Samsung has officially launched Galaxy Tab S in India at a premium price. At the launch event in New Delhi, Samsung claimed to have 50 percent of the market share in tablet segment and introduced 8.4 Inch and 10.5 inch display variants of its new Tab S series. Is it worth the asking price? Let’s take a look.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 Quick Specs
- Display Size: 8.4 Inch Super AMOLED WQXGA resolution, 294 PPI, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 10 point multi touch
- Processor: Exynos 5420 octa with 4 Cortex A15 cores clocked at 1.9 GHz and 4 Cortex A7 cores clocked at 1.3 GHz along with Mali T628 MP6 GPU
- RAM: 3 GB
- Software Version: Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI
- Camera: 8 MP camera, Capable of Full HD, 1080p video recording
- Secondary Camera: 2.1 MP
- Internal Storage: 16 GB/ 32 GB
- External Storage: MicroSD support up to 128 GB
- Battery: 4,900 mAh
- Connectivity: HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, GLONASS, Micro USB 2.0
- Others: SIM- Micro SIM, NFC – No
Samsung Tab S 10.5 Hands on, Quick Preview, Camera, Features and Overview HD [Video]
Design, Form Factor and Display
The Galaxy Tab S8.4 takes design cues from Samsung Galaxy S5 and we see the familiar perforated plastic/ faux leather back cover. The highlight of the design is the fact that Samsung has managed to reduce thickness to only 6.6 mm.
This coupled with a moderate weight of 294 grams, makes it easier to handle and carry around. The back cover doesn’t look quite good but definitely provides a good grip for the device. Overall, the design department has been handled very well. With metallic curve edges bordering the rear plastic design, this is perhaps the best designed Samsung tablet in market.
The home button and other keys are placed for portrait orientation on Tab S 8.4, this can be slightly irritating if you plan on landscape mode usage more often and also use the finger print sensor clubbed with home button for unlocking.
The 8.4 Inch WQXGA super AMOLED display is gorgeous. It’s the highlight of this new tablet meant to please those interested in watching videos and multimedia content on their tablets. It is Super AMOLED technology at its best with rich colors, great contrast and mouth-watering blacks. If you don’t like over saturated colors of AMOLED Displays, Samsung has provided with several color modes for satiating individual tastes.
Processor and RAM
The Processor used is Exynos 5420 Octa with 4 Cortex A15 based cores clocked at 1.9 GHz and 4 Cortex A7 cores clocked at 1.3 GHz. We would have loved to see a better Snapdragon 800 or perhaps latest Exynos 5422 chipset with HPM at this price range, but Samsung is still sticking to Exynos chipsets for Indian market.
3 GB of Ample RAM will aid smooth multi tasking and we expect the processor to handle most moderate and heavy tasks efficiently. It might get heated while intensive gaming.
Camera and Internal Storage
Most people don’t use their tablets as primary photography devices, but perhaps this is changing. Samsung has provided with voice calling in this premium range 8.4 inch tablet and thus a good rear camera shouldn’t be the odd one out.
The 8 MP rear camera with F/2.4 aperture is capable of recording 1080p videos and good quality images. Under low light conditions, the camera managed to capture good details with very little noise. A 2.1 MP front camera is also present for video calling, which wasn’t stunning, but will suffice for good quality video chat.
The internal storage is 16 GB and can be further extended up to 128 GB using MicroSD card support. This should be enough storage space to pacify everyone.
User Interface and Battery
Samsung has provided with a 4900 mAh battery inside the sleek body cavity and we expect that to comfortably last for good user experience. Samsung has not yet provided any stats for exactly how long it’s going to hold but we are optimistic about it.
The software is Android 4.4 KitKat, heavily customized with TouchWiz UI with highlighted features like Multi-Windows which allows you to split the large display for effective multi tasking, SideSync 3.0 which allows your tablet to sync with Galaxy S5, and more. The finger print scanner clubbed with the home button works as it does on Galaxy S5, which implies you won’t be using it much. The Finger print scanner allows 8 different users to securely keep their private data on one device.
The homescreen also allows for Magzine UI panes similar to Galaxy S5. The camera app and several other UI features and design also match Galaxy S5.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 Photo Gallery
Conclusion
Our experience with Galaxy Tab S8.4 was delightful, but the tablet still seems overpriced. Perhaps after the initial price cut, the Galaxy Tab S8.4 will be better value for your money. The tablet is however checks all boxes with a great camera, gorgeous display and powerful chipset. If you are looking for a high end portable multimedia device, Samsung Galaxy Tab S8.4 will cater to your every need.
