slightly uneven.
The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without a significant shift in colors, even with large deviations of the gaze from the perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here is a photo in which the Nexus 7 and SM-P901 screens display the same images, while the brightness of both screens is set to about 200 cd / m². White field perpendicular to the screens:
The uniformity is good, the color tone is close to the tone of the Nexus 7 screen (when photographing, the color balance is forced to 6500K). And a test picture:
Color reproduction is good and colors are saturated on both screens, but the picture contrast on the Note Pro's screen is slightly higher. Now at an angle of approximately 45° to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors did not “float” on both screens, but the contrast at an angle in the case of the Note Pro dropped sharply due to the increase in the brightness of the black box. And the white box:
The brightness at an angle for both tablets has noticeably decreased (at least four times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of Samsung, the brightness drop is less (brightness in photos is 241 versus 210 for Nexus 7). At the same time, the color tone has changed slightly. The black field, when deviated diagonally, is highlighted strongly and acquires a purple or red-violet hue. The photos below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):
And from another angle:
When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is average, since there are several small areas with increased black brightness along the edge:
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) of the SM-P901 is relatively high - about 890:1 . The response time for the black-white-black transition is 20ms (11ms on + 9ms off). The transition between grayscale 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back in total takes 30 ms. The gamma curve constructed from 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the approximating exponential function turned out to be from 1.84 to 2.01 (indicated in brackets) depending on the selected profile, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2 , while the real gamma curve has a pronounced S-shaped character (in the shadows, the brightness is underestimated, and in the highlights it is overestimated), which increases the apparent contrast of the image:
The color gamut is almost equal to sRGB:
Apparently, the matrix filters mix the components to each other to a moderate extent. The spectra confirm this:
As a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and the vast majority of them) have a natural saturation. The line of the spectrum of the white field clearly goes above the sum of the spectra of the components - in this case, due to the fact that the white subpixel increases the brightness of the white areas. The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is not much higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered acceptable for a consumer device. At the same time, the variation in color temperature and ΔE is small, which also has a positive effect on the visual perception of color balance. The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance is not of great importance there, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.
Note that unlike OLED screens, in this case, the choice of a profile in the screen settings does not greatly affect the image.
The brightness adjustment range of this screen is very wide, and anti-glare filter is very effective, which allows you to comfortably use the tablet both on a clear day on the street and in complete darkness. At the same time, the user is relieved of the need to manually adjust the brightness, since the corresponding function does an excellent job of this task, in addition to helping to save battery power. The advantages also include an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of flicker and air gap in the screen layers, sRGB coverage, good color balance and the ability to choose one of three color correction profiles. Traditionally for modern (on IPS matrices) Samsung tablets are disappointing strong black highlight even with a slight deviation of the gaze from the perpendicular to the screen surface and poor black field uniformity. Eventually the screen is not very suitable for watching movies (especially with dark scenes), but these shortcomings are unlikely to have any effect when working with text, in games, etc.
The most significant changes in the Note line have come to the operating system. The latest version of Google Android 4.4 is installed on the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 tablet. Kit Kat is served in a new glaze - Magazine UX, which replaced TouchWiz, at least in the manufacturer's top tablets.
When creating a software shell, developers were clearly inspired by the work of colleagues from Microsoft. The usual desktops with shortcuts are replaced here with cascades of tiles (or, in slang, tiles).
The maximum number of Magazine UX desktops is five. The vast majority of tiles take up at least one sixth of the desktop, so this margin is justified. According to our observations, only application shortcuts can occupy less than one-sixth.
Google Play app widgets are incompatible with the new interface - nothing but a shortcut can be added to the desktop. To work in this shell, proprietary software downloaded from the Samsung Hub store is adapted.
One has only to open the list of available tiles, and it becomes immediately clear why the new user interface has been called Magazine UX: by default, almost half of the standard tiles are used to explore thematic press. In our version, only English-language sources were present; We hope that Samsung will actively work with domestic media so that Russian users can also appreciate the pleasant interface of the magazine feed:
In addition to the five Magazine UX screens, the user has access to five more Android screens that differ little from the standard ones. Initially, all "third-party" applications downloaded from the Play Market are placed on the first of them.
On Android screens, you can place shortcuts and widgets, create folders.
The notification bar on all screens is hidden, although the panel is easily pulled out with a swipe gesture. Standard control buttons are placed under the display. The only unshakable element is the button in the lower right corner, which brings up the full list of applications. In the Magazine UX shell, it just begs to be associated with the Start button.
Note Pro allows you to simultaneously open up to four applications from the list, accessible by shifting from the right edge. Basically, it contains standard Samsung and Android programs, but there are also third-party applications. Using the context menu in the lower corner, you can save an open group and expand it at any time with a single click.
Samsung's designers have gone to great lengths to satisfy both tile lovers and classic icon UI enthusiasts at the same time - ten screens is enough for both. And in order for the user to quickly move on to all this wealth, the functionality of the lock screen was sacrificed.
The position of objects on it cannot be changed, as well as the list of icons. The biggest liberties that Samsung allows is to add four more swipeable widgets from a meager list to the clock. The lack of wide opportunities at this stage will not be a disadvantage: all the same, without unlocking, mobile devices are used mainly only to find out the time.
A wide pull-out menu at the top combines both notifications and indicators. The set of immediately visible switches can be configured. A long press of the indicator takes the user to the appropriate settings item, which is always convenient.
Through the retractable menu, it is convenient to call up a complete list of settings. They are divided into tabs, which can slow down the search for the desired option at first.
The touch button to the left of the main Samsung key opens a list of recent programs through which you can open the task manager:
Double-clicking on the center button brings up the S Voice voice control tool. On the right is a list of running commands. There is little use for S Voice, since you can only enable command reception when the application is running.
In conclusion, let's mention the Peel Remote Control program, which allows you to use the tablet as a remote control using the built-in infrared port.
Of the tablet's 32 GB of total memory, approximately 25.08 GB is available to the user - which is not surprising, given the amount of changes in the appearance of the system. Root-rights, of course, are not provided. Turning on the tablet takes approximately 26 seconds.
The operating system smoothly works out animation transitions, slowing down only in rare cases. But with the active use of various interface elements, we encountered a shell error several times. We hope that it will be fixed in the sales version.
At the presentation at the end of CES2014 in the Russian office of Samsung, much attention was paid to those tasks that seriously benefit from an extra couple of inches in the display diagonal - working with office documents. Choosing a standard office suite for their devices, the South Korean company opted for compatriots - the developer. The pre-installed set includes tools for working with texts, tables and presentations.
The text editor Hword, despite the unhealthy name, in its appearance quite claims to compete with the "big brother". Even though the virtual keyboard is a chiclet, the letter keys are a decent size - 9x9 mm, which is only 3-4 mm smaller than in real keyboards. There are no problems with the processing of clicks: keyboard "ninjas" will certainly be disappointed, but a few characters per second can be entered without any difficulty. Some additional features are taken from the PC: for example, it is possible to enter capital letters with the Shift key pressed and symbols through a combination with a number row.
The keyboard takes up half the display, but it can always be removed using the key in the upper left corner. The only significant drawback of the Russian layout is the lack of quick access to the comma. To enter it, you either have to switch to character mode, or to the English layout.
Other applications included in the office suite are Hcell for spreadsheets and Hshow for presentations. They also look very solid and mature. Note that the interface is almost completely translated into Russian, although occasionally there are still menu items and dialog boxes in English. Another disadvantage of Hancom Office is typical for mobile office suites: when you switch to another window, all changes in the document that were not saved using the program disappear. In our case, restoring from an autosaved copy did not work.
To attract corporate users, Samsung began cooperation with the well-known company Cisco and integrated an online conferencing service into Note Pro. We can't help but approve of this move, especially considering that tablet buyers are given a six-month trial period.
The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 works with the stylus just like its ten-inch predecessor. The standard application is the S Pen. An additional button is used to select a screen area that can be processed using various utilities. For more information on this item, we advise you to read our Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) review.
Dropbox cloud users can expect a pleasant surprise when purchasing Note Pro: 50 GB of storage for two years.
The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 comes in two versions. We got a base one for testing, based on Samsung Exynos 5420 and not supporting LTE. The more expensive model, which already supports 4G networks, is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC.
The Exynos 5420 single-chip system includes an eight-core central processor operating on . Its principle is that, depending on the amount of load, it is assigned either to powerful and energy-consuming cores (in our case, this is four Cortex-A15 1.9 GHz), or to more modest and energy-efficient (four Cortex-A7 1.3 GHz ). To work with video in a single-chip system, a six-core Mali T628 MP6 processor with support for OpenGL ES 3.0 OpenCL 1.1 Full Profile, Google Renderscript and DirectX 11 is used. All this is equipped with dual-channel LPDDR3e memory - in Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 its volume is 3 GB.
For some unknown reason, the Mozilla Kraken benchmark caused a crash in the stock browser, so we used Chrome to run it. Despite this advantage, Note Pro lost to its ten-inch predecessor on a similar platform, but the difference cannot be called critical. As for the SunSpider, most likely only Note 10.1 has problems with it, since the Galaxy Note 3 produced almost the same result as our hero. The new Transformer Pad Infinity on the overclocked Tegra 4 keeps almost on a par.
There is nothing surprising in complex benchmarks: Note Pro 12.2 is quite a bit behind Note 10.1 (2014), almost exactly repeating the result of the “transformer”. The result in Antutu 4 is almost the same as X Edition:
But in tests involving the processor and RAM, both Samsung devices align. And they are far from the single-core performance of the Apple A7. In MobileXPRT, which evaluates performance and interface performance, Note Pro scored 242 and 95 points, respectively - slightly less than the Galaxy Note 3 with a similar SoC and Full HD (261 and 98 points).
| Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (Samsung Exynos 5420) | (Samsung Exynos 5420) | Toshiba Excite Write (NVIDIA Tegra 4) | (NVIDIA Tegra 4) |
|
| Epic Citadel High Performance | 57.5 fps | 56.4 fps | 54.6 fps | - |
| Epic Citadel High Quality | 55.8 fps | 55.1 fps | 55.2 fps | 57.9 fps |
| Epic Citadel Ultra High Quality | 28.2 fps | 26.0 fps | 27.6 fps | 30.4 fps |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better) | 7984 | 8732 | 7715 | 9831 |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better) | 12509 | 13601 | - | 14949 |
In the synthetic Ice Storm, our hero is slightly behind Note 10.1 (2014), in Epic Citadel it is slightly ahead of him... the only thing that can attract attention is that in the Ice Storm Extreme mode, there is almost parity with the standard Tegra 4. And the overclocked version of the NVIDIA single-chip system ahead.
| Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (Samsung Exynos 5420) | Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) (Samsung Exynos 5420) | Toshiba Excite Write (NVIDIA Tegra 4) | Apple iPad Air (Apple A7) | Asus Transformer Pad Infinity (NVIDIA Tegra 4) |
|
| GFXBench T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen) | 20 fps | 23 fps | 16 fps | 27 fps | 21 fps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GFXBench T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen) | 14 fps | 14 fps | 10 fps | 21 fps | 13 fps |
GFX Benchmark has been updated to version 3 and no longer includes the Egypt HD scene, although it is still the benchmark for a huge number of tablets. However, this is not the case today, and the top Note Pro 12.2 can be compared with competitors in the OpenGL ES 2.0-based T-Rex HD scene. Here, there is some separation from the old Note 10.1 only in the offscreen mode, and parity is observed with the Transformer Pad.
For reference, here are the results of a new scene, GFX Benchmark Manhattan, based on the third version of OpenGL ES. Hardly any of the existing games on Android demonstrates even a close level of graphics. Our hero showed here 2.8 fps in onscreen and 5.5 fps in offscreen mode, respectively. The low result can be easily explained by the fact that we have a pre-release tablet sample, and the scene is completely new.
We also evaluated performance in specific games:
Dungeon Hunter 4 demonstrated an interesting "glitch". With every second press of the hit button, the image under the interface for a split second was compressed to a size of just over a quarter of the display. It got annoying very quickly.
At the moment, Note Pro 12.2 compatibility with games is by no means perfect, but we hope that the situation will improve by the official release. With a long load, the tablet noticeably heats up in the center, but this does not affect the comfort of use.
The dimensions of the device also cause some inconvenience. It is difficult to reach the dialog boxes closer to the middle of the display without shifting the tablet to the other hand. Fans of classic RPGs may be disappointed.
Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used the LG IPS237L monitor, which supports direct MHL connection using a passive Micro-USB to HDMI adapter cable. Recall that Samsung has implemented its own version of this interface at the physical level. As a result, to connect an external device via MHL, you need to use special adapters or connect standard MHL adapters through simple passive adapters.
In this case, we conducted the test using a proprietary adapter from Samsung, while MHL output was carried out at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels at 60 fps. When the tablet is in landscape orientation, the image is displayed on the monitor screen in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the screen boundaries in height, and narrow black fields are displayed on the sides to maintain the correct proportions. When the tablet is in portrait orientation, the image on the monitor screen is also displayed in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the screen boundaries in height, and wide black fields are already displayed on the right and left.
The sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and has a good quality. At the same time, sounds are not output through the speaker of the tablet itself, and the volume is controlled by the buttons on the tablet case. In principle, in the tablet settings, you can select the sound output mode - stereo or surround. However, in our case, the monitor only accepted stereo sound, so there was no choice. Again, in our case, the tablet with the MHL adapter connected did not charge, but there may not have been enough power from the external source connected to the adapter.
Next, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"), we checked how the video is displayed on the screen of the tablet itself. Screen shots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the output frames of video files with different parameters: the resolution varied - 1280 × 720 (720p), 1920 × 1080 (1080p), and the frame rate - 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps . In tests, we used the MX Player video player in the "Hardware" mode, since the standard player was very unstable. The results of this (block titled "Tablet Screen") and the following test are tabulated:
| File | Uniformity | Passes |
| tablet screen | ||
| 1080/60p | Great | No |
| 1080/50p | Okay | No |
| 1080/30p | Great | No |
| 1080/25p | Okay | No |
| 1080/24p | Great | No |
| 720/60p | Okay | many |
| 720/50p | Okay | No |
| 720/30p | Great | No |
| 720/25p | Okay | No |
| 720/24p | Great | No |
| MHL (monitor output) | ||
| 1080/60p | Great | No |
| 1080/50p | Great | No |
| 1080/30p | Great | No |
| 1080/25p | Okay | No |
| 1080/24p | Great | No |
| 720/60p | Great | No |
| 720/50p | Great | No |
| 720/30p | Great | No |
| 720/25p | Okay | No |
| 720/24p | Great | No |
Note: If both columns Uniformity And Passes green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven interleaving and dropping frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.
According to the frame output criterion, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the tablet itself is high, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops (except for 720p at 60 fps). However, uniform frame interleaving is a relatively unstable state, as some external and internal background processes sometimes cause the correct interleaving of intervals between frames to periodically fail and even (very rarely) to skip individual frames. The displayed range of brightness is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, in the shadows and in the highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed. When playing video files with a resolution of 1080p (1920 × 1080 pixels), the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly on the screen width, but the actual resolution is slightly reduced due to interpolation to the screen resolution.
With a monitor connected via MHL, when playing video with a standard player, the image of the video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while only the picture of the video file is displayed on the monitor, and only information elements and virtual controls are displayed on the tablet screen.
When playing video files with Full HD resolution (1920 × 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen while maintaining true proportions and the resolution corresponds to Full HD resolution, but only horizontally, since for some reason the image is stretched vertically by a couple of pixels, resulting in interpolation and a slight loss of clarity. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, all gradations of shades are displayed in the shadows and in the highlights.
Despite the correct Full HD video output mode, it is almost impossible to use a regular player (we hope that only before the update), so we tested the output quality using MX Player in the "Hardware" mode. Unfortunately, this player does not know how to use the standard video output mode to an external device, so an exact copy of the tablet screen is displayed on the monitor, which is why for videos with an aspect ratio of 16:9 black fields are displayed not only on the sides, but also on top and bottom (albeit narrow). The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the "MHL (monitor output)" section. The output quality is very good, even slightly better than on the native screen.
The conclusion is typical - the MHL connection can be used for games, watching movies, displaying web pages and other activities that benefit from the increase in screen size. True, you will have to purchase an adapter specifically for Samsung or find the appropriate adapter. We also hope that the regular player, which can output Full HD video to an external screen without borders and almost without loss of clarity, will become more efficient.
Let's move on to the five standard video files that we played on the tablet screen. the pre-installed Samsung Video app was used as a standard player, and not the Android player. This explains the improvement in results:
| Format | container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Regular video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD, 720×400, 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD, 720×400, 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264, 1280x720, 3000Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | played without sound |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264, 1280x720, 4000Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | played without sound |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264, 1920x1080, 8000Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | played without sound |
The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 lacks AC3 hardware support, but otherwise there were no problems with playing standard video files.
Tablet Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is available in two versions, which differ in including support for LTE networks. We tested the younger version, which provides Internet access via Wi-Fi and cellular networks 2G / 3G. As before, Samsung has retained the ability for users to make phone calls and send SMS.
The tablet is easy to use as a bluetooth modem. This is definitely worth noting, given that a good number of different phones are equipped with tools for working on the Web, but do not have Wi-Fi on board.
The quality of communication when talking through the tablet is high, but you need to speak either louder than usual, or directly into the microphone located on the upper edge. In general, our copy of the tablet did not allow talking. When the duration of the conversation approached a minute, he began to have a “core panic”:
Luckily, restarting the Note Pro while holding down the volume down key helped calm the Note Pro down. We believe that such an obvious blunder is unlikely to remain in the selling version.
A few words should be said about Wi-Fi. Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 features support for high-speed Wi-Fi 802.11ac (in 2.4 and 5 GHz mode), as well as MIMO and HT80 technologies, while iPad Air only has traditional Wi-Fi 802.11a in this column /b/g/n. When choosing, this fact should be taken into account, especially if you know what is hidden behind the abbreviations in the previous sentence.
After the publication of the article, we received additional information from a Samsung representative. In Russia, the IEEE 802.11ac standard is currently not included in the list of radio frequencies that can be operated without obtaining prior permission from the State Commission on Radio Frequencies. For this reason, it is possible that models with disabled support for this standard will be sold in Russia.
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is equipped with a Micro-USB connector of the third version. When connected to the appropriate port on the PC, the transfer rate to the tablet was about 45.6 MB/s. This allows you to rip a standard DVD rip of a movie (1.4 GB) in about half a minute. Although USB 3.0 is far from the record, for a tablet with such a large and video-friendly diagonal, the increased speed is still a big advantage. The transfer speed from tablet to PC was even higher - about 54.5 MB / s.
In addition, Note Pro supports OTG mode. Since it is very difficult to find a suitable cable for the third version connector, we used a USB 2.0 adapter. And as a result, we got 14.7 MB / s when copying from a flash drive and 6.9 MB / s - in the opposite direction.
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is equipped with two cameras. The front has a resolution of 2 megapixels (1920 × 1080) and shoots video in the same resolution. The quality of her photos is good:
The rear is capable of taking pictures at 8 megapixels with an aspect ratio of 4:3 (3264×2648), or at a more traditional 16:9, but already at a resolution of 6 megapixels (3264×1836). The video is shot in 1080p. The work of the rear camera of the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 was appreciated by Anton Solovyov.
The camera turned out to be very good, the quality is quite consistent with the title of the flagship. Here and good optics, and a good sensor, and very moderate software processing. Basically, the pictures are sharp across the entire field of the frame on all plans. It is also impossible not to notice the absence of strong noise in the shadows and generally good noise reduction.
Perhaps this is even the same module as in the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), but significantly improved. The camera still tries to shoot at low ISO speeds (ISO 40, 50, 64), and shutter speeds above 1/33 of a second are already long for it - nevertheless, in good light it does very well. And still the camera does not write EXIF when shooting in bad conditions.
Like the Note 10.1 (2014), the Note Pro 12.2 comes with a flash, and a very good one. As you can see from the graph, in different lighting conditions, the flash works equally well, and noticeably better than in Note 3. This greatly distinguishes the Note Pro from the crowd, since most manufacturers do not install a flash on their tablets at all.
In general, Samsung does not stop and grows, and this time the camera turned out to be quite good. It is suitable for both documentary and artistic shooting.
Also, the rear camera can shoot video in Full HD. We shot two videos, with and without digital stabilization (video - 1920×1080, 30 fps, AVC MPEG-4 [email protected], 17 Mbps, audio - AAC LC 128 Kbps, stereo). The camera succeeded quite well, without significant delays.
The battery capacity of the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is 9500 mAh; a larger battery in recent times can only be remembered in the budget Perfeo 9748-RT.
The increased battery was able to compensate for the increased diagonal in all scenarios, with the exception of watching a video, in which even Toshiba Excite Write was ahead. But in general, the picture still turns out to be favorable: after charging the tablet for one night, you can watch a movie for two or three subsequent evenings, comfortably sitting in bed. Or do some simple tasks all day long.
The tablet is not capable of charging from USB, regardless of the version of the port used. Charging with the included AC adapter takes about six and a half hours.
The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 has all the features we'd expect from a major manufacturer's flagship product. Powerful stuffing, excellent camera, very good implementation of the stylus and the latest version of Android. Thanks to the enlarged display, the touch keyboard has become much more convenient to use, and watching movies is now more comfortable (if you do not take into account the typical shortcomings of IPS matrices in Samsung tablets). And the appearance of the Micro-USB 3.0 port will allow you to copy this very movie much faster. The new UI is sloppy under Windows with tiles, but luckily the stock Android screens are still there, and Magazine UX might come in handy to implement some of the new features.
The verdict does not bring surprises: if you are not afraid of the price (40 thousand rubles for the LTE version and 35 for the 3G version), and the extra inches will really be useful, you should wait until the beginning of March, when the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 will appear in Russian stores
