If you were one of those who were busy writing obits for the tablet segment, think again. While tab sales have certainly stagnated it hasn’t stopped the two major contenders from keeping their tablet assembly lines busy. We’ve seen four new Apple iPads in less than a year while Samsung has covered all bases across price points. While both Samsung and Apple haven’t given up on tabs, they’re clearly a hard sell in 2019. It was easier in 2010 when the first iPad debuted. You did tablet things on your iPad or Samsung Tab and reserved your smaller screen smartphones for more phone things. Large screen smartphones in the second half of this decade have changed all that.
The Galaxy Tab S6, Samsung’s premium tab is positioned as a device that’s ready for work and play. Let’s get the play bit out of the way first. This is an area where tablets are more sorted. The Tab S6 is slinky, weighs just 420 gm despite an immersive 10.5-inch Super AMOLED screen. Samsung has kept bezels to a minimum with an impressive 82.5% screen: body ratio. Colours are vibrant, the display (2560 x 1600 pixels) packs 287 pixels per inch (PPI). It’s just what you need to play catch up on Netflix. The Dolby Atmos Quad speakers add to its entertainment quotient. It’s not just videos that are fun, the device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor with 6GB of RAM ensuring you have all the firepower for those intense gaming sessions.
You don’t have to worry about running out of juice. The 7080 mAh battery doesn’t just fire up quickly but also lasts endlessly. Samsung’s claim of 15 hours of video playback is not an exaggeration. You’re sorted out on the storage front too – there’s 128GB of internal memory and room for a Micro SD card (up to 1TB). You can carry all your favourite movies and games for that extended holiday. The Galaxy Tab S6 is easily one of the best devices for Content Consumption.
Samsung’s productivity pitch for the Tab S6 hinge heavily on the optional keyboard and the S-Pen (that’s bundled along with the device). If you thought the S-Pen on the Note 10 devices was impressive, you will totally dig this one too. It’s a great accessory for meetings whether you want to take notes or doodle. The new scribble to text feature that can convert your notes into Word docs is extremely useful. The S-Pen is housed in a dedicated slot (on the keyboard cover) and charges when it’s not in use. Samsung’s optional keyboard is a no-brainer and it’s one of the better keyboards designed for a tab. Don’t expect it to be as easy to use as your favourite laptop keyboard though.
The Tab S6 is certainly not a laptop slayer unless you’re one of those users who don’t need to work on PPTs or complex spreadsheets. While the laptop style trackpad and Samsung’s DeX solution that allows a laptop-style navigation are both useful touches, the Tab S6 sorely misses out on a dedicated tab-specific version of Android. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 works really well as a productivity device for light users and also for short bursts – like a one-day business trip or a weekend when you want to leave your laptop at work. Samsung’s One UI is one more reason why this is the Android tab you can buy right now.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 costs Rs 59,999. The keyboard cover is priced at Rs 10,999 (it’s available for Rs 5,499 as part of a limited period launch offer). Buy it here NOW!
