So a little backstory.

I’ve used android phones since 2009, and switched to the dark side late last year to an iPhone 12 Pro Max. I had been on a Samsung s20+ before that and just wasn’t happy with the curved screen, the fact that you could only utilize the 120hz refresh rate at 1080p, and the absolutely worst camera on a flagship phone.

I’ve been using iPad Pros since 2016 for digital art, since Google absolutely hates tablets and refuses to adopt any kind of app design standard for them, as well as the fact that there are just much better, professional level art apps in the apple app store.

Fast forward to this week… I saw that the Galaxy Tab S7 was on sale for $499 on Amazon, so I pulled the trigger. I wanted to see if anything had changed since the last time I’ve been on an android tablet, and the android ecosystem as a whole, and I wanted to share my experience.

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3 Things I Like About the iPhone 12 Pro Max The Camera

It’s the best camera I’ve used on a smartphone. So far, anyways. Every shot turns out perfect. The camera app itself is pretty simplistic, but when you get into the camera roll to make any edits is when the software really shines. Editing photos is super intuitive and easy with a wide variety of editing tools.

The App Store

Not the UX of the app store, because it’s awful, but in terms of app variety and selection. And I do think this is more for the iPad Pro than the 12 Pro Max, but feel that it does apply to the phone as well. Procreate is one of the best digital art apps out there that you can’t find on Android. Noteability has changed my life in terms of note-taking. Shapr3D is an amazingly intuitive 3d application that works perfectly with the apple pencil. There are many more and too many to list here.

The Hardware

I think that while it has an awful notch, it is a very attractive device that feels good in my hands. It’s a heavy phone, but I actually like it.

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3 Things I Dislike Notifications

I knew what I was getting into here. Or at least I thought I did. I wasn’t truly prepared for what a mess this would turn out to be on a daily driver. I guess I just didn’t get as many notifications on my iPad that made me really truly appreciate what a cluster they are. No organization whatsover, iOS just throws vomit at you and if you haven’t checked them in a few hours, it becomes cumbersome to go through each one.

The Screen

Don’t get me wrong… it’s a good screen. But my wife asked me to replace the screen protector on her Pixel 4 the other day and I couldn’t help notice that it’s screen was so much brighter, the contrast was higher and the refresh rate made it so nice to use. And after that I kept noticing my phone’s 60hz display and I got sad.

Gestures

Or really the lack of them. I really miss Android’s gestures. Looking for a “back” arrow in the news app, then trying to find it in chrome, and then the reddit apps… it’s all over the place. iOS needs some consistency in this department.

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My Experience with the Tab S7 and Android in 2021 My first impression pulling it out of the box was that it felt more premium than my iPad Pro. I don’t know why, they both seem to be made out of the same materials and are even designed similarly, there was just something that impressed me about it right out of the box. And when I turned it on, the screen was just so beautful and fluid and it was so satisfying just typing on even the Samsung keyboard.

After setting it up it was SO NICE to be able to set up my homescreens to my liking. Organizing and searching for apps on android is just so much easier. No more moving app icons around and having the others automatically flow around them as you place them.

The notifications started coming in, and they actually made me feel so much happier. I can expand them, share stuff on the fly, and they’re grouped together so conveniently.

It was then time to download and try out some art apps. Clip Studio comes with the S7 along with a 6-month trial, and it is a really nice art app. I never tried it on an iPad (it has some bad reviews in the apple app store so i never tried it). Very fluid and it has just about every tool and option under the sun. I can see myself paying for that one after the trial.

I downloaded Infinite Painter and Medibang Paint and they worked fine… but seem to run much better on my iPad. No Photoshop or Illustrator is a huge bummer. And Affinity designer is sorely missed.

I really like the S-Pen! I was surprised here… i didn’t think I’d like the rubber nib, but it works really well and the size is perfect for my hands, even if it’s a little on the lighter side compared to the apple pencil.

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In Conclusion After almost a year on an Apple device, and getting back into Android on the Galaxy Tab S7, I’m really looking forward to getting back into an Android phone (Pixel 6 Pro, I’m looking at you). There are many things that are nice with iOS, but I think that overall Android is the better OS in terms of user experience.

I don’t know that I’m ready to give up my iPad Pro yet, but I’m really having fun with the Tab S7. It may become just my main media consumption device… I don’t think the software is there yet to become my main creative driver.