Samsung Launches the 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S3: Snapdragon 820 with 6000mAh and HDR
by Ian Cutress on February 26, 2017 1:11 PM EST
Along with the Galaxy Book parts being launched today, Samsung also announced the next generation of Galaxy Tab. The S3 is also an iterative design, with what Samsung believes is the premium Android tablet available in the market. Starting with the Snapdragon 820 SoC, featuring Qualcomm’s custom Kryo cores, the headline message for the S3 is support for HDR 8-bit content as well as a 6000 mAh battery and support for fast charging technology.
Aside from the SoC, the tablet is set to be offered in a 4GB DRAM and 64GB storage option, with a microSD card allowing for another 256GB. Wireless, aside from the 2x2 802.11ac inside, comes via an LTE Cat.6 modem, good for 300 Mbps downlink speed. There is also support for BEIDOU and GALILEO location detection services.
The 9.7-inch display uses Samsung’s Super AMOLED display technology, with a resolution of 2048x1536, and uses quad-stereo speakers tuned by AKG/Harman. Similar to the Galaxy Book, Samsung is promoting its latest ‘Flow’ technology, allowing biometric login for wirelessly tethered devices, and the new S Pen with ‘screen off’ note taking functionality. These are built upon Android 7.0, which along with the SoC is engineered for 4K60 video playback.
The camera setup is similar to the 12-inch Galaxy Book, with a 13MP rear sensor with auto-focus and a 5MP front sensor (other details should emerge on these. Samsung is listing the weight at around a pound for the S3 (434g in LTE mode), and the unit comes with a kickstand.
We’re awaiting more details on the hardware and the implementation, hopefully coming through the press event that’s starting as I’m writing this news post. We’ll hopefully get pricing and availability information too.
Edit: All Tab S3 units will come with the S-Pen as standard, and Samsung are partnering with Staedtler to provide a special S Pen called Noris Digital in the traditional school pencil style.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
79 Comments
View All Comments
samer1970 - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - link
no 8 inch one ?damianrobertjones - Monday, February 27, 2017 - link
It's difficult really. If they'd announced an 8" tab then someone else would have posted, "no 9.7 inch one ?" (Without any capitals as that's the new trend these days)UtilityMax - Monday, February 27, 2017 - link
Why difficult? In the past, Samsung launched the small and big Tab S or Tab S2 simultaneously. For those looking for an 8 inch Android tablet, check out the new Huawei Mediapad M3 which is also a thoroughly modern device.phoenix_rizzen - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
I was wondering the same thing. There's a time and a place for a large tablet, no doubt there. But there's also a time and a place for a smaller one, in the 7-8.5" range, in a 16:10 format.10" tablets are too big to take with you everywhere, on a whim. You need to always have some kind of bag with you, or you really need to know ahead of time you'll need it.
A 7-8.5" tablet is something you can throw into a large jacket pocket, or a purse, or back pocket, and have with you pretty much everywhere. It's also much nicer for holding for long periods while reading or watching videos.
They just need to get the price down to the right level. The $50 throwaway tablets are too underpowered, but the $400 tablets are too expensive. A 7-8.5" tablet in the $100-200 range would be nice. CDN not US. ;)
0iron - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - link
Good that manufacturer are now realised that 16:9 doesn't make sense in tablet.Spectrophobic - Monday, February 27, 2017 - link
But most android tablets are 16:10.And considering android tablets are more suited for entertainment purposes, 16:10 make more sense to me.
Still, 3:2 is the best compromise.
R. Hunt - Monday, February 27, 2017 - link
Yeah, I feel they should have gone for 3:2 (I personally despise 16:10/16:9). It feels weird to emphasize HDR and the quad speakers so much on a 4:3 tablet.UtilityMax - Monday, February 27, 2017 - link
I disagree. If you want a tablet to be your portable TV screen, then a widescreen tablet with stereo speakers in landscape mode should be preferred. On the other hand, if you use tablet primarily as a reader, browser, or for productivity, then 3:2 can be better. It looks like among the new tablets, the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus and Huawei Mediapad M3 have taken more "the entertainment role" with wide screens, while Apple and Samsung mostly continue with screens more optimized for reading and productivity.Meteor2 - Monday, February 27, 2017 - link
Finally, a decent lightweight, powerful, up-to-date Android tablet! It's taken too long, but at least it's here. This will replace my original iPad Air (battery beginning to lose capacity).star-affinity - Monday, February 27, 2017 - link
Not waiting to see what Apple will release on the iPad side of things? Should be revealed this month it seems. But maybe you want an Android tablet instead?