Samsung have just announced their latest tablet device in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5. We’re here on ground in New York to see just how does Samsung’s thinnest and lightest tablet setup fare and does the WQXGA screen live up to all the fanfare! We go hands on with the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5!
At first glance, the Tab S 8.4 is a very well made device, the 6.6mm thin body and 16:10 form factor take a little getting used to but all in all, it’s a very nice device in your hand. The rear is similar to the S5 in terms of design but in feel, I would still favour the S5 as the Tab S has a smoother, less rubberized finish, partially due to the fact its not a removable back cover. I’m not really crazy about the gold accents but I guess that’s something Samsung is trying to do to give a more “premium feel”
The next thing is the display. The 2K Super AMOLED display is perfect with the 8.4inch screen and while the Adaptive Display keeps it in a state of high vibrance, high contrast, it’s not as obvious as some of the older devices we’ve seen. While I’m usually one for a more neutral colour, the Tab S does things right and looks great even when compared to the “ageing” iPad Mini Retina display (it’s closest rival).
While it’s hard to tell from this lighting, we had to keep the colour balanced to the screen so as to give it a little better representation for the comparison. The Tab S was definitely more vibrant and while “washed out” may not necessarily be worse, the Tab S was certainly sharper due to the higher PPI. All in all, I’m not too convinced with 16:10 for a tablet, but heck this may just grow on me.
Body wise it is certainly thinner and lighter than the Retina iPad Mini but that’s also to do with materials used. I won’t lie but the 16:10 did feel a little bit better in my hand than the Tab S but they are both sitting squarely in the “comfortable 1 hand operation” zone.
The 10.5incher was no slouch either, the screen was as vibrant as ever but I can’t help but feel that the 8.4 was the perfect size for such a display like the 2K Super AMOLED. One of the cool things was the way the covers attached to the devices; The round magnetic circles on the rear are an elegant anchorpoint to the devices accessories and return to flush when there is nothing attached.
Papergarden does a great job with converting these Conde Nast publications to interactive magazine format. This is a great move on the part of Samsung, but while I prefer a physical copy in the long run, this is a good step forward.
The Quick Briefing panel is one that is optimized for the tablet and is reminiscent of the notifications bar on a Mac. It’s a nice single glance look at various bits of info and if it gets opened up a little (not much chance for this), it will be quite a good feature to have on an Android tablet.
There you have it, a quick hands-on look at the brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab S. If these images and words don’t satisfy you, do make sure to check out the hands-on video above!
