The good The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 features a lightweight and compact design for a 10-inch tablet. Its screen is impressively bright, and a 64GB storage expansion option is always an appreciated extra.
The bad The hit-box for the capacitive menu and back buttons is too large, and errant touches are common. Performance is slow when quickly switching apps and Wi-Fi speeds dramatically decrease the farther away from the router the tablet is. And for a device with pre-2012 components is asking too much.
The bottom line The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is a sleekly designed tablet but, with more powerful and cheaper options available, it feels like more of the same, rather than an upgrade.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 stylishly embraces a more simple aesthetic compared with its predecessor. For a 10-inch tablet, it manages to be a rather compact device; it's lightweight and sleek, with thin bezels and a clean, cohesive design that would make any iPad melt with flattery.
Unfortunately, Samsung continues its trend of lackluster updates to its 10-inch Galaxy Tab line. While I appreciate the Tab 3 10.1's stylish turn, its specs are only a modest upgrade from the Tab 2 10.1, resulting in noticeably lackluster performance. In fact, change - instead of upgrade - is a better way to describe its new components.
Also, the tablet's design is plagued by trigger-happy menu and back buttons. The two buttons can too easily be activated, and I found myself accidentally pressing them a lot, even after I'd become painfully aware of their over-sensitivity. However, its design - certainly not its functionality - is what prevents it from being completely forgettable.
Samsung didn't attempt to push the envelope with the Tab 3 10.1 and succeeded in producing a mediocre device. Thanks to its dull hardware upgrades and the resulting underwhelming performance, the tablet proves an inferior product in a sea of much wiser choices.
- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.
