Samsung's laptop-challenging Galaxy Tab S4 is here

When it comes to tablets, Apple really knows a trick or two to lure the customers in its favour. That said, Samsung has had a pretty impressive tablet lineup over the last couple of years and the Galaxy Tab S4 is their latest attempt to showcase the best of what the Android universe has to offer. Starting at $649 (approximately Rs 44,300), the Tab S4 just undercuts the Apple iPad Pro.

In keeping up with the times, the Tab S4 goes for a modern narrow-bezel display. There’s no Galaxy S9-esque Infinity Display here, but the new 10.5-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio ensures that the most of the face is used by the display. And since it’s a Super AMOLED panel, you can expect vibrant colours and contrasts. Narrow-bezels also mean that the home button-mounted fingerprint sensor is also gone — Facial Recognition and Iris Scanner now take care of biometric verification.

The Tab S4 carries forward the glass-metal build from the old Galaxy Tab S3. However, there are now four speakers — two on the top and two on the bottom. Samsung claims that these AKG-tunes speakers can deliver an impressive audio experience. Additionally, the 3.5mm headphone jack also stays.

The Tab S4 is built around a Snapdragon 835 chip accompanied by 4GB of RAM and at least 64GB of storage, which is expandable via a micro SD card slot. Android Oreo takes care of the daily errands. Samsung has now made the DeX Mode available onboard, which means users can summon the DeX interface on their tablet anytime. Combined with S Pen, Samsung aims to offer a PC-like software experience, including a Windows-like ToolBar and a desktop interface. The S Pen brings with itself all the goodies that we last saw on the Galaxy Note 8.

 If you factor in the additional magnetically-attaching Book Keyboard Cover worth $149, you have got yourself an Android-powered 2-in-1 convertible. There’s also a Daily Board mode that displays date, time and weather on one easy-to-access screen.

The Tab S4 is kept alive by a 7300mAh battery, which Samsung claims can deliver up to 16 hours of stamina. The battery can be topped up by a fats charger via the USB-C port.

Samsung will make the tablet available for sale in the US shortly. However, the company is tight-lipped about its availability in global markets, including India.

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