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The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5 are Samsung's latest flagship
devices, built to show off the very best
of the company's hardware and
software prowess.
They're designed as upgrades to the Tab Pros we saw earlier this year,
with some spec bumps, a slightly evolved look and, of course, different
screen sizes, just in case you were foolishly expecting Samsung to
follow any kind of pattern as far as display dimensions are concerned.
Apart
from the screen sizes there's very little difference between the Tab S
models, so this review combines the two tablets into one. I'll talk
primarily about the 8.4-inch model and include additional observations
about the 10.5-inch version where necessary.
It's a
brutal battle down at the budget end of the tablet market — one that
Apple refuses to get involved in — but here we're very much at the
premium end of the scale. The Galaxy Tab S devices have been built to go
toe-to-toe with Apple's slates, a brave and perhaps foolhardy
undertaking.
First
impressions are good, though: these devices feel like they're made by a
company that has perfected its art. Both models have a 2560 x 1600
pixel WQXGA Super AMOLED screen, which works out at 287 pixels-per-inch
on the larger model and 360ppi on the smaller one.
The
internals are identical, comprising 3GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, an 8MP
rear camera and 2.1MP front-facing camera. The Samsung Exynos 5 Octa CPU
inside these tablets combines 1.9 and 1.3GHz quad-core processors with
the faster taking over from the slower when required at the expense of
some battery life.
Those are some eye-popping specs when you consider that the iPad Air gets by on a mere 1GB of RAM, for example, or that the 2013 Nexus 7
offers a resolution of just 323ppi on its 7-inch screen. There's much
more to a device than raw specs of course, but on paper at least Samsung
has produced a true champion.
The
pricing of these slates matches Apple's iPad line. The Wi-Fi Tab S
8.4-inch will set you back £319 (US$399.99, AU$479.00) the same as the
16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini and the Wi-Fi Tab S 10.5-inch comes in at £399 (US$499.99, AU$599.00) the same as the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad Air.
3G/4G versions of the tablets that can access mobile networks with a SIM card are also on the way, as are 32GB models.
Aside from the iPads and the Sony Xperia Tablet Z2,, the Galaxy Tab S doesn't have much competition. You could put it up against the likes of the Nexus 10
(though it's starting to show its age) but really with most other
Android tablets going for less powerful innards and lower prices,
Samsung has the premium end largely to itself. Has it produced an iPad
rival that Android users can be proud of?
Key features
Samsung
has never been one to shy away from packing in as many bells and
whistles as it can, and the Tab S is no exception. Like the Galaxy S5, the tablet boasts a fingerprint scanner that you may or may not prefer to a PIN code.
It
recognised my print every time, but because you need to swipe the home
button rather than just put your finger on it, the process can be fiddly
- especially the larger tablet, which meant some precise holding to
make the function work.
Multi-faceted
There's
a multi window feature for multi-tasking which works as advertised,
letting you chat while browsing the web or control your music while
poring over Google Maps and so on.
It's of more use on
the larger tablet and at this stage multi-tasking on a tablet feels kind
of superfluous — once you get a keyboard up on screen as well
everything starts to get really cluttered.
Tablets
are built for single-tasking and there doesn't seem to be any real need
to try and turn them into fully fledged computers, but if you think
you're going to find the feature useful then by all means power it up.
The
way that Samsung has implemented it works fairly well and managing open
windows and apps is straightforward. However, only the main native apps
and a few extras such as Facebook and Evernote support it, so you can't
go multi-tasking crazy.
Phone and tablet together
Another
Samsung extra is SideSync, enabling you to link a phone with your
tablet — you can then send and receive voice calls, transfer data, send
texts and more.
Unfortunately, it only works with a few Samsung phones (the S5, the S4 and the Galaxy Note 3)
which limits its appeal. Like Multi Window, it feels like a niche
feature created just to show off rather than to meet any particular
need, but to some it will be a great innovation.
There
are 30 different gifts bundled with the Tab S, covering subscriptions
to sites like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to an
in-flight Wi-Fi deal with Gogo and a free game or two.
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