Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2 Review

New 8- and 9.7in versions of Samsung’s high-end Galaxy Tab S tablet are rumoured for summer 2015 Successors to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5 tablets have leaked as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2 8in and 9.7in. Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2: UK release date According to Sammobile the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2 8in and 9.7in will likely be released in the UK in the mid-summer. With the original Tab S 8.4 and Tab S 10.5 unveiled at a Samsung event at the end of June 2014, and on sale in the UK on 4 July, we expect to see a similar pattern in 2015 with their successors. Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2: UK price Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S line-up are high-end tablets that are fi rmly pitched as Apple iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 rivals. 

Last year we saw an RRP of £349 for the smaller tablet which, even before its release, was reduced to £319 to match the iPad mini 2. It was a similar story with the larger Galaxy Tab S, which went on sale at an iPad Air-matching £399. We reckon we’ll see the same again in 2015, which means prices starting at £319 for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2 8in and £399 for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2 9.7in. What to expect from the new Tab S 2 Sammobile has leaked specifi cations for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2 8in and 9.7in tablets, which use the model numbers SM-T710 and SM-T810 respectively. Once again the tablets will be very similar to each other, with the main diff erence being a new metal frame and their screen size. While both screens have been slightly reduced over the 8.4- and 10.5in of the original Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablets, they have also switched to a 4:3 aspect ratio and the resolution has been reduced from 2560x1600 pixels to 2048x1536 pixels. 

The reduction in screen size means the drop in pixel density isn’t as great as you might expect, and you’re unlikely to notice the diff erence between the old (359ppi) and new (320ppi) compact Tab S, and old (288ppi) and new (264ppi) large-screen Tab S. As before, they will use Super AMOLED panels. Inside Sammobile says you’ll fi nd a Samsung Exynos 5433 processor (although this may be upgraded to the Exynos 7420 before the Tab S 2’s release, given that the tablets will run Android Lollipop and therefore support 64-bit processing). 

There will also be 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (plus up to 128GB via microSD). A tablet with the model name SM-T815, which is likely the cellular version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 2 9.7in, has shown up in the GFXBench 3 database. According to the information held there, the processor is a 1.9GHz octa-core model using an ARM Mali-T760 MP6 GPU. Cat 6 LTE connectivity is rumoured to feature (we expect this will be optional, adding around £100 to the price), and there will be 3580- and 5870mAH batteries on the small and large models respectively. Both tablets will feature an 8Mp camera at the rear and 2.1Mp at the front. The tablets are slimmer and lighter than their Apple rivals, with the Tab S 2 8in measuring 198.2x134.5x5.4mm and weighing 260g, and the larger Tab S 2 9.7in measuring 237.1x168.8x5.4mm and weighing 407g. By comparison, the 331g iPad mini 3 and 437g iPad Air 2 are 7.5- and 6.1mm thick.