Samsung has announced a new midrange tablet, the Galaxy Tab A 10.5, that will go on sale next week in the US for $330. But wait — a 10-inch tablet for $330? That sounds familiar.
Yes, Samsung will have some stiff competition on day one from Apple, which sells its excellent entry-level 9.7-inch iPad for the exact same price. And the iPad comes with a really good (though slightly smaller) display, Apple’s powerful A10 processor, 128GB of integrated storage and nearly 13 hours of battery life. Of course, there’s also Amazon, which sells its super-solid 10-inch Fire HD 10 for less than half the price of the iPad or the Galaxy Tab A 10.5.
On paper, the iPad’s chief advantage is its display, which is smaller but has a higher resolution (2,048×1,536). In addition to a larger screen, the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 also offers considerably more storage potential courtesy an integrated microSD slot.
Here’s an overview of what else Samsung will bring to the table with the Galaxy Tab A 10.5:
- 10.5-inch TFT LCD with 1,920×1200 resolution
- 1.8GHz 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
- 32GB integrated storage plus microSD slot that can accommodate up to 400GB
- Four speakers with Dolby Atmos support
- 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera
- USB-C port
- 7,300 mAh battery
- Google Android 8.1 operating system
The Galaxy Tab A 10.5 offers support for the SmartThings line of home automation products and also comes with a free 30-day trial of Samsung’s Kids, a software package that offers child-appropriate content and lets you set limits on screen time.
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The WiFi version of the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 will be available at Amazon, Walmart, and Samsung.com on Sept. 14, with an LTE version, from Sprint and Verizon, coming later this year.
The new Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is a larger, updated version of the $199 Galaxy Tab A 8.0. We reviewed the 8-inch Tab A back in 2015 but Samsung has since made some incremental upgrades to its components. It still has the 8-inch display but Samsung has stepped up the resolution to 1,280×800 resolution; today’s model also comes equipped with a faster 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor, 2GB of RAM, and a microSD slot that can accommodate up to 400GB of storage capacity.
We’ll need to get our hands on the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 before making a decisive judgment about how it stacks up with the iPad and other competitors in its price range. Look for our full review soon.
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