Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 tablet will cost R16499 in South Africa

Samsung on Wednesday announced a brand new device, but it wasn’t a smartphone. Instead, it’s the latest addition to its tablet line, in the form of the Galaxy Tab S6.

While the likes of the Tab A are pretty mid-range, the S6 is the S10+ of tablets, if you will. It’s currently Samsung’s only, and real challenger to the iPad line.

And judging by DJ Koh’s comments, that connection is very clear.

“Today’s inspiration comes at a moment’s notice and creatives and professionals need a device able to keep up with insatiable imaginations while complementing their busy, on-the-go lifestyles,” the CEO of Samsung’s Mobile division noted in the release.

In terms of specs, it’s up there too.

Samsung (almost) made the perfect Android tablet, and then forgot the headphone jack

The Tab S6 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset — a piece of silicon you’d usually find in high-end smartphones — along with a choice of 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. But unlike the iPad range, the Tab S6 has a microSD card slot.

Up front, the Tab S6 has a 10.5-inch sAMOLED display with a resolution of 2560×1600. Powering it all is a 7040mAh battery.

It also features enough camera sensors to keep a regular flagship smartphone user happy, including a 13MP primary and 5MP 123 degree wide-angle rear camera duo, and an 8MP selfie snapper.

And if you’re using it as a giant map around town, it also features support for GPS, GLONASS, Beidou and Galileo. It has Bluetooth 5.0 support, dual band WiFi 802.11ac support too.

This thing also features four speakers by AKG, supporting Dolby Atmos, an optical fingerprint sensor beneath the screen, an S Pen that can attach and charge from the back of the tablet, and a weight of just 420 grams.

And yes, if you want to actually do work on this thing (and not binge YouTube), then there’s a keyboard attachment that’ll need to be bought separately.

It all sounds wonderful, but there’s a catch: there’s no headphone jack. It’s also not clear if Samsung has made any effort to improve its fingerprint sensor. It’s completely trash on the S10 series, and its mid-range devices too.

That said, you can get the Galaxy Tab S6 in pink, or well, “Rose Blush” if you want to get technical.

According to Samsung South Africa, the tablet will start at R16499, but will be sold with the R3499 keyboard cover. The device will be available from “late August”.

Edit: Added pricing and availability details from Samsung South Africa.

Feature image: Samsung