For the past several months, numerous clues emerged to suggest that Samsung is working on a successor to last year’s Galaxy Tab S2 series, and as you may recall, the so-called Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 carrying model number “SM-T819” was also spotted in the GFXBench database last month, where most of its hardware specifications have been revealed. More recently, the same tablet seems to have passed through the FCC, and judging by the fresh documents published by the regulatory agency, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 might share many similarities with its predecessor in terms of exterior design.
A new 9.7-inch Samsung tablet carrying model number “SM-T819” received clearance from the FCC, and given the said model number the slate appears to be none other than the rumored Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 9.7. Interestingly enough, one of the sketches found within the FCC filings suggests that the Galaxy Tab S3 might not represent a large departure from the design flaunted by last year’s model. The device – as presented by the FCC – has chamfered edges on the left and right-hand sides of the back panel, a rear-fitted “square-ish” camera, and two circular magnetic connectors used for clipping and holding covers into place – just like last year’s Galaxy Tab S2. The FCC doesn’t reveal any details regarding the tablet’s hardware specifications, other than the fact that it is compatible with LTE bands 2, 4, and 17, which technically means it should support AT&T’s network.
As for what makes the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 9.7 tick, the previous entry in the GeekBench database revealed a 9.7-inch display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 chipset operating at frequencies of up to 1.8 GHz per core, 3 GB of RAM, and an Adreno 510 graphics chip. The same source suggests that the slate will be equipped with an 8-megapixel main camera, as well as a 2 MP front-facing sensor. Last but certainly not least, all evidence so far hints at the presence of Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, which is likely to be covered by Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz user interface. As yet there’s no official word on when, where, or at what price the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 9.7 might hit the shelves first, but considering the information revealed by the FCC it’s likely that AT&T might carry it at some point in the future.
