The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 is in active development, industry sources said on Friday, adding that the South Korean original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is planning to release the upcoming device in select European and Latin American markets. The Galaxy Tab Active 2 is said to be offered in two variants labeled as the SM-T390 and SM-T395, with the latter one rumored to be a 4G LTE-enabled model while the former is said to only have Wi-Fi capabilities. While Samsung reportedly already decided to release the device in the aforementioned regions, the Seoul-based tech giant may also eventually make them available in more markets, insiders said, without clarifying on the matter. It’s currently unclear whether the availability of the supposed Galaxy Tab Active 2 will be expanded following its debut in Latin America and Europe, or if Samsung will make the final decision on its target markets before the device hits any market.
The Galaxy Tab Active 2 is almost certainly a successor to the Galaxy Tab Active, an entry-level Android tablet that was introduced in September 2014 before being available for purchase in December. While Samsung released the Galaxy Tab S lineup that same year, the Galaxy Tab Active wasn’t a revision of its peers but a completely different device, boasting resistance to dust, water, mechanical damage, and shock at a time when such capabilities weren’t commonly found in portable consumer electronics, especially products competing in the most affordable segment. The Galaxy Tab Active sported an 8-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels and was powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, in addition to featuring 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal flash storage that was expandable by up to 64GB via a dedicated microSD card tray. The original tablet was also available in Wi-Fi-only and 4G LTE-enabled variants, both running Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box enhanced with Samsung’s proprietary mobile software suite. The Galaxy Tab Active was eventually upgraded to Android 5.0.1 Lollipop in November 2015 but hasn’t received a major software update following its transition to that particular build of Google’s operating system.
Provided that Samsung is indeed developing the Galaxy Tab Active 2, the next big opportunity for the company to announce the device is IFA Berlin 2017 that’s scheduled to start on September 1, so more details on the tablet may be available in the coming months.