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Samsung announces the first high-res Super AMOLED tablets: the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5

By Michael Heller

Updated: Jun 13, 2014, 2:23 AM

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Samsung's tablet event has gotten under way in New York, and as we have been expecting, the announcement is for two new top-of-the-line tablets in Samsung's stable. These are the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5. The two new tablets are essentially updates to the previous Galaxy Tab Pro line, but with a new name to bring more continuity to its products.

The Note devices include the S Pen, but the Galaxy S and Tab S devices do not. But, the real story of these two new tablets is in what you get from the new displays that Samsung is using. You can probably figure out the display sizes of the new tablets just based on their names, and the resolutions are the same as the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and 10.1 (1600 x 2560 for each). But, the big difference comes from the fact that the new Galaxy Tab S devices feature Super AMOLED displays, which are bright and crisp with great colors and viewing angles. Samsung promises that the Super AMOLED displays will get closer to true colors because the AMOLED doesn't filter any light, and because it can reach 90% of the Adobe RGB color gamut, while traditional LCD only gets about 70% of the Adobe RGB gamut. Of course, AMOLED also promises better contrast and deeper blacks, and Samsung claims these tablets will offer the best visibility in bright sunlight, because they are 40% less reflective than traditional LCD.

Under the hood, the tablets feature smaller updates, but still nice ones. Each tablet will feature 3GB of RAM, up from the 2GB found in the Galaxy Tab Pro, and an Exynos 5 Octa processor clocked at 1.9GHz + 1.3GHz (four cores each). This is a bit surprising, because these are the Exynos 5420 chipsets, not the 5422 we saw in the Galaxy S5. These are the "thinnest and lightest" tablets Samsung has made at just 6.6 mm thick. The Tab S 8.4 will weigh just 294g, and the 10.5 clocks in at 465g, making it thinner and lighter than the iPad Air. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 features a 4900mAh battery, and the 10.5 has a 7900mAh battery, which Samsung says will provide 11 hours of battery life, thanks a lot to the new AMOLED displays, which tend to be more power efficient.

Samsung has also added fingerprint scanners to the new Tab S devices, and the big news there is that the new tablets can support up to 8 different users who each have their own "private mode". We just hope that the fingerprint scanners work better than the one found on the Galaxy S5. And, if it matters at all, there will be an 8MP camera on the back and a 2MP camera on the front of each tablet.

Of course, Samsung wouldn't be Samsung without new software features as well. The new tablets offer Magazine UI, which has been branded "Content Home" as we've seen on other Samsung devices. This will bring together media, productivity, and more all in a single screen. Samsung alsohas new features like Kid's Corner to customize a section of your tablet for your children, and SideSync, which will help to connect your devices together. SideSync will offer options to answer calls from your Samsung phone on your tablet, as well as options to remotely access your PC, or transfer files between devices. Samsung has partnered with content creators, including Condé Nast, National Geographic, and Marvel Comics, to bring Papergarden, which will bring interactive, multimedia magazines to the devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 Wi-Fi model will cost $399; the Tab S 10.5 Wi-Fi will cost $499; and, both will be available in white and bronze in July in Europe and the US. LTE models will be released "soon after that".

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Michael Heller is known for his clear and informative articles on mobile technology. He explores important topics such as the rollouts of 5G networks and the advancements in mobile payments, offering readers insights into the evolving tech landscape.

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Samsung announces the first high-res Super AMOLED tablets: the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5

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