Comparison Surface Pro 3 and Samsung Slate 7

[roystreet]

Hello,
I'm really interested in getting the Surface Pro 3 with the keyboard. I currently have a Samsung (XE700T1A-A06US) Series 7 with Windows 8.1 on it. It was a pretty high end machine when I got it. I didn't know if anyone has done any real comparison on this, especially someone who has used both. I'd be looking at the i5 with 128gb SSD. I already have a case for my Samsung that has a bluetooth keyboard the folds up nicely. Although, I'm sure it weighs more than the Surface keyboard.
I'm looking for good reasons :smile: for getting the Surface.

Anyone have any comparisons you'd like to share?

Thanks!

 

[Qtweeder]

i have the s7s (which is mine) and my sis got the sp3 (which i have used a lot

any questions i can answer, please ask

i have found i never use the bt sammy kboard and just use it exclusively as a tablet and docked to peripherals, she also has the sp3 dock, which beats the small samsung dock hands down, but its a much bigger thing, as you know the samsung dock folds up to small size

her sp3 is i3 64gb as its only for email/browsing/office and hooking upto external monitor etc - but i noticed how much squarer the screen is to the letterbox form factor of my s7s, but i like the smaller size of my s7s, thats probably the only thing in its favour, as even though mine is i5 her sp3 seems just fine, the build quality of the sp3 is much better, my sammy rear has lost some of its logo and is a faux brushed plastic effect

actually one thing i do prefer on the s7s is the mechanical home button as opposed to the soft touch sp3 win button, but the inbuilt kickstand and the type cover raise it above mine instantly for lap-ability and quickly converting from tablet to laptop

there is a lot of similarities in a way between them and it shows how ahead samsung were in a way to pack all that in years back!

 

[roystreet]

Thanks for your willingness to help. I too am impressed with Samsung being ahead, especially as I've looked at reviews, the s7 still is impressive compared to other much newer tablets out there today. The s7 has been around for several years too! Maybe since 2011-2012? Of course, my s7 wasn't cheap either. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll get much for it if I sell it though.

Some of the bigger things I'm looking at are; battery life, screen quality, & speed comparisons. The specs on a webpage say one thing, but experience says much more.

 

[Qtweeder]

whilst because its not mine i havent used it for extended periods, i can say in the dozen times or so i have had an hour on in portable mode, the battery life decreases far slower on near full brightness than with my s7s in half brightness, so i can tell straight away there that the SP3 is FAR superior in battery life

sp3 screen is much clearer, brighter, and less pixelated upon close inspection (obviously) due to high resolution, the fact that the screen layers have been lessened and nearer to eye on the sp3 is evident and its a better viewing experience off angle also, also it behaves better in daylight on full than the s7s

speed appears better, but that could be because this is a fresh install etc, even though the s7s is i5, i believe sp3 has higher cache levels on the various levels, so has more leeway in that regard, but really i cant report on speed, as i only used it for light work, although sp3 seems snappier to me

if i was looking to replace my s7s with sp3, it would be harder to justify than someone coming from an older slate or maybe from none, as the s7s behaves quite nicely for its age, i do like getting notification sounds when sp3 is in "sleep" makes it more like ipad than my s7 which you have to wake screen for it then to show you past notifications

the worst category for the samsung i would say compared to sp3 is battery, the sp3 is clearly meant to be used portably for a fairly long time and can cope with that due to newer gen cpu etc, the slate really does drain quickly for me

i think i will keep the s7s for now, but its a nice chance to see the sp3 and see how it compares, and if i was buying that type of thing again now, i wouldn't hesitate to get sp3 as that is now cheaper than the slate cost me

sorry for not scientific testing, only hearsay, due to it not being mine!

 

[xboxonthego3]

Here is a benchmark comparison of the processor in your Slate 7 compared to the processors in the Surface pro 3 i3 and i5. The far left being your Slate 7 processor. The i3 would have similar performance to your Slate 7 but would come up a little short. But you may not notice the difference. But the i5 you would definitely be able to tell the difference depending if you use heavy applications. This is just talking about the CPU. But I would imagine the Integrated graphics would also be a slight improvement themselves.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=802&cmp[]=2128&cmp[]=2054

 

[roystreet]

Thanks xboxonthego3...
I see a comparison there, but I noticed here Samsung Series 7 11.6" Slate vs Microsoft Surface Pro 3

...it states the Surface only gets around 3.77 hours of battery life, is that anyone's experience? I know my S7 doesn't get 7 hours of continuous use, but 3.77 is crazy.

 

[xboxonthego3]

Wow I would say the battery life is not accurate from what they are stating. But it also depends on your usage. If I play Skyrim or Civ V I would definitely get around 3 to 4 hours. But if you are just doing Office and web browsing I get around 7 to 8+ hours. I would be shocked if the Slate 7 is more efficient with battery life than the Surface Pro 3.

 

[roystreet]

Just FYI, I got the surface 3 & I'm so glad I did!! Build quality blows away the slate 7. The little bit extra screen space is noticeable. It's weight is much nicer. The battery life is AMAZING!! I did get the keyboard with it - Expensive...pheeew! I would definitely recommend the SP3 to anyone. I also like the win button on the side instead on at the bottom

 

[willgill]

Good decision Roystreet. I did the same thing. I had the Series 7 Slate and loved it. It was far ahead of it's time. The biggest issue I had with the S7 Slate is the awkward folio/keyboard I had to use with it. The other thing was the inaccuracies of the touch screen. It was difficult to actually select what I was pressing.

The SurfacePro3 takes everything S7 Slate started and nailed the execution. It's lighter, thinner, has built-in kick stand, faster, better battery life, magnetic attach keyboard, better speakers, USB 3.0 and broader peripheral support. Unfortunately, the S7 Slate was relatively unknown. The Surface line benefits from great advertising and product placement.