The Samsung Galaxy Tab S models represent two of the finest Android tablets to have been manufactured. There are two models, one a full size tablet and one a little smaller. Both use high resolution, Super AMOLED screens, a thin chassis and a modern, powerful Samsung processor. However, for some time now we’ve seen rumors of a follow-up device, cunningly called the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2. And now it appears that Samsung has accidentally confirmed the existence of such a device, or as it happens two devices.
What happened? The slip appeared in a changelog document detailing the Hancom Office Hshow 2014 application, which is what Samsung ships on its devices to handle Microsoft Office files. An update to the application shows that it is supported by the Galaxy Tab A and the Galaxy Tab S2. It is possible that this is a typographical error as these can and do happen, or that a proofreader of the changelog didn’t check the information carefully enough and inadvertently released the information. Whatever the story, this appears to confirm that Samsung are indeed working on a second generation Tab S product.
Until any such announcement is made official, we may speculate as to what the Tab S2 models will be like. We have already reported that the new S2 is likely to be built with two screen sizes, one around the 8.0-inch size and the second around the 9.7-inch size. However, unlike the previous model, we believe Samsung is following the Google Nexus 9 and Apple iPads in changing the screen to a 4:3 aspect ratio, which makes the device easier to handle when it comes to web browsing and eBook reading. As such, the rumors point towards the device having a 2,048 x 1,536 pixel resolution screen, which we are expecting to also be a Super AMOLED like the previous generation model. As regards the internal specification, given the success that Samsung have enjoyed with their semiconductor products it would be surprising if the new Tab S2 wasn’t based around a 64-bit Samsung Exynos processor. It isn’t clear if the S2 will contain the new 14nm Exynos 7420 processor or perhaps a new model. We also expect the new Tab S2 to have at least 3 GB of RAM, the same as the outgoing model, although perhaps Samsung will increase the RAM to 4 GB. We are expecting the Tab S2 to be available with and without SIM slots, for a WiFi-only and LTE-equipped models.
What remains to be seen is if Samsung will remove the MicroSD card slot from the new Tab S2 tablets, as they have with the Samsung Galaxy S6 flagship model. It’s possible that, if the new tablet contains a similar high performance main processor and internal storage memory unit, Samsung will remove the MicroSD slot and make the Tab S2 available in 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB capacities. This should ultimately help their business as it’s a relatively easy up-sell to a higher capacity model tablet if there’s no expansion slot. Of course, this is speculation. Until Samsung announce the Galaxy Tab S2, we don’t know the specification of the device, likely markets, costs and of course, the finer detail.
