Samsung Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 review

Tablet manufacturers have, to date, largely steered clear of screens larger than 10.1in. But with rumours of a larger iPad rife, the landscape could be about to change – and Samsung is staking a claim on this new sector with the Android 4.4-based Galaxy NotePRO 12.2.

Inevitably, the NotePRO’s dominating feature is its superb 12.2in display. It boasts a super-sharp resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 and bags of contrast: we measured maximum brightness at 328cd/m2 and contrast at 1,171:1.

Unfortunately, a tablet this size will always feel significantly less portable than a regular 10.1in tablet, or an Apple iPad Air. Despite Samsung’s efforts to keep the bulk down (the NotePRO 12.2 is a mere 8.7mm thick) it’s more awkward to hold even than the hefty Nexus 10, especially one-handed – this is not a tablet you’ll want to read while standing up on a train.

Indeed, its 744g weight means you’ll be looking to prop it up on a surface or your lap at every opportunity. It’s surprising that Samsung hasn’t seen fit to build in a kickstand.

Specifications and features

Aside from that oversight, there’s little that this bear-sized tablet misses out on. Running the show is Samsung’s top-of-the-line eight-core CPU, the Exynos Octa 5, effectively a pair of quad-core CPUs working in tandem.

The faster 1.9GHz cores are used for demanding apps and games, while the slower but more efficient 1.3GHz ones come into play for less-demanding jobs such as video playback.

They’re backed up with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of base storage, expandable via a microSD slot. The NotePRO supports all the latest wireless communications standards, including 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4 and NFC, plus Wi-Fi Direct support and AllShare Cast for mirroring to Miracast-compatible TVs and monitors.

There is a 4G version (based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor instead of the Exynos), but it won’t be available in the UK until 17 May. At the back there’s an 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash, capturing photographs with plenty of detail and rich colour, with a second 2.2-megapixel camera at the front.

As usual with the Note brand, the NotePRO 12.2 also comes with Samsung’s S Pen pressure-sensitive stylus, which docks in a slot found in the top-right corner of the tablet. Pull it out and you can scribble notes, scrapbook parts of web pages and sketch out design ideas using the excellent SketchBook for Galaxy drawing app, which is free to download from the Samsung Hub store.

The NotePRO 12.2 runs on a base of Android 4.4, with Samsung’s TouchWiz and “Advanced Magazine UX” optimisations on top. This adds tile-based homescreens to the Android desktop, which can be populated with news, app and social feeds.

It’s no different to the interface on the Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 8.4, and you get all the same professional applications preloaded.

A few additional customisations are unique to the NotePRO 12.2. The Galaxy TabPRO 8.4 and Galaxy Note 10.1 have previously showcased the ability to run two Android apps side by side, but here it’s possible to view four apps simultaneously in Multi Window mode.

The keyboard has been updated too: it now looks like a physical keyboard, complete with bevelled edges on each key. Delete and Backspace keys are provided, as are cursor keys in the bottom-right corner.

Performance and real-world use

The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 is expensive at, £649, but the Octa CPU is a strong performer, scoring 13.8fps in the GFXBench T-Rex HD test, 522ms in the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, 932 and 2,686 respectively in the single- and multi-core Geekbench 3 tests, and 866 in the Peacekeeper browser test.

These are very respectable results: although the GFXBench result doesn’t match the iPad Air’s, that’s because the NotePRO 12.2 has more pixels to draw per frame. General web browsing feels super-smooth and highly responsive.

Unfortunately, not everything is so slick. As with its smaller sibling, the TabPRO 8.4, we found that the Magazine UX suffered from slight delays and pauses in general navigation, and it’s annoying that you can’t completely remove the tile-based homescreens. When you’re running three or four apps in the Multi Window view, resizing the panes feels surprisingly laggy.

Battery life is also below average for an Android tablet, although not bad in the overall scheme of things. In our looping video playback test, with the screen set to 120cd/m2, it lasted 9hrs 3mins before hitting 5% (at which point the screen dims dramatically and the tablet prevents you from adjusting brightness manually). This is well short of most modern non-Windows 8 tablets. The iPad Air lasted 12hrs 55mins.

Fit for work?

The NotePRO 12.2 is aimed at a professional market (it’s too heavy to compete with other consumer-focused tablets), and there are undoubtedly business scenarios where a larger-screened tablet makes sense, particularly with a pressure-sensitive stylus.

We can see the appeal for note-taking in meetings, sharing and annotating documents and displaying presentations – and for creative types who prefer to sketch directly onto a screen rather than a graphics tablet.

As a replacement for a laptop, however, it’s less convincing. It’s too unwieldy to hold in one hand and prod away on the keyboard easily. It doesn’t come with a physical keyboard in the box or even as an option, and there’s no stand to make typing on its excellent onscreen keyboard easier.

That’s not to say the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 isn’t a fabulous piece of hardware. We love the screen, we love the S Pen, we love its general performance (although not the responsiveness of the new UI elements), and we like the design. If you’re looking for a versatile tablet-style device for business, however, this isn’t the one we’d recommend. Save up a little longer and go for a Microsoft Surface Pro 2 instead.

Detail
Warranty	1 yr return to base
Physical
Dimensions	295 x 8.7 x 203mm (WDH)
Weight	744g
Display
Primary keyboard	On-screen
Screen size	12.2in
Resolution screen horizontal	2,560
Resolution screen vertical	1,600
Display type	Multitouch, capacitive
Panel technology	Super Clear LCD
Battery
Battery capacity	9,500mAh
Core specifications
CPU frequency, MHz	1.9GHz
Integrated memory	32.0GB
RAM capacity	3MB
Camera
Camera megapixel rating	8.0mp
Focus type	Autofocus
Built-in flash?	yes
Built-in flash type	Single LED
Front-facing camera?	yes
Video capture?	yes
Other
WiFi standard	802.11ac
Bluetooth support	yes
Integrated GPS	yes
Upstream USB ports	0
HDMI output?	yes
Video/TV output?	no
Software
Mobile operating system	Android 4.4