The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5 brings major
improvements to DeX – the PC-like mode that Samsung added to Android. The
tablet is also a relatively rare higher end offering with a 10.5” Super AMOLED
screen and a Snapdragon 835 chipset.
DeX mode can be enabled without connecting the
tablet to a dock. This means apps will launch in resizable windows that you can
drag around. This tablet is also the first to support two screens – both the
tablet’s screen and the external monitor (connected over HDMI) are available.
Older DeX implementations disabled the phone’s screen.
Speaking of, the screen is a 10.5” Super AMOLED
panel with 2,560 x 1,600px resolution (16:10). The vivid colors of the screen
will be great for watching movies and the quad speakers enhance the experience
– they have been tuned by AKG and support Dolby Atmos (Netflix and Hulu have
Atmos content).
The tablet comes bundled with a new S Pen, which is
fairly large and with great ergonomics. The tablet and stylus combo can also be
used as a digital sketch pad or the tablet touchscreen can serve as a trackpad.
The Galaxy Tab S4 10.5 is powered by a Snapdragon
835 chipset with 4GB of RAM. With most of the Android tablet market focused on
mid-range and even entry-level hardware, the 835 is comparatively fast. And it
needs to be to create a PC-like experience. Microsoft’s Word, Excel and
PowerPoint are available.
Word will work especially well with the optional
Book Cover keyboard. It attaches to the tablet via pogo pins and magnets and
turns the Tab S4 into a laptop. There’s also a DeX dock for a desktop
experience if you prefer to attach your own accessories.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5 will launch with
Android 8.1 Oreo. It has a 7,300mAh battery and comes bundled with a 15W fast
charger. Samsung claims the battery is good for 16 hours of video playback.
Road warriors can pick the LTE (Cat. 16) version,
other might prefer the Wi-Fi-only model. Samsung Flow can help with Wi-Fi
tethering and will sync the notifications from your phone onto the tablet. In the US, Best Buy already has
the Tab S4 on pre-order, the Wi-Fi version anyway. The 64GB model costs US$ 650,
the oen with 256GB storage is US$ 750.
Euro prices for the 64GB model are € 700 for the
Wi-Fi only unit and € 760 for the LTE model. The Book Cover keyboard will be
€ 150 while a regular protective cover will be € 70. A charging dock will be
available for € 60. The tablet will be in stores from August 24.
