Earlier Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S devices in India to compete with iPad Air and iPad Mini. The Samsung devices comes with WQXGA Super AMOLED (2,560 x 1,600) display and powered by Octa-Core processor. Samsung Galaxy Tab S is much thinner and it is only 6.6mm when compared with Apple iPad Air (7.5mm thick) and Apple iPad Mini (7.2mm thick). The Samsung Galaxy Tab S comes in Titanium Bronze or Dazzling White and will be available from mid July 2014. At an event in New Delhi, I spent some time with Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and sharing first experience:
Build & Design
At a first glance, the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 has an impressive design and looks good-device. Although it follows the footprint design of Samsung Galaxy S5, the tablet looks more premium thanks to the metal & curved edges. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S has same ‘dimple’ rear effect that Isaw in Samsung Galaxy S5 but there is a huge improvement in the rear-back when compared with the plastic back of the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Apart from Super AMOLED display, the size and weight are the true strengths of Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4. It weighs only 289 gram and according to Samsung India, it is the slimmest tablet the world with 6.6mm thickness. It is easy to hold and can easily be used for reading & watching movies for long time, thanks to Super AMOLED display.
On the front, it features a 8.4-inch Super AMOLED display screen. The side bezel is not very large which gives the tablet a compact look. The Home hardware button and capacitive keys for Back & multitasking located just below it. The Home key also integrated with fingerprint scanner.
The back of the tablet features a non-removable, plastic case that sports a dimpled, faux-perforated texture similar to Galaxy S5.
The right edge of the tablet has slots for the SIM card and microSD card. In addition to this, there is Infrared port, volume rocker button & Power Key.
The bottom edge features a micro-USB and 3.5mm headset jack.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 features a 8.4-inch Super AMOLED display with resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels at 359 ppi and Samsung claims that the display has a contrast ratio of 100,000:1. In addition to this, it comes with Adaptive display which ensures the best visual experience anywhere, anytime by intelligently adjusting the saturation & sharpness based on the application being viewed. The display offers good brightness levels and excellent viewing angles. Text and graphics look extremely crisp and sharp. The screen resolution is higher when compared with iPad Mini with Retina display’s resolution.
Hardware
Samsung Galaxy Tab S is powered by an EXYNOS 5 Octa-Core processor (1.9GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core) and it is paired with 3GB RAM. It has 16GB in-built memory which can be expanded further up to 128GB via microSD card. While using the tablet, I didn’t notice any lag or stutter and there is no problem in launching & switching between the apps.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S features a 8-megapixel rear-camera with LED flash and 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. The camera quality is decent and found images clicked are pretty good.
In terms of connectivity, it has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, infrared, 3G and voice calling capabilities. At the event, Samsung said that, soon they will launch a 4G-LTE version of the tablet that will support Indian 4G bands.
It packs 4,900mAh battery and according to Samsung, it consumes less energy when compared with LCD displays.
Software
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI running on the top.
The tablet in-built features like Fingerprint Scanner, Kid’s Mode with own dedicated interface, Ultra-Power Saving Mode, Group Play, S-Note, S Translator, Samsung Link, Scrapbook, Story Album, Quick Connect to connect to nearby devices for content sharing and more. Samsung Galaxy Tab S comes with preloaded apps like Milk Audio, Papergarden, Samsung WatchON and SideSync 3.0 among others.
It comes with Galaxy Gifts Widget that offers 30 premium apps for free, 100 free HD movies on myPlex and 21 Indian magazine subscription on Magzter for 3 months. Samsung also offers unlimited subscription for the Marvel comics app for 3 months offering access to 15,000 comics and free books through Kindle for Samsung and Google Play apps.
The SideSync 3.0 allow users to make and receive calls and share content through their Galaxy S5 phones over Wi-Fi direct.
Multiple user profiles is a great feature for households where the device is used by multiple users and it is limited for Galaxy S5 as of now.
Multitasking is supported through the Multi-Window feature and makes the tablet pretty useful.
Samsung is also offering free content bundled with the tablet, including 100 free HD movies, quarterly subscription to 21 Indian magazines, quarterly subscription to Marvel Unlimited service for access to comic book and free books through Kindle for Samsung and Google Play apps.
Samsung also recently launched Kick, a football-focused app giving real-time stats and player details, related to teams in Europe’s top leagues and of course from the World Cup. The app is only available on Samsung’s tablets for the moment, and coming to the company’s smartphones in August.
Hands-On Images
