Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite review: Lite on the money

Samsung created the Galaxy Tab A collection to supply patrons a less expensive various to their higher-end units. Don’t be mistaken: these units aren’t “flagship killers” however entry-level trailblazers, designed to be the best low-budget possibility for these wanting a bit extra display actual property. Discover out if it’s the pill for you in Android Authority‘s Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite assessment.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (Wi-Fi, 3GB/32GB): $159.99 / €169 / £149
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (Wi-Fi, 4GB/64GB): $199.99
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (LTE, 3GB/32GB): $199.99 / €199 / £179

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite has been one of the vital widespread entry-level tablets since its launch in June 2021. Basically, it’s a smaller, extra stripped-down model of the Galaxy Tab A7. The 2 units share the identical facet ratio, however the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite has a extra compact 8.7-inch show, lacks a gyroscope, has a smaller 5,100mAh battery, and is powered by a slower Mediatek Helio P22T chip.

The Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is available in two variations: Wi-Fi solely (32GB or 64GB) and LTE (32GB). The 32GB fashions include 3GB RAM as normal, however the US-exclusive 64GB mannequin has 4GB RAM which ought to provide a lift for multitasking. The entire fashions have expandable storage through microSD (as much as 1TB) and cost and switch knowledge through USB-C.

When it comes to aesthetics, the machine appears and feels nice for the worth. It’s accessible in grey (with black bezels) or silver (with white bezels).

You should buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite from all main retailers beginning at $159.99. This contains Amazon, Finest Purchase, and Samsung’s official retailer.

With the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, you get all of the naked requirements of a pill — a bigger display, up-to-date software program, and succesful {hardware} — for an entry-level worth. Moreover, as a result of it got here out in 2021, Samsung repeatedly holds gross sales on all variants of this machine.

Regardless of its age, the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite has been promised three years of main OS updates and 4 years of safety patch updates. This implies Samsung’s price range slate — which has already obtained the Android 12 replace — is slated to get Android 13 and 14 upon launch. With One UI’s speedy evolution right into a feature-rich interpretation of Android, we think about this to be a serious boon.

With the LTE model, you possibly can add a SIM card to ascertain a connection anyplace via service knowledge. Taking the pill on a number of commutes and street journeys, we discovered the GPS performance to be nice. Nonetheless, in the event you go together with the bottom mannequin, you possibly can at all times obtain maps for offline use or depend on Wi-Fi hotspots.

The Galaxy Tab A7 Lite’s physique is made up primarily of sturdy aluminum steel, with plastic areas on the high and backside ends. Using steel lends a high-end really feel to what’s a budget-oriented pill.

For battery life, in real-world conditions like watching films and searching the net, you possibly can anticipate 10-12 hours of screen-on time from a full cost, relying on the brightness setting. In case you’re utilizing the machine closely at max brightness, you possibly can anticipate to get nearer to 4 hours earlier than it dies.

Charging from zero to 100% takes roughly 4 hours on the 15W most cost fee. That is fairly regular for many price range tablets.

Expandable storage bolsters the pill’s worth as a media consumption machine. The bottom mannequin ships with a mere 32GB, however you possibly can add as much as 1TB of storage through microSD. With more room for photographs, video games, films, and different media information, you gained’t see that “nearing most storage” warning as usually.

Lastly, whereas there are some show points (we’ll get to these), the comparatively low decision just isn’t a serious concern. As a result of it’s solely 8.7 inches from nook to nook, the person pixels aren’t as instantly apparent as you would possibly discover on bigger ~10-inch price range tablets. The tall 5:3 facet ratio can be reasonably pleasing, particularly contemplating many cell video games are optimized for that elongated panorama mode.

On the coronary heart of the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is the Mediatek Helio P22T. From the get-go, it’s evident this entry-level ARM processor lacks the snappiness of most low to mid-range Snapdragon chips. In our testing, cell video games like Minecraft, Pokémon Unite, and Genshin Impression struggled to open and run easily. Much less intensive video games like CUE and Destiny/Grand Order would launch so long as nothing else was open within the background — however efficiency was nonetheless sluggish. Even navigating the system UI might be a little bit of a chore at occasions, with on-screen actions usually lagging behind bodily inputs.

Restricted reminiscence is regular on price range tech. Nonetheless, the RAM limitations don’t do a lot for the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite’s responsiveness along side the slower processor. We consistently had to make use of RAM boosting apps in our testing to clear up reminiscence as a result of we had been nearing the utmost far too usually. We additionally needed to clear the cookies and cache repeatedly.

All of this has us questioning if Samsung may have prioritized the pill’s internals over the premium construct. Might they’ve gone with a plastic construct over a steel one in favor of a quicker processor? Whereas it’s worthwhile to say the chip scarcity, this trade-off would’ve been greater than acceptable at this worth level.

The TFT LCD show of the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is reasonably unremarkable. The glass is reflective and plasticky, and smudges stand out at each viewing angle. The brightness maxes out at 360 nits, that means it doesn’t get shiny sufficient to chop via the glossiness more often than not. For indoor use, the brightness is passable, although from sharper viewing angles you would possibly encounter some rainbowing results which make it exhausting to see the content material on display even in well-lit circumstances.

Colour-wise, the show is sufficient. Movies and apps don’t look washed out, and the colours have good vibrance — particularly reds and yellows. Nonetheless, when there are shifting scenes with each deep darks and brighter areas, the haziness and blurriness give away the cheapness of the show.

The pill’s audio system aren’t nice both. Whereas they’re marketed as stereo audio system that help Dolby Atmos, you have to handle your expectations right here. They emit subsequent to no bass and may sound a little bit tinny at excessive quantity. We might suggest utilizing the built-in headphone jack or connecting a separate Bluetooth audio machine.

One other cost-cutting space is the absence of any gyroscope {hardware}. The Galaxy Tab A7 Lite contains the accelerometer and compass from the common Galaxy Tab A7. Nonetheless, it’s devoid of any gyroscope sensors, that means apps and video games that require gyroscope performance is not going to work.

There’s a purpose why Samsung doesn’t go into an excessive amount of element in regards to the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite’s 8MP main digital camera and 2MP selfie digital camera.

The cameras are seemingly there for the sake of getting cameras. They aren’t a focus of the machine, and, at this worth level, you wouldn’t anticipate distinctive cameras.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is a strong selection for individuals desirous to upsize their Android expertise with out overspending. It doesn’t boast all the options or efficiency numbers of extra pricey units, however at $159.99 — and sometimes cheaper on sale — what extra are you able to moderately ask for? With well-rounded software program, premium construct supplies, a headphone jack, and expandable storage, this budget-oriented pill will proceed to have worth even on the finish of its lengthy life cycle due to Samsung’s wonderful long-term replace insurance policies.

Particularly, the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is a good possibility for youthful children and older people who’re more likely to be much less postpone by the low-res show and weak efficiency. Samsung Youngsters is a Samsung-exclusive “children mode” app that lets you flip your machine right into a protected digital setting and leisure hub. Moreover, it doesn’t require a substantial amount of processing energy, that means the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is a first-rate candidate to be became a devoted Samsung Youngsters machine.

Funds tablets will also be nice for a lot of totally different area of interest use instances. For instance, whereas the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is nowhere highly effective sufficient to run demanding video games persistently, it may simply be used as an inexpensive, devoted Twitch chat show for checking in on feedback whereas streaming on a pc or console.

With that stated, in the event you’ll be utilizing your pill various hours per day, the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite most likely isn’t your finest guess. In case you can afford it, we extremely suggest spending a little bit bit extra to ensure your self a greater expertise.

Samsung has options to the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite inside its personal lineup. With a bigger show, greater battery, and higher general efficiency, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 ($229.99 at Amazon) is by far among the best price range tablets available on the market. In case you’re prepared to half with a little bit bit extra money, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE ($404.99 at Amazon) is an even bigger 12.4-inch pill with a extra highly effective Snapdragon 778G chip. Be sure you keep away from the 5G model, although, because it homes a weaker chipset.

In case you’re trying past Samsung, different producers have choices on the prepared. The Amazon Hearth HD 10 Plus ($179.99 at Amazon) is a good cheaper various which will suit your state of affairs higher in the event you’re extra ingrained in Amazon’s ecosystem. In case you’re an Apple particular person, ease of use will include its worth premium. Nonetheless, the bottom iPad ($269 at Amazon) continues to be a really compelling possibility. It additionally options the A13 Bionic chip, which is way superior to the Mediatek Helio P22T if you think about how effectively Apple optimizes its software program for its {hardware}.