The other day Samsung announced a very ambitious product, the Galaxy Tab S4. A tablet that comes at a time when the only company that seems to be making money from this space is Apple with their iPads. The Galaxy Tab S4 is here to solve Android tablet’s biggest problems, productivity.
The case of being mobile has never been an issue really, the only problem has been underpowered tablets that users have slowly turned into kid’s toys which have led to the gadgets significantly losing market share as no one has a real need for them anyway.
However, if Apple’s sales are anything to go by, where the company reported having sold over 11.5 million iPads in their last quarter, there is still a market for tablets out there, premium tablets for that matter.
Enter the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. A 10.5-inch tab that wants to take attention away from the iPad Pro and Surface Pro. The Tab S4 has a Super AMOLED display with 4GB of RAM and fairly low 64GB of internal storage, a dated Snapdragon 835 processor and a massive 7300mAh battery that is rated for up to 16 hours of video playback for those who use tablets for entertainment purposes. Of course, the tablet runs on Android 8.0 Oreo but Samsung has included some software tricks up its sleeves to ensure that the device competes effectively in this space, DeX interface.
If you remember correctly, DeX was introduced with the Galaxy S8 and it’s a desktop-like interface built within Samsung’s software that allows users to use their devices as they would a PC with multitasking, keyboard shortcuts and apps opened in resizeable windows.
This DeX integration works without the need for a dock, unlike the previous implementation. DeX on the Tab S4 is accessed through a toggle on the quick settings panel or by plugging in the keyboard cover that is sold separately. With DeX, users can even hook up the Tab S4 to an external monitor for better multitasking.
Other productivity features have been brought over from the Note series of flagships through the S-Pen. Just like on the Note8, users can take screen-off memos, scroll, scribble, write and even create personalized GIFs by using the pen.
The tablet experience is not complete without the inclusion of entertainment features. Samsung’s Tab S4 comes with four speakers that have been tuned by AKG Aand feature Dolby Atmos sound enhancement.
With all honesty, the Galaxy Tab S4 sounds like the device that could take on the likes of Chromebooks and serve people who only rely on light usage on their laptops but here comes the interesting part, the device will go on sale in Kenya towards the end of August with a price tag of around Kes.72,000. If you gasped even a little at that price, this device is not for you, so spare the rants on the comment section below.
Oh yeah, there are cameras on the Tab S4, a 13MP main camera and an 8MP selfie shooter but who will be taking photos on their tablets anyway?