While Samsung’s new flagship tablet, the Galaxy Tab S4, may be getting most of the limelight in the Android tablet world today (for whatever that’s worth), the company also announced a second tablet today: the cheaper, less powerful Galaxy Tab A 10.5.
Much like the Tab S4, the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 features a 10.5-inch display, but nearly everything else about it is worse.
The screen is a 1080p LCD panel, not the higher-resolution 2560 x 1600 AMOLED on the Tab S4, there’s 3GB of RAM instead of 4GB, 32GB of storage instead of either the 64GB or 128GB options, a Snapdragon 450 processor instead of a Snapdragon 835, and no S Pen, iris scanner, or DeX support. The only spec the Tab A 10.5 does share with the Tab S4: the same 7,300mAh battery.
Like a Galaxy Tab S4, if it was cheaper and also worse
That’s all to be expected, though, since the Tab A 10.5 isn’t meant to fill the same role as the pricier and more powerful Tab S4. The Tab A 10.5 — which includes features like a Kids Mode and “Daily Board,” which lets the tablet show pictures, calendars, and a clock when not in use — is clearly meant for a different audience.
Samsung hasn’t announced a release date or price yet for the Galaxy Tab A 10.5, but it seems safe to say that it’ll cost less than the $649 starting price for the Galaxy Tab S4.