Samsung's New Galaxy Tab S5e Is Its Lightest and Thinnest Tablet Ever (theverge.com) 46
Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Tab S5e, its lightest and thinnest tablet ever made. "At $399, it's not only far more affordable than the flagship $649 Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, it's arguably surpassed it in some ways," reports The Verge. From the report: For starters, the Tab S5e has the thinnest and lightest metal unibody of any Galaxy Tab, measuring 5.5mm thin and weighing just 400 grams -- even compared to the 11-inch iPad Pro at 5.9mm thick and 468 grams, the Tab S5e is both lighter and thinner. The company also claims they've maximized space with the Tab S5e's massive 81.8 percent screen-to-body ratio, which on paper, is an improvement over the Tab S4's lower 79 percent ratio. It's also right on the heels of the 11-inch iPad Pro's ~82.9 percent screen-to-body ratio.
And unlike Samsung's previous attempt to make its 10.5-inch tablet more affordable, this slate doesn't skimp on the screen and not nearly as much on the processor. Samsung's Tab S5e is a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED device with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 2560 x 1600 resolution, while its octa-core Snapdragon 670 processor should provide solid mid-range performance. Samsung's also promising up to 14.5 hours of battery life. The Tab S5e is also the first tablet from the Korean tech giant to ship with Pie, the latest version of Android, along with the new Bixby 2.0 virtual assistant and information tool. Samsung is also carrying features like Dex, a desktop-style Android environment, over from other Galaxy devices, like the Note 9 and Tab S4. It allows users to interact with their device using the screen, a mouse, keyboard, or all three. Other features include AKG-tuned, quad surround sound speakers, 64GB of internal storage (microSD expandable to 512GB), with 4GB RAM (upgradable to 6GB RAM/128GB storage), and 13-megapixel back and 8-megapixel front-facing cameras. Cellular models will follow the Wi-Fi versions later this year.
And unlike Samsung's previous attempt to make its 10.5-inch tablet more affordable, this slate doesn't skimp on the screen and not nearly as much on the processor. Samsung's Tab S5e is a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED device with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 2560 x 1600 resolution, while its octa-core Snapdragon 670 processor should provide solid mid-range performance. Samsung's also promising up to 14.5 hours of battery life. The Tab S5e is also the first tablet from the Korean tech giant to ship with Pie, the latest version of Android, along with the new Bixby 2.0 virtual assistant and information tool. Samsung is also carrying features like Dex, a desktop-style Android environment, over from other Galaxy devices, like the Note 9 and Tab S4. It allows users to interact with their device using the screen, a mouse, keyboard, or all three. Other features include AKG-tuned, quad surround sound speakers, 64GB of internal storage (microSD expandable to 512GB), with 4GB RAM (upgradable to 6GB RAM/128GB storage), and 13-megapixel back and 8-megapixel front-facing cameras. Cellular models will follow the Wi-Fi versions later this year.
I'd like it (Score:4, Insightful)
If I could completely uninstall Bixby.
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Also, the phrase comes in three “millennial friendly” colors seems expressly designed to irritate old curmudgeons like me.
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Let me guess: Rose gold, cosmic purple, and fairy poop.
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To be fair to Samsung almost everything is an optional install these days. Bixby is one of the few exceptions, although it can be disabled completely. All the other crapware they used to bundle in now has to be installed manually from their app store though.
The more annoying thing is that one devices with a Bixby button it can't be repurposed without hacking.
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I'd like it if it's more durable than the embarrassingly flimsy iPad Pro [youtube.com].
Steve Jobs Tried to Warn Ya! (Score:2)
See, the MOMENT Apple releases a tablet with a chunky USB-C connection, people are releasing thinner tablets!
Upgradeable? (Score:2)
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You can add a MicroSD card. It makes sense for them to offer that, considering Samsung is a major manufacturer of MicroSD cards as well.
Missing disclaimer (Score:2)
This is clearly an ad not an article, sorry.
Same as iPad Pro for weight (Score:1, Offtopic)
iPad 11" has screen area of 56.83 (sq in) and weighs 468 gram Samsung s5e has 49.6 and weighs 400 grams. So the screen size to weight ratio is identical. Yes, it is thinner but no, it is not lighter.
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So the screen size to weight ratio is identical. Yes, it is thinner but no, it is not lighter.
Please stop abusing the English language. Why are you even here on Slashdot? With that level of logic you should make a great politician.
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Exactly half the price of the iPad Pro 11" 64GB too.
On the plus side there is a Micro SD card slot and it runs Android. On the negative side there is no support for Samsung's rather good S-Pen stylus.
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So the screen size to weight ratio is identical. Yes, it is thinner but no, it is not lighter.
56.83/468 = 0.121432; 49.6/400 = 0.124. So, not identical. Samsung apparently gives more screen for the weight.
Can I root it and have a custom ROM installed (Score:3)
but "officially", with Samsung's leave and support?
If not, it is just a piece of electronic junk that can gather all the dust it wants in the warehouse.
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but "officially", with Samsung's leave and support?
If not, it is just a piece of electronic junk that can gather all the dust it wants in the warehouse.
So you want to be able to root your tablet and get product support from Samsung when you encounter problems with whatever custom ROM you go for such that Samsung's tech support is stuck with ironing out the bugs/problems/missing features in your custom ROM for you? That is not likely to happen, ever.
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So you want to be able to root your tablet and get product support from Samsung when you encounter problems with whatever custom ROM you go for
No, I do not want support of the ROM, I want support for flashing the rom. Learn to read, smart boy. Support for running whatever OS you want on the hardware you own has been the tradition with general purpose personal computers since they began selling. Fuck Samsung and fuck you for trying to subvert that.
Other features... (Score:3)
Other features include AKG-tuned, quad surround sound speakers
Surround Sound? How the fuck do you have surround sound with a tablet? Wear it on top of your head?
Oh, for Gods sake ... (Score:4, Informative)
... would manufacturers finally please quit this bullshit already.
Tablets are thin enough, thank you very much.
Just build one that a) doesn't need an extra hardcase to prevent it from breaking when I drop it and b) has a longer battery life.
This is so tedious and annoying.
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Yea, especially the high end Tab Ses from Samsung were a total ergonomic disaster. It was a whole ordeal to just to pick the tablet from a flat surface, even with both hands - usually it involved dragging it to the edge of the table (and good luck trying to get it off the floor; to make it worse the glass from the back would scratch even if you looked at it wrong).
Other than that generally Samsung dropped the ball for the last quite a few years, at least for the high end tablets. SOCs that were 1.5 generati
Great! (Score:5, Funny)
No headphone jack (Score:3)
Hasn't Android development for tablets stopped? (Score:3)
At least, that's what I read.
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You read it where? Not anywhere that I know of. Android tablet product lines have not been refreshed lately, mainly because Google (with its typical Apple envy) artificially restricts Android to be somewhere between awkward and useless for productivity applications because it only wants them to be media consumption devices. Consumers rightly perceive that tablets are not very useful, and so after the first wave, stopped buying them. Manufacturers moan about it but don't do anything about it.
This situation w
Headphone jack (Score:3)
Yes! It has one.