Samsung has put its money where its mouth is with its latest flagship tablet, the Galaxy Tab S. The company is hedging its bets with the device's much hyped Super AMOLED screen, which Samsung claims to be one of the most exquisite on the market. And they're right.
The Tab S, available in 10.5 and 8.4 inch models, is a good-looking device that resembles an oversized Galaxy S5. The perforated texture from the Galaxy S5 makes a reappearance on the Tab S, which comes in either gold or bronze, and the gold trim adds a bit of flair. At 6.6mm thick, the Tab S is impressively thin, and both sizes proved to be light enough to hold comfortably--the 10.5 inch tablet weighs 465 grams while its smaller sibling comes in at a mere 294 grams. To put that into perspective, that means the Tab S is thinner than the iPad Air, which is 7.5mm thick. They're well-designed machines, and sturdy to boot, but what makes the Tab S special is the beauty of its screen.
And what a marvelous screen it is. Super AMOLED screens are nothing new, but the Tab S's 2,560 x 1,600 display is a good reminder of why we were all so excited about Super AMOLED to begin with. I try to refrain from the type of hyperbole that tends to mark product debuts, but simply put, the Tab S has one of the best screens I've ever seen. Deep, true blacks and a wide range of vivid colors lend a remarkable depth to both picture and video, creating a viewing experience that's well worth the price tag (more on that in a bit). During the presentation, Samsung reps boasted that the display covered up to 90% of the Adobe RGB spectrum, an impressive number that might not mean anything to you, but take my word for it: the clarity and vividness of the Tab S's screen is pretty much unrivaled. Toss in an RGB sensor built into the bezel to detect ambient light so that the screen can adapt to both the type of content you're consuming and the surrounding environment, and you have a viewing experience that lives up to the hype. That being said, my geographically limited hands-on with the Tab S meant I couldn't test out the adaptive display or outdoor visibility.
Productivity also seems to be key with the Tab S. Samsung is incorporating split-screen functionality with Sidesync, which lets you run two apps simultaneously while also letting you connect your smartphone (provided you have a compatible Galaxy device, naturally) to the tablet so you can do things like take calls over wifi and transfer files without a data cable. In terms of responsiveness, flipping through and loading apps was a breeze, while the accelerometer proved a little temperamental when it came to switching viewing orientation.
Split-screen viewing also allows for you to view a great deal of information on screen at once. With Content Home's briefing widget, you can devote half your screen to things like email and calendars, while the other half serves up a variety of content pulled from Samsung's partners. Content Home was a bit visually overcrowded for my tastes, but there are probably others out there for whom it might prove useful.
Overall, the Galaxy Tab S is a marked improvement over Samsung's previous offerings in the tablet market, especially when it comes to hardware. Gone is the cheap, plastic feel of earlier tablets; the Tab S looks, feels, and most importantly, functions like a premium device. If you're an Android user who's happy with the existing ecosystem, this might be a gadget worthy of adding to your collection. Availability will vary by location, as it usually does, but customers in the US can pick up both the 8.4 and 10.5 inch 16GB WiFi models in July, with LTE models to follow soon after. Prices start at $399 for the smaller version and $499 for the larger one.
