Post by Edmon E. Gabonilas on Jul 20, 2015 14:22:25 GMT 8
When Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5 last year, it drew quite a large amount of attention thanks in no small part to its beautiful Super AMOLED display, the largest ever produced by the company for a commercial product. The tablet brought with it many of the creature comforts from the Galaxy S5, including design cues, a swipe-based fingerprint reader for biometric security, and the latest TouchWiz features (at the time).
Thanks to a steady stream of leaks, we’ve technically known about the follow-up, the Galaxy Tab S2, for some time now. The past few weeks saw the stream of news turn into a relative title wave, and indeed the announcement rumorproved to be spot-on. Samsung has just officially announced the new installments in its premium tablet lineup.
The Galaxy Tab S2 comes in an 8-inch, and 9.7-inch variant, both of which employ a 4:3 aspect ratio 2048×1536 SAMOLED display, and will be available in LTE and Wi-Fi-only configurations. It features an Exynos 5433 Octa-core SoC, 3GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of on-board storage, and an 8-megapixel rear, 2.1-megapixel front camera set-up (no flash, sorry). It will ship with Android 5.0.2 and features the same “touch-based” fingerprint sensor used in the Galaxy S6 and has support for microSD.
The 9.7-inch variant will include a 5,870mAh battery, and the 8-inch variant a 4,000mAh power-cell. Both devices will be available in either black or white, measure just 5.6mm thick and employ an aluminum frame, but soft-plastic rear panel. The smaller Tab S2 will, in LTE-configuration, include an earpiece for voice calls, however this feature is typically removed from the US carrier-based models.
The Galaxy Tab S2 will begin to hit stores next month. While no exact details have been provided, based on previous tablet releases we expect the LTE variant to release some weeks after the Wi-Fi model. Samsung’s press release declined to mention the exact cost of the device, however SamMobile is quoting the European prices as follows, presumably for the base-level 32GB configuration.
Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 Wi-Fi: €399 ($432)
Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 LTE: €469 ($508)
Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 Wi-Fi: €499 ($540)
Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 LTE: €569 ($616)
It will be of particular interest to see how this product fares in the crowded tablet market, especially amid reports of lackluster global salesand the general malaise that some consumersmight feel towards them. While the Galaxy Tab S2 is definitely the most impressive tablet Samsung has yet produced in terms of its slim profile and fantastic screen, there are a few curious elements as well that may play a part in determining just how strong the sales will be:
The lack of a rear-camera flash module is perplexing given how even last year’s Tab S models featured one. The decision to go with the Galaxy Note 4‘s Exynos 5433 processor instead of the new7420 SoC from the Galaxy S6 is another issue, though largely one the general public will not be aware of. The use of a plastic back means that the product will still be viewed as having a lower build quality than all-metal competitors, and the 4:3 aspect ratio screen is going to be a problem for those who are keen on widescreen.
With that said, anyone looking for a new tablet will definitely want to consider picking up the Tab S2 when it hits stores next month. Those hoping for a more affordable option immediately avaliable might want to consider the Galaxy Tab A. Leave us a comment below with your thoughts, as well as the size and configuration you will be picking up, if any.
Source: AA
Thanks to a steady stream of leaks, we’ve technically known about the follow-up, the Galaxy Tab S2, for some time now. The past few weeks saw the stream of news turn into a relative title wave, and indeed the announcement rumorproved to be spot-on. Samsung has just officially announced the new installments in its premium tablet lineup.
The Galaxy Tab S2 comes in an 8-inch, and 9.7-inch variant, both of which employ a 4:3 aspect ratio 2048×1536 SAMOLED display, and will be available in LTE and Wi-Fi-only configurations. It features an Exynos 5433 Octa-core SoC, 3GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of on-board storage, and an 8-megapixel rear, 2.1-megapixel front camera set-up (no flash, sorry). It will ship with Android 5.0.2 and features the same “touch-based” fingerprint sensor used in the Galaxy S6 and has support for microSD.
The 9.7-inch variant will include a 5,870mAh battery, and the 8-inch variant a 4,000mAh power-cell. Both devices will be available in either black or white, measure just 5.6mm thick and employ an aluminum frame, but soft-plastic rear panel. The smaller Tab S2 will, in LTE-configuration, include an earpiece for voice calls, however this feature is typically removed from the US carrier-based models.
The Galaxy Tab S2 will begin to hit stores next month. While no exact details have been provided, based on previous tablet releases we expect the LTE variant to release some weeks after the Wi-Fi model. Samsung’s press release declined to mention the exact cost of the device, however SamMobile is quoting the European prices as follows, presumably for the base-level 32GB configuration.
Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 Wi-Fi: €399 ($432)
Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 LTE: €469 ($508)
Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 Wi-Fi: €499 ($540)
Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 LTE: €569 ($616)
It will be of particular interest to see how this product fares in the crowded tablet market, especially amid reports of lackluster global salesand the general malaise that some consumersmight feel towards them. While the Galaxy Tab S2 is definitely the most impressive tablet Samsung has yet produced in terms of its slim profile and fantastic screen, there are a few curious elements as well that may play a part in determining just how strong the sales will be:
The lack of a rear-camera flash module is perplexing given how even last year’s Tab S models featured one. The decision to go with the Galaxy Note 4‘s Exynos 5433 processor instead of the new7420 SoC from the Galaxy S6 is another issue, though largely one the general public will not be aware of. The use of a plastic back means that the product will still be viewed as having a lower build quality than all-metal competitors, and the 4:3 aspect ratio screen is going to be a problem for those who are keen on widescreen.
With that said, anyone looking for a new tablet will definitely want to consider picking up the Tab S2 when it hits stores next month. Those hoping for a more affordable option immediately avaliable might want to consider the Galaxy Tab A. Leave us a comment below with your thoughts, as well as the size and configuration you will be picking up, if any.
Source: AA
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