Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Tab S3 in Barcelona, Spain at MWC 2017. The tablet will replace the older Galaxy Tab S2 from two years ago. The company is aiming this latest generation at high-end Android-based tablets squarely at the Microsoft Surface and Apple iPad Pro tablets. Here’s everything to know about it.



As expected, Samsung just went on stage to publicly announce a new tablet, the Galaxy Tab S3. Rumors, leaks and reports regarding this model go back a while, and now we have it. This is the first tablet Samsung has launched in quite a while, it’s hard to believe.

Samsung’s new tablet adopts the same mirrored glass and aluminum band construction as we’ve seen with the Galaxy S7 smartphone. It’s a world away from the previous generation Galaxy Tab S2, built from plastic. However, despite the difference in materials, the Galaxy Tab S3 is almost the exact same size as the outgoing model, only being marginally thicker and heavier (6mm versus 5.6mm, 429g versus 389g for the Wi-Fi model). In terms of core specifications, the new Galaxy Tab S3 is based around a 9.7-inch QHGA Super AMOLED display panel of 4:3 aspect ratio and a 2,048 x 1,536 pixel resolution. This AMOLED screen supports HDR (high dynamic range) video and imagery, so customers benefit from true-to-life colors and contrast compared with previous generation AMOLED panels described by Samsung as ‘cinema quality.’ Under the skin the Galaxy Tab S3 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip supported by 4GB of RAM. This is the same chip as is found in 2016 flagship Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone. There’s 32GB of internal storage plus a microSD card slot for expansion, a USB Type-C slot for charging purposes, and a 3.5mm headphone socket. There’s also a fingerprint sensor beneath the device’s home button.

In terms of cameras, the Galaxy Tab S3 has a 5MP lens on the front together with a 13MP camera complete with flash on the back. For software, Samsung’s new generation Grace UX runs the show over Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat. This means you’ll have access to all the latest goodies such as doze on the go, bundled notifications, split screen multitasking, enhanced security, new emojis. And, the Galaxy Tab S3 fully supports Samsung Flow, a means of sharing notifications between a Samsung smartphone, tablet and Windows 10 computer.

Away from specifications, the Galaxy Tab S3 has a number of important new features. For productivity, Samsung is including an external and separate S Pen. This S Pen supports 4,096 levels of pressure via the Wacom digitizer plus tilt support and it never needs batteries nor recharging (you hear that Apple!). This means that the S Pen changes its behavior depending on the angle it is being held at. New for the Galaxy Tab S3 is a rubber tip on the end of the S Pen, rather than the plastic tip that competitors use. This is so the S Pen feels like a pencil writing on paper. However, if this isn’t enough, Samsung has also worked with German writing instrument company, Staedtler, to produce the ‘Noris digital [pencil] for Samsung.’ Naturally enough, the Galaxy Tab S3 fully supports handwriting recognition together with a number of features already familiar to owners of a previous Galaxy Note devices. These include Air Command, whereby the user can control the device by hovering the S Pen a little over the screen and clicking the button. The S Pen also gives users the chance to ‘smart-select’ parts of the screen, annotate, use the translate feature of magnify the screen. Samsung are also selling an optional magnetically attached keyboard, which connects to the tablet via the bottom edge and makes it closer to a laptop replacement. This keyboard is constructed from plastic to give it a deeper keystroke and back-lighting for more comfortable typing day or night.

For gaming and entertainment, Samsung have given the new tablet a quad speaker setup. These speakers are tuned by Harman AKG, which come with the promise of ‘a home cinema experience’ in your hands. The Galaxy Tab S3 will also adopt its sound profile with the screen’s rotation, so as customers rotate the device, the quad-speaker setup will adapt. The software also includes support for the Vulkan API, a new graphical standard that improves 3D graphics performance whilst reducing power and heat. Another integrated technology is Samsung’s use of a mDNIe, or mobile Digital Natural Image engine,’ which adjusts the display settings in order to optimize the viewing experience.

Samsung also managed to include a built-in blue light filter for late night use and gamers alike. The tablet also comes with Samsung’s ‘Game Launcher’ to stop those pesky notifications during play time. We also already know how powerful the Snapdragon 820 is when it comes to 3D gaming as well as everyday duties. Finally, Samsung claims that the Galaxy Tab S3’s 6,000mAh battery can play video for twelve hours and the tablet includes Samsung’s latest generation ‘Samsung Adaptive Fast charge’ technology, so it will spend less time on the charger and more time being used.

All up, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 looks like a potent device that would appear to cover many entertainment and productivity needs on a device running Android. The device combines many features we might expect to see in a product wearing a ‘Galaxy Note’ name. Unfortunately, Samsung has not revealed exactly when the device will be available nor where and how much it will cost, but it is likely to be expensive as befits the premium design and features. We do know it will come in Black and Silver colors either as a Wi-Fi only model or with onboard LTE. Each Galaxy Tab S3 will include a packaged S Pen as standard, but customers will need to buy the optional keyboard. At this time, we don’t know how much this will be either. We’ll keep this post updated and provide the product links to you as more news rolls in. But for now, you can sign up on Samsung’s website to be emailed future updates as they happen.

If we are nitpicking, the demonstration model appeared to be a fingerprint magnet and Samsung only including 32GB of storage seems a little tight, even with the benefit of the microSD slot. Subject to the price, the Galaxy Tab S3 may well be the go-to Android tablet for 2017.

Watch the full event here.

Check out the below gallery for all the official images.

Learn more in the embedded video demos below.

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SOURCE Samsung [1] [2]

UPDATE: Samsung hasn’t confirmed availability for the models just yet. However, pricing is expect to run you about $699 for the Wi-Fi only model if you buy in the states or select parts of Europe. As for the LTE model, it’s expected to be priced at a steeper $799 retail price. Samsung as well as major retailers will most presumably sell the device at the time in which it releases. We’ll update you once further clarification is made.

UPDATE: Pricing has been revealed thanks to a Best Buy pre-order page. The slate will retail for $599 USD in the states, a whole $100 cheaper than many expected. In Canada, the same tablet will cost you C$799.99, which is nearly equivalent. Best Buy has the item listed as ‘coming soon’. We expect it to debut in April, alongside an LTE model that could be priced $100 USD higher. See it at the link below.

[Best Buy]

UPDATE: Samsung has announced the tab’s U.S. availability. Pre-orders start on March 17th for $599. Samsung will also sell the attachable Pogo Keyboard Dock at that time as a separate accessory for $129. Below are the product links.

[Samsung] [Best Buy]

SOURCE [Samsung]