Samsung Announces Galaxy Tab S With Super AMOLED Display, Multi-User Fingerprint Sensor

[c1phr]

Please don't tell me that you believe Samsung implemented this just one week after Apple announced it? They obviously must have been working on it for months. It's actually possible that Apple heard of this feature and decided to implement their own so they can compete on that feature.

Of course they did. It won't come out until July, so they have plenty of time to write some half-baked software, since that's all Samsung features end up being.

 

[Toltepeceno]

Apple played a lot of catch-up with iOS 8, and now Samsung is playing some catch-up as well. Ultimately, this will benefit users of both, so regardless of how little you like Android, Samsung, or even Apple, this is some good news.

Just noting that ios 8 is not out yet.

 

[Soni Sanjay]

Cool. Competition is always good.

 

[dalupus]

They're thinner and lighter than the iPads, have longer battery life (11+h); and they actually look good.

Only problem: Android.

My thoughts exactly. Was thinking oh this is nice then hit the android part and didn't even bother reading more. Android is junk.

 

[AppleScruff1]

"we trimmed it in gold to give it an aura of luxury"

Where'd they get that idea?

Gold's been a symbol of luxury and desire for a couple of thousand years. Apple wasn't the first.

 

[borneo76]

no thanks,...i'll stick with my iPad

 

[Richardgm]

Android is way better than it used to be and in many ways IOS has some catching up to do.... Even the difference in quality Apps is getting smaller.

Taken in account that it usually takes years for Apple to give us features we want, I'll say watch out Apple.

Still love my iPad Air but also the Nexus 7.

I'd agree that Android is closing the gap (on overall experience), but for me iOS is still much more pleasant.

 

[AppleScruff1]

If you're going to run a story about a competing product on MacRumors, at least give it some relevance. Otherwise it's just a promo for a non-Apple product.

That is, tell us why and how this is significant to Apple. How is the product better than Apple's etc.

What does it mean to Apple.

Excellent post!

 

[Richardgm]

In what way?

Maybe it's the faux gold trim, maybe it's the aspect ratio. It could be the bezels, or it could be the vibrancy of the Tab's display.

Or a combination of all of the above.

 

[Nikiaf]

How many tablets does Samsung actually make? Just for fun I went to Best Buy's website to see how many different such products there are, and I found 23. Twenty three. How is the average consumer ever going to figure out the difference between them all?

They have the Galaxy Tab line, of which there are the 2,3 and 4 generations which are all still apparently sold. Then there's the TabPRO line, and add to that the Note and NotePRO lines. I'm confusing myself just reading all this.

This company would be doing quite a lot to help its sales by consolidating all these product lines, and it wouldn't kill them to better distinguish between them, because they all look the same; and the average, tech-oblivious consumer is just going to be overwhelmed.

 

[Charliebird]

Another Samsung tablet fell in the woods and no one heard it.

 

[Richardgm]

This company would be doing quite a lot to help its sales by consolidating all these product lines, and it wouldn't kill them to better distinguish between them, because they all look the same; and the average, tech-oblivious consumer is just going to be overwhelmed.

I used to think so, but Samsung know what they are doing. Look at what happened in the smartphone space; they inundated the market with a new "Galaxy" brand every month and now they sell the most smartphones - by far.

What I gather that did to the average customer is to cement the Galaxy brand in their minds. The customer may not know which Galaxy is which, but they would walk into the store and say something like, "can I see the new Galaxy".

 

[AppleScruff1]

How many tablets does Samsung actually make? Just for fun I went to Best Buy's website to see how many different such products there are, and I found 23. Twenty three. How is the average consumer ever going to figure out the difference between them all?

They have the Galaxy Tab line, of which there are the 2,3 and 4 generations which are all still apparently sold. Then there's the TabPRO line, and add to that the Note and NotePRO lines. I'm confusing myself just reading all this.

This company would be doing quite a lot to help its sales by consolidating all these product lines, and it wouldn't kill them to better distinguish between them, because they all look the same; and the average, tech-oblivious consumer is just going to be overwhelmed.

How many different iPads does the Best Buy site list, and which do they have the most total listings for, the iPad or the Samsung tablets?

 

[Rogifan]

They're thinner and lighter than the iPads, have longer battery life (11+h); and they actually look good.

Only problem: Android.

Where are you getting the battery life figure from?

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Maybe it's the faux gold trim, maybe it's the aspect ratio. It could be the bezels, or it could be the vibrancy of the Tab's display.

Or a combination of all of the above.

Oh well to each his own I guess.

 

[ellsworth]

4 words, 4 different fonts. Really?

Not that it has the slightest bit to do with the product itself, but it perfectly sums up the chaos that Samsung's mobile devices line-up is.

I would get fired if I was assigned this project and did such a thing.

 

[Parasprite]

To me the iPad looks outdated next to it.

Huh, I feel like they look on par with each other. Just one is a lot more busy than the other.

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How many different iPads does the Best Buy site list, and which do they have the most total listings for, the iPad or the Samsung tablets?

I got 105 (iPad) 135 (Samsung), no idea where they are getting their numbers from.

 

[apolloa]

Yet another 8" tablet that is designed to be used like a phone?

 

[kojinshugi]

looks like an ipad air. i think they like being in court.

It doesn't look like an iPad Air. It's a completely different aspect ratio, the back material is different, and the home button isn't round.

Look, touch screen tablets are going to be rectangular slabs of glass with bezels. You can't patent that form factor any more than you can patent laptops with screens on hinges.

Apple had a case against the original Galaxy S because a lot of the UI was a wholesale ripoff of iOS, down to the application icons. They specifically modified stock Android to make it look and function exactly like iOS.

If this Galaxy Tab S qualifies as "ripping off", then iOS 8 certainly qualifies as ripping off Android, and the 5C counts as ripping off Nokia.

 

[Richardgm]

Where are you getting the battery life figure from?

It was said in the presentation.

 

[OneMike]

The only "tablet" I consider worth it to me is the surface.

iPad, Galaxy tab ect are cool for media. If rather have something I can actually get work done on though

 

[apolloa]

I think these tablets are a step backwards in design. I much prefer the 10" Note design for instance, these just look same old to me? Plus bulging camera lenses? In a tablet? Really?

They don't look half as premium as the iPads do.

 

[kojinshugi]

Is it just me, or is Samsung's choice of monikers for their devices completely impossible to follow? Is that a marketing strategy of some kind?

I have what's called a "Galaxy Tab 7" at home that I got for free from my ISP. I have no idea what generation it is, as I think more than one kind exist.

It's just you.

Galaxy is their line of touchscreen devices.

Galaxy Tab = tablets
Galaxy Note = phablets
Galaxy S = flagship phones

Since this is intended to work in tandem with a phone, it's called the Tab S.

Your Galaxy Tab 7 means it's a 7 inch tablet. Not exactly rocket science.

As to not changing the name from generation to generation, that's completely normal. Google's latest Nexus 7 is still the Nexus 7, even though it's completely new hardware. The iPad hasn't had a version number since 2.

The Pro moniker signifies a higher end device. You know, like Macbooks.

FWIW, I can't stand Samsung's products because they've got bad build quality and Touchwiz/Kies are terrible pieces of software. Not because they're the mortal enemy of my beloved Apple. Whose non-OS software I find almost equally terrible.

 

[rickdollar]

4 words, 4 different fonts. Really?

Not that it has the slightest bit to do with the product itself, but it perfectly sums up the chaos that Samsung's mobile devices line-up is.

"We don't know what fonts people will like so we'll just use all of them"

 

[iPad Air]

Yay Samsung released a new tablet that no one will buy!

They will sell a few.

 

[Wanted797]

Samsung's competitor-copying department can check some things off their to-do list...

• "thinnest and lightest yet"
• Gold
• Answer phone calls from another device
• Fingerprint scanner

If only they could get them to actually work...

You forgot one
"best tablet yet"-