Samsung Introduces New 8" and 9.7" Galaxy Tab A Tablets
by Brandon Chester on April 20, 2015 3:28 PM EST
Today Samsung Electronics America announced two new tablets that are coming to market in the United States. Samsung's new Galaxy Tab A tablets come in 8.0" and 9.7" sizes, and Samsung is marketing them as tablets that are well suited for keeping in touch with friends and family. The specs of both tablets are laid out in the chart below.
| Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0" | Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7" | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 410 (APQ8016) 4x 1.2GHz Cortex A53, 400MHz Adreno 306 GPU |
|
| RAM/NAND | 16/32GB NAND + MicroSDXC, 1.5GB RAM | |
| Display | 8.0" 1024x768 PLS LCD | 9.7" 1024x768 PLS LCD |
| Dimensions | 208.4 x 137.9 x 7.5mm, 313g | 242.5 x 166.8 x 7.5mm, 449g |
| Camera | 5MP Rear Facing, 2MP Front Facing | |
| Battery | 4200 mAh (15.96 Whr) | 6000 mAh (22.8 Whr) |
| OS | Android 5.0 Lollipop | |
| Connectivity | 802.11 a/b/g/n + BT 4.0, microUSB2.0 | |
Both tablets have very similar specifications. They are both distinctly mid-range tablets, with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 at their heart, 1.5GB of RAM, and a 1024x768 PLS display. They're really only differentiated by the size of their displays, and subsequently their dimensions and battery capacity. I think it may be difficult for Samsung to charge a price premium for the 9.7" model when it doesn't have any improvements to display resolution or internal hardware over the 8.0" model.
What makes these new tablets stand out from Samsung's previous tablet offerings are their sizes and their design. Both tablets have a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is a significant departure from the 16:10 tablets that Samsung has produced in the past. Both tablets also have a full metal chassis, which will be an enormous improvement over the plastic construction of Samsung's other tablets. I am very interested to see what Samsung can do with this type of design on a high end tablet with flagship specifications.
Update: This article previously stated that he Galaxy Tab A tablets have a metal chassis. According to Samsung this is not actually the case.
Both Galaxy Tab A models are available for preorder now, and they'll begin to ship on May 1st in the United States. Both models are available in white, titanium, and blue finishes. The 8.0" model costs at $229, while the 9.7" model costs $299. There will also be a version of the 9.7" model with Samsung's S-pen included for $349. Through Samsung's new app partnership with Microsoft, the new tablets will come with Microsoft's Office for Android applications preinstalled, and buyers will receive 100GB of OneDrive storage for two years.
Source: Samsung via Businesswire
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UtilityMax - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
Just ignore the "list" prices. Once the tablet hits the market, the prices will adjust quickly to what people are willing to pay for it.Hubb1e - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Resolution isn't everything. 1024x768 is a pretty decent resolution for notebooks in the 13" range. Text is readable on it. If the displays have good blacks and accurate colors that can make up for their resolutions, but the price is still steep for an A53 based tablet.fackamato - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
No, 1024x768 is not a decent res for 13". 720 @ 13" is the bare minimum, 1440x900 would make it OK in most people's eyes.Can someone convert that to DPI or PPI?
kaidenshi - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
The 9.7" Samsung tablet above, at 1024x768, is 132ppi. 1024x768@13" is 98ppi.My Nexus 7 2013, at 1920x1200@7" is 323ppi, for the same price as the 8.0 inch Samsung (160ppi), with a faster SoC and more RAM, from two years ago.
You can find PPI/DPI for any screen using http://dpi.lv
Impulses - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
No, 1024x769 isn't acceptable on anything but budget stuff anymore, and it's certainly not any nicer on a laptop... Tho at least a laptop is likely to be viewed from slightly farther.ToTTenTranz - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
These specs at this price bring a whole new meaning to "milking the (brand) cow".I'd say these products are less worth mentioning than all those retailer-branded tablets using Mediatek chipsets and ipad screens, Brandon.
lilmoe - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
smh....Sammy............facepalm...
watzupken - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
This is poorly priced budget tablet from my opinion. Low end SOC, with poor resolution display. Its ironic that on the top end side, Samsung is on a resolution race, but on the low end, they are not using even an average resolution display. At this price, they probably will not sell any inside ring competition from the likes of Xiaomi and Huawei.atoms - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
Unfortunately, Samsung doesn't care what any of you think, or anyone that reads tech news sites.They aren't marketed towards the tech savvy, only stupid women that shop at Wal-Mart. "Poor suckers" is what they are saying.
Mumrik - Monday, April 20, 2015 - link
That strikes me as hilariously expensive for bottom level specs. It's like an HP Touchpad with twice the cores.