The only options that manage the same level of voice assistant convenience is the Fire 8 HD and Fire 10 HD. None of the options here best those when it comes to digital assistants. If you want a dedicated smart device in the kitchen, have a look at our guide to smart speakers. I browsed my collection of digital cookbooks, called up saved recipes in Evernote, and looked around the web for new recipes. Next I tested the comfortable reading distance for each screen, as well as how much I could enlarge the font without massively decreasing the amount of information available to me on screen at once.
The S7 lacks the powerful, always-on microphones, which means it won’t hear you as well, and you need to wake it up before you speak. Having Google Assistant on the Tab S7 is nice, but not as effective as a dedicated smart-home device. Google Assistant is faster at returning results, and, in my experience, finds what I’m after more accurately than Alexa or Siri. While it may be missing some of the software, the Tab S7 does have one advantage: Google Assistant, which is my favorite of the smart assistants.
That said, if you take the time to hunt out tablet-friendly apps, or only plan to use a web browser and e-book reader anyway, then the Tab S7 is the Android device to get. It was a painful reminder that the Galaxy Tab S7, while a nice piece of hardware, struggles to get past the old “it’s a bigger phone” criticism of tablets. While nearly every app I tested did work, many were still just scaled up phone apps. There just aren’t many Android apps that take advantage of the larger form factor in truly useful ways. I like nearly everything about the S7, and it would be my top pick were it not for the Achilles’ heel of Android tablets: software. It’s powerful enough to hold its own against the iPad, has a screen that’s every bit as sharp and bright, and very nearly manages the same battery life. The latest, and best, Galaxy Tab is the S7, which is the Android answer to the iPad. The one exception is Samsung, whose Galaxy Tab has been showing what the Android operating system can do in tablet form. The pickings are slim once you get away from Amazon’s offerings. The best pure Android tablet: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7Īndroid has never really taken to the tablet form factor. If you feel the increased functionality, ability to open multiple apps at once, and the better display are worth the greater price tag, this device is a great companion for the kitchen-and beyond. Note that this machine is still not water resistant at all, so I recommend using a stand in the kitchen.ĭepending on the size (11-inch or 12.9-inch display) this iPad ranges from $800–$1,000. On the larger iPad Pro, colors were brighter, blacks richer, and the sharpness made for clearer images. The Mini-LED display makes food photography even more appetizing, especially, I noticed, with cookbooks in the iBooks app, where I could see a marked difference between the displays. Flick your finger down from the top right corner to control your music and you’ve pretty much hit peak kitchen tech in my view-everything you need, operating simultaneously.
The wider screen allows you to pair applications side by side so you can have your favorite cookbook open alongside a video playing in your web browser. If you opt for the 12-inch tablet, the new Mini-LED screen is considerably brighter. You also get a bigger screen that makes it easier to see videos from across the kitchen. With the Pro, you get a much more powerful M1 processor (the same chip that powers Apple’s laptops) that makes for snappier apps.
If your iPad is going to lead a similar life beyond the kitchen, and you can afford it, I suggest upgrading to one of the Pro models. My wife uses the Apple Pencil to sketch quilt designs, my kids play Mario Kart, and I attach the keyboard and get work done on it. My kitchen tablet does double duty as an all-around family device.