Now that Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Tab S3, it’s finally possible to conduct an initial comparison for how its specs stack up to its predecessors. While it’s no secret that tablets have lagged far behind other mobile devices in recent years, the Galaxy Tab S3 appears ready to take on that problem. A few things have managed to remain the same over the years, but this year’s upstart from Samsung is making several major changes and keeping what worked from the Galaxy Tab S2 and Galaxy Tab S 8.4 or 10.5 respectively.
Although they did compare well to other tablets that were available at the time, the Galaxy Tab S3’s ancestors were not necessarily spectacular or mind-blowing. As mentioned already, the latest in the line does share some similarities to those previous devices. First, the battery packed into Samsung’s latest Tab device is rated at 6,000 mAh, which sits between the Tab S2 at 5,870 mAh and Tab S 10.5 at 7,900 mAh. That brings life to a screen that is both the same size, resolution, and ratio as the Tab S2 but in between the Tab S 8.4 and 10.5. Like its predecessors, it also features expandable storage via microSD up to 256GB. Its onboard storage matches the lowest available storage for the Tab S2 and the upper end of the same for the Tab S devices at 32GB. The dimension and weight of the Tab S3 are also remarkably similar to the Tab S2, although slightly heavier and about .04mm thicker. The latest Galaxy Tab does also pack the same array of sensors as those found in both previous devices.
However, there have been several major changes to that device’s successor. Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the inclusion of one of Samsung’s most iconic creations, the S-Pen. Unfortunately, the device does not have a dedicated slot for its S-Pen, as previous devices such as the Galaxy Note series have had, but it is great to see the accessory breaking free of its traditional counterparts. Another big change is the inclusion of massively updated speakers backed by AKG. While previous devices had a basic dual stereo speaker setup, the Galaxy Tab S3 features a quad speaker setup backed by AKG Harman. The Tab S3 is also set to release with Android Nougat on board, will have a dockable keyboard accessory, and better cameras. The tablet’s updated cameras come up from a front-facing 2.1-megapixel shooter on previous devices to 5-megapixels and from 8-megapixels to 13-megapixels on the back. Finally, the new Tab S3 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 under the hood, which means that its battery will feature rapid charging via its updated USB Type-C port. All of that is backed up by 4GB of RAM – up from 3GB on the other two. Each of those puts the performance and usability of the device squarely in line with more top-end tablets available today.
