The need for an ultra-portable tablet – something to make daily commutes and long-haul flights infinitely more enjoyable – might be less pressing, but Samsung's newest tablet looks like a good proposition regardless.
The new Galaxy Tab A with 8.4in display weighs just 10.9oz/309g, sitting pretty between the iPad Air's 1lb/453g weight (with 10.9in display), and the 2019 Award-winning Apple iPad Mini, at 10.6oz/312g with 7.9in display.
According to the spec sheet, Apple's iPad line-up might have further competition too, because the 2020 update of the Galaxy Tab A boasts LTE connectivity, 10 hours of battery life and (the best bit) a stone cold $279 price tag.
The Galaxy Tab A, available for pre-order now and expected to ship on 30th March, is essentially a 4G LTE-capable update of the existing Galaxy Tab A.
The 8.4-inch display has 1920 x 1200 resolution, a 5MP front camera, and a 8MP rear snapper that'll record in FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution. It also features a 5000mAh battery, USB-C charging and an estimated 10 hours of mixed-use battery life (12 hours of video, or 11 hours of internet browsing), which is equal to last year's Galaxy Tab A.
Also on a par with the most recent Galaxy Tab A, the Galaxy Tab A 8.4 runs on the octa-core Exynos 7904 processor, offers 3GB of RAM and comes with 32 GB of storage along with a microSD card slot – which you could use to level your storage up to 512GB at any time. There’s a headphone jack, plus Dolby Atmos speakers too.
In terms of aesthetic, the Galaxy Tab A 8.4 looks very much like a smaller version of last year's non-LTE model, albeit in a splendid new mocha colourway.
It will ship with Android Pie, unlike the Galaxy S20 phone lineup (which use Android 10), and the Galaxy Tab A 8.4 won't have DeX support (for supporting a keyboard, mouse or monitor, etc.) which the more premium Galaxy Tab S6 does. Like it's older Tab A siblings, the Galaxy Tab A 8.4 is meant to sit in the budget tablet category.
That said, the least expensive iPad with cellular capabilities you can purchase in the US will set you back $459, so Samsung is bettering it price-wise by quite a margin. We've yet to test the new model, but if it's an affordable tablet offering online on-the-go connectivity you seek, the Galaxy Tab A 8.4 LTE is worthy of a second look.
The 2020 Galaxy Tab A is currently only available through Verizon Wireless, but AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular and T-Mobile models are promised. Once pricing and availability for the UK, Europe and Australia is known, we'll update this page.
Oh, and no news on Samsung's promised world-first Galaxy Tab S6 with 5G, yet...
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