Mikey Campbell
Samsung on Thursday unveiled the Galaxy Tab S lineup, which comes in 10.5-inch and 8.4-inch flavors, boasts 2,560-by-1,600 pixel resolution Super AMOLED displays, supports fingerprint recognition and integrates Galaxy-only inter-device sharing software.
Introduced at a special press event in New York called "Tab Into Color," the Galaxy Tab S series represents Samsung's latest assault on Apple and the iPad. According to Samsung, the new hardware outshines any tablet on the market with its high-resolution display and top-shelf components.
Apparently the Korean company is so confident in the Tab S that it went so far as to put the tablet next to an iPad Air in the press demo room.
Specifications are similar to the Galaxy S5 smartphone, with an octo-core Exynos SoC, fingerprint scanner, 8-megapixel rear shooter and 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera on board. Samsung is offering both models in white and muted bronze colors.
The star of the show is the 2,560-by-1,600 pixel Super AMOLED display Samsung managed to squeeze into the slim chassis, which comes in at around 0.25 inches or 6.6 millimeters thin. The company claims the screen produces deeper blacks and more vibrant colors than the LCDs used in previous Galaxy tablets.
A fingerprint scanner is also included, though it appears the component is similar or identical to the unit used in the Galaxy S5. Also similar is a plastic rear shell, though the material choice reportedly cuts down on in-the-hand weight.
On the software side, Samsung introduced a new feature called SideSync that lets users pair with and navigate their Galaxy S5 on the tablet's screen. SideSync supports file transfers, app access and even phone calls; much like the new OS X and iOS continuity features presented by Apple at WWDC. The feature requires a Galaxy S5 to work and both devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.
In addition, the new Papergarden service grants access to digital versions of print magazines. It is not clear what titles will be available at launch and for now the feature is limited to customers in Brazil, Korea, the UK and the U.S.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S goes on sale in July and starts at $399 for the 8.4-inch version and $499 for the 10.5-inch model.
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57 Comments
Notice that they put it next to a Retina Mini, which does not have an IGZO display and suffers a bit in color accuracy. They didn't have the guts to put it next to the Air.
I had to laugh at the Engadget comments on this, one of the most popular was "Is anyone confused by all the tablets Samsung has announced?"
I see the media has a collective boner over the fact these tablets are slightly thinner and lighter than the iPads. So I guess thinner and lighter only matters when anyone not named Apple does it? Because every time Apple comes out with a thinner and lighter device the media tells us it's not innovation and is just boring, incremental updates.
The "fragmented" colour background on the screen seems appropriate
And they're still not thinner than the Xperia Tablet Z2, so what's the point? I could care less about thin, it's about the feel. Every single person who I've let hold my Air is stunned when they see how light it is, and how easy it is to hold. It's the perfect size.
It doesn't really matter what the hardware is like in my opinion, because as we all know, it still runs Android, and the great majority of sensible people choose iOS, because Android is just a mess. Only a tiny minority of Android users are even on the newest OS. This is in stark contrast to iOS, where the overwhelming majority is on the latest OS, and often within a day or two after the initial release. That is just not possible with Android, and never will be. Android is truly a ghetto operating system.
And who really cares about any Samsung tablet announcements in June, when Apple is going to be releasing their new iPad line up in the not so distant future most likely? That is going to kick so much ass, and you know it too, unless you happen to be a writer for Business Insider or a deranged Fandroid.