While there’s no shortage of cheap Android tablets on the market, Samsung is one of the only companies that continues to offer models for folks looking for an Android alternative to an iPad Pro.

The latest example is the company’s most powerful tablet yet.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 basically puts the features you’d expect from a flagship smartphone into a device with a larger screen and a bigger battery, doubles the amount of speakers you’d expect, and adds support for an optional keyboard case.

With a starting price of $649, the Galaxy Tab S6 isn’t exactly cheap. But good luck finding another Android tablet that’s nearly as powerful and versatile.

First, let’s get the specs out of the way:

  • 10.5 inch, 2560 x 1600 pixel Super AMOLED display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor
  • 6GB RAM + 128GB UFS 3.0 storage or 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
  • MicroSD card reader (up to 512GB)
  • Quad speakers tuned by AKG with Dolby Atmos sound
  • In-display fingerprint sensor
  • 13MP +5MP wide-angle rear camera with 4K/30fps video recording support
  • 2 microphones
  • 7,040 mAh battery
  • 15W fast charging
  • 802.11ac WiFi
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • GPS + GLONASS
  • S-Pen
  • gray, blue, and rose color options
  • 9.6″ x 6.3″ x  0.22″
  • 15 ounces

A WiFi-only model goes up for pre-order starting August 23rd and it should be available in stores by September 6th. Samsung will also offer an LTE-enabled version later this year.

In addition to the fastest processor of any Samsung tablet to date, the new model also comes with an S-Pen that attaches to the side of the tablet magnetically for storage and charging.

Samsung’s DeX software has been updated, allowing you to use a desktop-like version of Android when you connect a keyboard cover or other supported accessories.

One thing the Galaxy Tab S6 doesn’t have? A headphone jack.

Of course, not everyone needs a $649+ tablet… and not all of Samsung’s Android tablets cost that much.

A few months ago the company released the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e with a similar a similar design, but a Snapdragon 670 processor and a $400 starting price, and the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 with a 10.2 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, a Samsung Exynos 7904A processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a price tag of $240 and up.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,543 other subscribers

9 replies on “Samsung launches Galaxy Tab S6 for $650 and up (Snapdragon 855 and an S-Pen)”

  1. I know Android tablets are out of fashion, but I absolutely love my Huawei M5. I use it even more than I thought I would when I bought it. The sound quality is amazing. It was also significantly cheaper than the Samsung tablet but still has good hardware specs. With a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse I can actually get some work done while traveling but most of the time it is used to surf the web or for watching video. Sure, my phone has a good size screen, but a 10″ tablet is so much more comfortable to use.

  2. When I first saw the post, I thought it might be their new Windows machine. Oh, well…

  3. I suspect Samsung expects to sell this tablet more to the corporate/business market than high-end consumers. When large companies deploy tablets, its typically for a specific purpose and use bespoke software and apps, so the lack of good tablet software of Android is less of a disadvantage against the competition (i.e. Apple).

  4. I am definitely in the minority but I’m going to wait for the Pinebook’s Linux tablet and/or laptop as a backup device. Their phone (or Purisms’) can eventually lead me into a personal ecosystem that’s mostly free of big tech manipulation and spyware (on my local devices).

    Exciting to think about.

    Honestly, there is so little dev work by Big Tech that puts users first. Small storage, spyware, walled gardens, glue everywhere, missing (and important) ports… the list seems endless and the end-user hostility… palpable.

    1. I was really excited about the PineTab until I realized how anemic it will be. The new Fire 7 and Raspberry Pi will run circles around it.

      The highest Geekbench scores for the original Pinebook, which shares the CPU with the PineTab, were 479 and 1264 for single-core and multi-core, respectively. Scores of 638 and 1656 were reported for the Fire. The RPi scored 978 and 1768.

      I understand that there are lots of other reasons to consider the PineTab, but couldn’t they at least upgrade the CPU???

  5. We’ll just have to see what the 4g model ends up costing, and it might be interesting.

    1. Honestly, it wouldn’t have changed much.
      Android is still the more capable OS than iOS, which is more necessary for tablets than phones. However, at this size, it makes you wonder if you should’ve just bought a Windows10 Pro tablet instead. Or equally enticing, is the more optimised software experience on iPads, and now with new features on ipadOS making it more useful.

      Basically, this product is dead in the water, due to those two other alternatives, unless it decides to cut-back on the asking price, or provide some extra niche/feature.

Comments are closed.