Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is the first interesting Android tablet in ages
At MWC 2017 we were treated to the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Book, but this was not the only announcement from the company still waiting to launch the Galaxy S8. Continuing to add to its Galaxy range, Samsung also officially unveiled the Galaxy Tab S3 -- and it looks pretty special.
As the 9.7-inch tablet comes equipped with an S Pen, it is somewhat reminiscent of a large Galaxy Note. The high-quality glass and metal build puts the tablet on a par with Apple's iPad, and audiophiles will be pleased to see the inclusion of quad-stereo speakers from AKG. But this Android 7 tablet has a lot more to offer.
In addition to an S Pen stylus, the Galaxy Tab S3 also comes with a keyboard -- meaning that buyers essentially have an Android-powered laptop out of the box. The 4GB of RAM is capable enough, and while the 32GB of storage may not seem like much, there is an all-important microSD slot which can be used to boost this by 256GB.
It would be easy to berate the 13MP and 5MP cameras, but this is a tablet, not a phone or dedicated camera; it's not the sort of device you're meant to be waving around as you take your holiday snaps. The quad core Snapdragon 820 is not going to set the world on fire, but the 6,000mAh battery will keep the tablet ticking over for a good number of hours. This is a solid work or gaming tablet that will turn heads.
Here are the full specs courtesy of Samsung:
DISPLAY: 9.7" Super AMOLED QXGA (2048 x 1536)
CHIPSET: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Quad Core 2.15GHz + 1.6GHz
LTE SUPPORT: LTE Cat.6 (300Mbps)
MEMORY: 4GB + 32GB, microSD up to 256GB
CAMERA: 13MP AF + 5.0MP, Flash
PORT: USB 3.1 (Type-C)
SENSORS: Accelerometer, Hall Sensor, RGB Sensor, Finger print Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geometric Sensor
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2X2 MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2
GPS: GPS + GLONASS, BEIDOU, GALILEO
DIMENSION, WEIGHT: 237.3 x 169.0 x 6.0mm, 429g (Wi-Fi) / 434g (LTE)
BATTERY CAPACITY: 6,000mAh, Fast Charging
OS/UPGRADE: Android 7.0
SAMSUNG SERVICES & APPLICATIONS: Samsung Smart Switch, Samsung Notes, Air Command, Samsung Flow
VIDEO: Recording: 4K (3840x2160) @ 30fps, Playback: 4K (3840x2160) @ 60fps
At the moment there is no word on pricing, but a UK release is slated for 31 March with pre-orders opening on 17 March.