Before the Galaxy S10 series is revealed, Samsung has just announced its latest tablet, the Galaxy Tab S5e. This is Samsung’s thinnest and lightest tablet yet and since it has the “e” in the name, it’s quite affordable compared to its previous high-end offering.
The Galaxy Tab S5e gets a 10.5″ edge-to-edge WQXGA Super AMOLED display that pushes a resolution of 2560×1600 pixels. The bezels are quite slim, and the overall tablet is only 5.5mm thin and it weighs 400g.
Powering the tablet is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor that comes with the option of 4GB RAM + 64GB storage or 6GB RAM + 128GB storage. Storage is still expandable via microSD up to 512GB.
As a multimedia consumption device, it has quad speakers tuned by AKG with added Dolby Atmos enhancement. For imaging, it gets a 13MP f/2.0 rear camera and a front facing 8MP f/2.0 shooter. This is also the first Samsung tablet to come with the latest Bixby 2.0.
The Galaxy Tab S5e comes with a 7,040mAh battery that is rated to last up to 14.5 hours of video playback on a single charge. It also supports fast-charging via USB-C. Out of the box, it runs on Android 9 Pie with the latest One UI interface.
The ultra-thin tablet also has a POGO connector which can be used to connect a charging dock and or book cover keyboard. For greater productivity, the Tab S5e also has Samsung DeX which allows you to transform the tablet into a PC-like experience.
In the US, the Galaxy Tab S5e is priced from US$399 (about RM1,629), which around the same price range as Apple’s entry-level iPad. It’s also almost half the price of its high-end Tab S4 which was released in Malaysia for RM3,099. The tablet comes in 3 colour options – Black, Silver and Gold. According to Samsung, the tablet will be available in the US, Germany and other selected markets beginning Q2 2019.
