Samsung Galaxy Tab A Full Review After feeling like years of shelves filled with pixelated “HD Ready” budget tablets, the Amazon HD10 finally has something to recommend instead. But is Samsung Galaxy Tab A better? It has a smaller footprint, metal rear, better cameras, and, most importantly, full access to Google Play and Google App Suite. Not so in the Fire HD 10.
Electricity is the biggest problem here. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A’s graphics chipset is quite weak. As is often the case, big gaming fans should consider the iPad instead. But at this price, it only complements the pill appeal of this deal.
Contents
Samsung Galaxy Tab a Review: Design
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A is the best looking tablet you’ll find on one of Tech’s big names. There are two versions, an 8-inch version, and a 10.1-inch version.
It mostly has an aluminum back, not too much for an iPad. The top has an inch-deep strip of plastic that makes the design a little cheaper, but at this price, I just don’t care. Plastic is used here to aid the transmission of wireless antennas, and this almost certainly makes the Samsung Galaxy Tab A significantly cheaper to produce.
Fancy phones and tablets use small 2 mm strips of plastic to do the same thing.
Samsung has brought the design down significantly since the last version of this tablet released in 2016, dropping screen boundaries significantly. The borders are thinner than the 10.2-inch iPad 7, and its footprint is small. When the thickness is also a super-slim 7.5mm, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A’s design is the actual 5-star luggage for a budget tablet.
Features
Unlike the Tab S5e and Tab S6, it also has a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
All the right choices are made here, and I haven’t missed some obvious missing parts. There is no fingerprint scanner, which is not a major disadvantage in a tablet. Some may disagree. There is no water resistance as expected.
Storage and speaker quality are parts that feel the price squeezes a little more keenly. You get 32 GB of storage, so you want to buy a microSD card. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A has room for one; sadly, you are not able to integrate it with system storage.
Its speaker tabs are no closer to the S5e’s stunning stereo set. You get a pair, arranged at the bottom. They have a reasonable bulk for such a cheap tablet, but you don’t get that significantly significant effect when you put the Samsung Galaxy Tab A in front of you to watch a movie or YouTube video.
Samsung Galaxy Tab a Review 10.1 Specification
Specifications |
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Product | Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1
2019, February 15 |
Display | 10.1 inches, 295.8 cm2 (~80.7% screen-to-body ratio)
TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors 1200 x 1920 pixels, 16:10 ratio (~224 ppi density) |
Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0, AF, Panorama, 1080p@30fps
5 MP, f/2.2, 1080p@30fps |
Power | 32GB 2GB RAM, 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 3GB RAM, 128GB 3GB RAM
microSDXC (dedicated slot) eMMC 5.1 |
Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 6150 mAh battery |
Design | 245.2 x 149.4 x 7.5 mm (9.65 x 5.88 x 0.30 in)
469 g (1.03 lb) Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame Nano-SIM |
Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28, 38, 40, 66 HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A |
Samsung Galaxy Tab A Review (8.0)
Whether you’re looking for a cheap tablet for Netflix over the weekend, or need to simply toss it in your bag for your morning commute, Amazon isn’t the only option for you. The $ 199.99 Samsung Galaxy Tab A is an 8-inch slate with decent specs and some software features that you won’t find on similarly priced competitors. And unlike Amazon Fire Tablet, you get unexpected access to the Google Play App Store. This makes the Tab A compatible with media consumption and a solid budget for Android gaming, although the Amazon Fire HD 8 and HD 10 offer strong value for your dollar.
Samsung Galaxy Tab a 8.0 Review: Design, and Features
Samsung’s mid-range A-series tablets are designed for casual users. Tabs range in size from 7 to 10.5 inches. For the most part, there are both Wi-Fi and LTE variants for each tablet in the series, with LTE models coming in at a premium of around $ 50, depending on the carrier. We tested the 8-inch Wi-Fi model.
The Galaxy Tab A 8.0 sees a slight improvement in design compared to its 2015 predecessor. An improved screen-to-body ratio makes it slightly less squat, and the camera bump on the back is less pronounced. The frame is made of smooth polycarbonate, while the back has a shiny aluminum shell that easily picks up fingerprints and smoothies.
The slate measures 8.35 4.89 in. 0.35 in (HWD) and weighs 12.65 oz. It is not the lightest tablet on the market, but we had no problem keeping it on a busy train for the long haul house. And although its frame is plastic, the overall build quality is significantly more solid than Amazon’s Fire tablet. That said, we definitely recommend a case of whether the tablet will be used by children or if you plan to use it for your daily commute.
To the right of tab A, you will find the power button and the volume rocker. Both are responsive and provide a satisfactory click when tapped. On the left side is a microSD card slot that has up to 400GB of external storage in addition to 32GB of internal memory. A USB-C charging port sits at the bottom, with a firing speaker at the bottom that provides all the audio. At 86 decibels, Tab A is sufficient to watch loud streaming video, but a high-end audio experience is not expected. The speaker sounds hollow and thin at high volume.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 Review: Display
The performance quality is decent. The front panel is home to an 8-inch, 1,280-by-800 TFT display with 189 inches per inch, as you’ll find in the Lenovo Tab 4 8 and Fire HD 8. The screen is good for multimedia streaming. , But the text and images are slightly fuzzy. The brightness and viewing angles are excellent, so you should have no problem using the slate in direct sunlight.
The tab supports A2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi, and we received excellent wireless range and connectivity on both bands in testing. Bluetooth 4.2 is also on board for wireless audio.
Samsung Galaxy Tab a 8.0 Review: Processor, Battery & Camera
The tablet is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor that runs at 1.4 GHz. It is a common processor for budget tablets, although, at the age of three, it is nearing its expiration date. It also has 2GB of RAM, which makes the Tab A 1 or 1.5GB of RAM (similar to Fire HD) slightly tighter than tablets. The apps opened quickly and basic multitasking worked without a hitch in testing. We were also able to play Asphalt 8 without problems. However, we started experiencing a slowdown after the opening of more than half a dozen apps.
Battery life is strong. While streaming full-screen video over Wi-Fi at maximum screen brightness, we managed an impressive 6 hours and 37 minutes of performance. This Fire HD is slightly longer than 10 (6 hours and 14 minutes) and should easily get you through a long flight with conservative usage.
When it comes to cameras, the Tab A’s 8-megapixel rear shooter is overshadowed in most circumstances (such as most tablet cameras, especially at this price). When the day photos pass, our low light photos were grainy and blurred.
The display on the 5-megapixel front-facing sensor provides the same experience. Video calls are inactive in a well-lit room, but the quality deteriorates quickly in low light.
Software and features
The Tab A ships running on Android 7.1, although once taken out of the box there is an OTA Update on Android Oreo 8.1 with Samsung Experience 9.5. Samsung’s custom UI has improved a lot over the years. Unfortunately, there are still redundant applications such as Samsung Mail, Samsung Internet, and Samsung Note, which cannot be uninstalled.
Apart from the Samsung Experience 9.5, there is some other notable software. Safe Folder allows you to designate a private space on the tablet where you can store documents and secondary instances that you want to keep away from prying eyes. Samsung Flow allows you to share photos and information between your tablet and Samsung smartphone. And if you are a parent with young children, you will definitely appreciate Kids Mode, which is one such app
Samsung Galaxy Tab a Review 8.0 Specs
Operating System | Android 8.1 |
Dimensions | 8.4 by 4.9 by 0.4 inches |
Weight | 12.7 oz |
Screen Size | 8 inches |
Screen Resolution | 1,280 by 800 pixels |
CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 |
Storage Capacity | 32 GB |
Battery Life | 5 hours, 51 minutes |
The Review
Samsung Galaxy Tab A Review (10.1)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A is the best looking tablet you'll find on one of Tech's big names. There are two versions, an 8-inch version, and a 10.1-inch version.
PROS
- Nice design Good Price
- Camera Quality Good
- Good battery life
CONS
- Limited storage
- Limited graphics power