Samsung's Galaxy Tab S2
Samsung has revealed its new 8-inch and 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S2 models, and they're considerably different from last year. As revealed by a leak yesterday, it shrunk both of last year's models and killed the widescreen (16 x 10) aspect ratio, instead giving them an iPad-like 4 x 3 format. The company said that'll help "recreate the viewing experience of browsing through traditional print media," and make it easier to read e-books and web pages. On the other hand, less of the screen is now available for watching movies, particularly since both Galaxy Tab S2 models have also taken a step down in resolution from QuadHD to 2,048 x 1,536.
Spec-wise, the new model is a nice leap over last year. The Tab S2 has an 8-core chip running at 1.9Ghz/1.3Ghz, likely the Exynos 5433 used in the Galaxy Note 4 (but not the Galaxy S6's top-of-the-line Exynos 7420, as rumored). Other specs include 3GB of RAM, 32/64GB memory (expandable via MicroSD) and 5,870 mAh/4,000 mAh batteries. Those are considerably smaller than before, but then again, they won't have to drive nearly as many pixels on the lower-res AMOLED screens. Meanwhile, the Tab S2 has a built-in fingerprint scanner like last year's model, and will run Android 5 Lollipop with Samsung's latest, toned-down version of TouchWiz.
The Galaxy Tab S2 will launch next month, but Samsung hasn't said how much it'll cost yet. Last year, however, it ran $400 and $500 for the smaller and larger models, respectively.