Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5

[Ravynmagi]

Samsung has unveiled their two new Galaxy Tab S tablets with AMOLED displays.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8168/...5-84-hands-on-with-samsungs-66mm-thin-tablets

10.5 or 8.4 inch 2560x1600 Super AMOLED
Exynos 5 Octa Core 1.9GHz (wifi only models) or Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz (for LTE models)
3GB RAM
16GB/32GB eMMC
802.11ac 2x2
micro SD, micro USB, IR blaster
6mm thick
294g (8.4) / 465g (10.5)

$400 for Tab S 8.4
$500 for Tab S 10.5

Pre-orders tonight at Midnight, launching in July

 

[ChronoReverse]

A high resolution AMOLED truly interests me especially the 8 incher

 

[Dari]

All these tablets from Samsung are confusing. I wonder what'll happen to their Pro line now? Will they be discontinued or be relegated to mid-tier? Confusing as all hell considering they're the same resolution as the AMOLED displays.

Something tells me that Samsung is trying to recreate the magic that brought about the Galaxy Note series: throwing anything and everything at the wall to see what sticks. Gear watches. And now AMOLED tablets that debut months after similar tablets. What a cluster****.

 

[postmortemIA]

Samsung is not following Apple's strategy to have a clear single line of premium products. they always did insane number of SKUs
Nobody is forcing you to buy it

 

[Commodus]

Samsung puts out a ton of devices, but there's usually still some kind of stratification going on. Here, the Tab S costs exactly the same at a given size as the Tab Pro. There's virtually no reason to get the earlier model (which is just a few months old!) unless you find it on sale.

The Tab S looks cool... it just seems like the company is confused, or didn't manage its release schedule properly. It's hard to see the Tab S really doing much to sway those who weren't already big Samsung fans, what with the iPad Air and Xperia Tablet Z2 already doing a good job in the thin-yet-powerful tablet department.

 

[Ravynmagi]

10.5 inch size is interesting. That is 8% more screen space. Though after the Surface Pro 3, I kinda wish some Android tablet would come up with a 3:2 ratio.

Anandtech thinks maybe it has an Exynos 5422 processor. I just read up on that, apparently that processor has the big.little design with 4 big cores and 4 slower little cores, but the 5422 can use all 8 cores at once.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7811/samsungs-exynos-5422-the-ideal-biglittle-exynos-5-hexa-5260

 

[Ravynmagi]

Something that bugs me is Samsung doesn't seem to make anything in black anymore. Isn't black kind of a popular color still? What is with these dark bronze colors? I want a black tablet.

If I buy one of these tablets, I'll probably have to pick the white model, because I obviously don't like bronze.

 

[s44]

Anand seemed confused as to why these were using Snapdragon 800, but to me it's obvious: Samsung deliberately used the same guts as in the current Note/Tab Pro models. This should keep software updates chugging to all of them on more or less the same schedule.

 

[Dari]

Samsung is not following Apple's strategy to have a clear single line of premium products. they always did insane number of SKUs
Nobody is forcing you to buy it

Right about that. It seems like they don't have any corporate strategy other than let groups make whatever and ship it. I would definitely hold off on buying their products considering a newer version is only a couple of months away, lol.

 

[cronos]

Something that bugs me is Samsung doesn't seem to make anything in black anymore. Isn't black kind of a popular color still? What is with these dark bronze colors? I want a black tablet.

If I buy one of these tablets, I'll probably have to pick the white model, because I obviously don't like bronze.

Not sure what you're talking about, the last generation of tablets Samsung released (Tab 4 all sizes, Tab Pro all sizes, Note Pro) are all available in black.

 

[you2]

I wonder if the 8.4 model will finally have decent battery life ?

 

[Dari]

I wonder if the 8.4 model will finally have decent battery life ?

I hope so. I find myself having to charge my Tab Pro often. My wife's iPad can go days of heavy use without having to be charged. I don't even use the thing that often since my boss said I was not allowed to have any company info on it. It's just used for The Economist and the damn thing drains battery like nothing else.

 

[fbrdphreak]

The 8.4 is really interesting to me as a replacement for my Nexus 7, but I will be waiting to see what happens with the Nexus 8.

 

[dawheat]

Right about that. It seems like they don't have any corporate strategy other than let groups make whatever and ship it. I would definitely hold off on buying their products considering a newer version is only a couple of months away, lol.

Never understood this thinking beyond customers needing some validation they have the 'newest and best' for some period of time. It's such a human condition for some to feel diminished enjoyment from their purchase if something 'better' comes along.

Ignoring Samsung's shotgun strategy, I actually prefer a product line that is constantly updated whenever newer technology is available. So whenever you're buying a flagship item, it's always the current best.

Should Samsung hold off on their high res AMOLED screens until the fall just so buyers of the Tab Pro can feel better about themselves? 6 months ago when it launched, it had the best tech Samsung had. So buyers got what they were promised.

What about folks who want to buy a tablet now? I'd have no issue if Samsung had updated the Note 3 in the spring to use the S801 (vs. the S800 it currently has). It doesn't diminish my appreciation of the phone and those who buy the phone now get the hottest hardware.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Not sure what you're talking about, the last generation of tablets Samsung released (Tab 4 all sizes, Tab Pro all sizes, Note Pro) are all available in black.

Okay, you caught me being a drama queen. I'm just annoyed that the Chromebook 2 13 doesn't come in black and the Galaxy S5 that is in black has a brushed aluminum look on the front bezel that makes the bezel more visible than I care for a black bezel to be. Just felt like Samsung was conspiring against the color black.

I don't mind other colors, but I want my front bezel to be solid black and with Samsung's AMOLED displays you can't even tell where the screen ends and the bezel begins, as long as the bezel is solid black.

 

[ponyo]

I hope so. I find myself having to charge my Tab Pro often. My wife's iPad can go days of heavy use without having to be charged. I don't even use the thing that often since my boss said I was not allowed to have any company info on it. It's just used for The Economist and the damn thing drains battery like nothing else.

You were warned the battery life on the Tab Pro sucked in the previous thread. Yet you bought it anyway knowing even when people told you.

I'm curious about the AMOLED screen in the Tab S. AMOLED is the only reason I would buy one.

 

[Ravynmagi]

You were warned the battery life on the Tab Pro sucked in the previous thread. Yet you bought it anyway knowing even when people told you.

I'm curious about the AMOLED screen in the Tab S. AMOLED is the only reason I would buy one.

Hmm... apparently the Tab S has a smaller battery too. Well, guess that's to be expected as Samsung goes for a tablet thinner than my phone.

 

[Commodus]

Should Samsung hold off on their high res AMOLED screens until the fall just so buyers of the Tab Pro can feel better about themselves? 6 months ago when it launched, it had the best tech Samsung had. So buyers got what they were promised.

What about folks who want to buy a tablet now? I'd have no issue if Samsung had updated the Note 3 in the spring to use the S801 (vs. the S800 it currently has). It doesn't diminish my appreciation of the phone and those who buy the phone now get the hottest hardware.

The real question is whether Samsung is taking enough steps forward. A nicer screen, a fingerprint reader and a couple of software extras don't really justify an update by themselves. Odds are that if you weren't sold on the Tab Pro, this won't change your mind. Waiting a few months would have given the Tab S a better chance of survival against both immediate competitors and the inevitable iPad update in the fall. The current rumours for the next iPad have it getting an A8 chip (no surprises there), an 8-megapixel camera and Touch ID, so it'd likely clean the Tab S' clock in performance while at least matching it in other hardware features.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are new Galaxy Notes at IFA, but those are likely going to be more expensive than equivalent Tab S models.

 

[ponyo]

The real question is whether Samsung is taking enough steps forward. A nicer screen, a fingerprint reader and a couple of software extras don't really justify an update by themselves. Odds are that if you weren't sold on the Tab Pro, this won't change your mind. Waiting a few months would have given the Tab S a better chance of survival against both immediate competitors and the inevitable iPad update in the fall. The current rumours for the next iPad have it getting an A8 chip (no surprises there), an 8-megapixel camera and Touch ID, so it'd likely clean the Tab S' clock in performance while at least matching it in other hardware features.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are new Galaxy Notes at IFA, but those are likely going to be more expensive than equivalent Tab S models.

But that's true for pretty much everyone now and going forward. Most people already have their tablets and they're starting to hold on to it much longer now. We're at a point the hardware is good enough for most people. Apple has the same problem with their iPad update. Tablet market is still growing but now at a slower pace. We're not going to see 50%-100% yr growth anymore.

Samsung holds a wildcard which is their AMOLED tech. They can use that to separate themselves from the pack and i expect AMOLED to play big part in Samsung premium tablets going forward.

 

[Bateluer]

Need to check out that 8.4in S model in person in a month. I just bought the GPE LG GPad, but I was really impressed with the display on the TabPro 8.4. Might buy the Tab S 8.4 to replace the LG, then slide the LG down the line to workout device, and sell off my older Note 8.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I'm thinking about replacing my G Pad 8.3 with a Tab S 8.4. Tab S 8.4 is smaller in size and lighter, but still has a slightly bigger screen. And I don't like the aluminum back on the LG tablet, real finger print magnet, gets dirty feeling real easy.

 

[luv2liv]

i wish this thing was water proof or at least water resistance like the sony

 

[Ravynmagi]

i wish this thing was water proof or at least water resistance like the sony

I'm happy it's not really. Water proofing and resistance seems to add bulk to devices. Xperia X2 is super thin, but has massive bezels and you have to deal with flaps over the ports.

 

[Dari]

Never understood this thinking beyond customers needing some validation they have the 'newest and best' for some period of time. It's such a human condition for some to feel diminished enjoyment from their purchase if something 'better' comes along.

Ignoring Samsung's shotgun strategy, I actually prefer a product line that is constantly updated whenever newer technology is available. So whenever you're buying a flagship item, it's always the current best.

Should Samsung hold off on their high res AMOLED screens until the fall just so buyers of the Tab Pro can feel better about themselves? 6 months ago when it launched, it had the best tech Samsung had. So buyers got what they were promised.

What about folks who want to buy a tablet now? I'd have no issue if Samsung had updated the Note 3 in the spring to use the S801 (vs. the S800 it currently has). It doesn't diminish my appreciation of the phone and those who buy the phone now get the hottest hardware.

Ridiculous. It's only been a couple of months. No one does this except Samsung. It would make me hesitant about purchasing their product in the future if there is no predictability.

You were warned the battery life on the Tab Pro sucked in the previous thread. Yet you bought it anyway knowing even when people told you.

I'm curious about the AMOLED screen in the Tab S. AMOLED is the only reason I would buy one.

This is true and I should've known better. But it's a freakin tablet, not something I use constantly. I only use it on the train to read and at home to read and BS. Then I hand it to my son and he does his thing on it. But, I got to say, the battery sucks donkey balls. The worst I've ever seen. You've got a 3 year old iPad 2 beating it in battery life. Embarrassing for Samsung. I think I'll stick with LG and SONY when it comes to tablets going forward.

 

[dawheat]

Ridiculous. It's only been a couple of months. No one does this except Samsung. It would make me hesitant about purchasing their product in the future if there is no predictability.

The Tab Pro was announced in Jan and released in the US in Feb. The Tab S was announced in June and will be released in July. 5 months give or take.

I still disagree - I feel like annual product refreshes are so outdated with how quickly technology incrementally improves. Why should any buyer in the 2nd half of a product annual cycle have to 'settle' for not up to date product.

I don't feel like 2X a year refreshes are ridiculous. However in truth this is going to be a bit of the outlier since these AMOLED screens weren't ready in Jan. So I wouldn't be surprised if these high res AMOLED screens became the new flagship standard for Samsung and the 'Pro' and S lines converged at the end of the year.