Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.4 tablet arrives with LTE connectivity and $279 price tag

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.4 tablet arrives with LTE connectivity and $279 price tag
(Image credit: Samsung)

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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Becky has been a full-time staff writer at What Hi-Fi? since March 2019. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, she freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 20-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance is of course tethered to a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo, This is Cabaret and The Stage. When not writing, she dances, spins in the air, drinks coffee, watches football or surfs in Cornwall with her other half – a football writer whose talent knows no bounds.