Samsung unveils the Galaxy Tab4 slates - a very slight refreshment of the tablet family

Although we expected Samsung to unveil the 4th generation of its Galaxy Tab slates later this month, the South Korean manufacturer surprised us all by announcing the Galaxy Tab4 7.0, the Galaxy Tab4 8.0, and the Galaxy Tab4 10.1 tablets today. The three new devices bring a slight and rather unimpressive refreshment to the Galaxy Tab series.

It seems that the new line of tablets does not deviate from the leaked specifications that we shared with you roughly two months ago. All three Galaxy Tab4 devices are quite similar, as they come with quad-core SoCs, running at 1.2GHz – a nice upgrade in comparison with the dual-core chipsets in the Galaxy Tab 3 slates. The amount of RAM in Samsung's newest trio of tablets is 1.5GB, while the internal storage is no more or less than 16GB. There will be, however, an 8GB version of the Galaxy Tab4 7.0, as well. A microSD slot on board allows users to expand the storage space with up to 64GB, as well.

All three new tablets come with 1280 x 800-pixel displays - the same as the ones present in last year's generation of the Galaxy Tab family. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 both featured the same 1280 x 800-pixel display, but the Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 came with a 1024 x 600-pixel one on board. The similarities continue in the camera department, too - the identical 3MP rear cameras with fixed focus and 1.3MP front-facing snappers are present in all three new devices.

Speaking of differences, the Galaxy Tab4 10.1 comes with a 10.1-inch display and a 6,800mAh battery, while the Galaxy Tab4 8.0 sports an 8-inch display and a 4,450mAh power bank. The former weighs 17oz (487gr) and the latter tips the scales at 11oz (320gr). The most compact among the trio, the Galaxy Tab4 7.0, comes with a 7.0-inch display. With a weight of 9.7oz (276gr) it is also the lightest. However, Samsung has not provided information about the Galaxy Tab4 7.0's battery capacity.

Software-wise, the 4th iteration of the Galaxy Tab series is powered by Android 4.4 KitKat and a number of Samsung's own apps will come preinstalled on the slates. It will be interesting to see if the Korean company has toned down its own software in favor of Google's one, much like it did with its flagship smartphone, the upcoming Galaxy S5.

Samsung says that the Galaxy Tab4 7.0, 8.0, and 10.1 will be available from Q2 this year. All of them will be available in both black and white.


source: Samsung