After much speculations and rumors, Samsung has finally unveiled its new line-up of tablet devices called Samsung Galaxy Tab S. And yes, they offer fingerprint scanner just like its flagship device Galaxy S5 and Tizen-run Samsung Z.There are two devices of this line-up, one featuring 8.4-inch screen and the other a 10.5-inch. Both of these tablets feature Super AMOLED display and a lot of vibrant color. Let’s dive into the specifications to find out what makes these new tablets that Samsung claims to be the thinnest and lightest tablets they ever shipped.
The Basics
Though different screen size, both devices feature the same 2560×1600 pixels resolutions along with the Super AMOLED display technology. The company claims that the tablets produce 90% more color than any other tablet currently on the market. To power these devices, Samsung has put Exynos 5 Octa processor on both of these devices’ WiFi models. If you opt for the LTE variant, you’ll be blessed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core chip clocked at 2.3 GHz.
The fingerprint scanner at Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablets come into play for various reasons. Most useful likely being the ability to create up to 8 different user profiles each activated by fingerprint scanner. So if there are 8 or less members in your family and you have to share the tablet with them all, you can have them their own account secured by their fingerprints. (Can’t tell what will happen if you have more than 8 potential users in your family, though.)
New Features
Samsung has another new feature up its sleeves, and it’s called Sidesync. If you watched Apple’s WWDC 2014 and were impressed by iOS 8’s Continuity feature, this is similar to what that is. Sidesync on Samsung Galaxy Tab S allows you to pick up phone calls, send or receive texts and do a lot more smartphone-based tasks by pairing up your tablet with a [possibly Samsung] smartphone.
Also, to take advantage of what the Korean company claims has 90% more color than any other tablet, it has partnered with National Geographic, Conde Nast, and Marvel to offer Samsung Galaxy Tab S users a specially optimized version for the Super AMOLED display the tablet sports. You will also receive “Galaxy Gifts” such as free trial content from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, etc. The Galaxy Gifts also include a free copy of the popular movie Gravity in addition to 90 days of free access to Google Play Music.
With all that power and display color, how about the battery life? Samsung says that both of these tablets can offer up to 11 hours of battery life if you were to watch 1080p video endlessly. But we assume you won’t be for that long time, which means the battery may last a little longer.
Price and Availability
All of that shows how determined Samsung is to make Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablets popular to all levels of consumers. So how’s the price? Samsung says the 8.4-inch WiFi version will go on sale for $399 while the 10.5-inch will cost $499. Pre-orders have already started in the United States where the devices will be available starting this July.
Are you interested in buying a Samsung Galaxy Tab S device for yourself? Let us know in the comments why or why not.
