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.
Samsung's 8.5-inch Galaxy Tab S.
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.