Samsung Galaxy Tab A Launched In India: A 2014 Product at 2017 Price!

The Mi MIX 2 launched today amidst a potent mix of anticipation and social buzz. The latest Samsung Galaxy Tab A was also launched today. The launch was almost lost in the noise of Mi MIX 2’s launch.

Tablets are a dying breed. Compared to say 5 years ago, there are hardly any Android tablets available in the market right now. The choices for high-end, performance tablets are strictly restricted to Apple’s iPad series of tablets.

An Android tablet nowadays, is an exception rather than a norm! When they were prevalent, Samsung was the leading manufacturer of tablets of all sizes. Samsung’s A series is made up of affordable range of tablets.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A, 2017: An 8” Calling Tab

The latest Tab A from Samsung sports an 8” IPS HD display, 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of built-in storage. This latest tablet from Samsung comes as a surprise . Surprise because, it seems that Samsung has made a half-hearted effort to push out a middling product with its Snapdragon 425 processor and the 2 GB RAM.

Design And Build

Like all tablets in the A series, the latest 8” Tab A features a plastic build, which is at par with the price point and expectations. The front of the tablet features an earpiece above the display and the usual trio of Samsung’s navigation buttons. The back features the primary camera and an LED flash.

Display

The latest Tab A features an 8.0 inch IPS LCD display with an HD resolution at 1280 x 800 pixels. The display features an aspect ratio of 16:10, a 70.5% screen-to-body ratio and pixel density of 189 PPI.

Hardware

The Tab A is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor, clocked at 1.4 GHz. and 2GB RAM. Graphics are handled by Adreno 308 GPU.

Software

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A is runs Android 7.1 out of the box. It is masked by Samsung’s home-baked UI, which is a staple on all their mobile devices.

Storage

The Tab A features 16GB of built-in storage which can be increased up to 256GB via a dedicated memory card slot.

Camera

The primary camera on the Tab A is an 8.0-megapixel camera with an f/1.9 aperture and an LED flash. This one can capture full HD 1080p video at 30fps. The front camera is a 5.0-megapixel selfie cam.

SIM Support And Connectivity

The Tab A features a single nano-SIM slot which enables calling with the dedicated earpiece. It supports 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth V4.2, A2DP, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS. It features an accelerometer for changing the display orientation.

Battery

The Tab A packs in a 5,000mAh battery, which should be able to power the tablet for a whole day’s regular usage.

Price And Variants

The Galaxy Tab A is available in only one configuration and two colour variants; Black and Gold. The tablet is priced surprisingly high at Rs. 17,990/-

Availability

The Tab A will be available in both, offline as well as online channels.

Preliminary Verdict

The latest tablet offering from Samsung seems out of place with its mediocre specifications and a comparatively high price. In fact, it seems downright shocking that Samsung is offering the tablet for such a high price. The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is a much better offering at the Rs. 17,000/- price point. It packs in a better processor, better display, more RAM and a much bigger battery. It is much economical to give this one a miss, unless you have to have the bigger 8.0 inch display. But remember, that is the only better thing you’ll be getting with this tablet