The S Pen makes all the difference when it comes to writing and drawing on Samsung’s new tablet.
The Android tablet market seems a whole lot less crowded than a couple of years ago. Manufacturers are no longer flooding the market with tablets like they used to, so we were quite eager to get our hands on the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016).
The Galaxy Tab A range was first introduced in 2015 as mid-range tablets equipped with the S Pen stylus, which before this was exclusive to the Galaxy Note smartphone series.
The 2016 model comes in two sizes – 7in and 10.1in. We review the larger version of the two.
Go wide
The Tab A’s 10.1in screen has a ratio of 16:10 unlike the previous model which has a 9.7in screen with 4:3 ratio.
The change in screen ratio makes the new tablet more media-friendly as it can better fit widescreen movies but this also makes it less ideal for reading books.
We didn’t quite like the screen on last year’s Tab A as it was only 720p so we are thankful that the new version has a full HD (1080p) display.
Even though there are tablets with better resolutions on the market, we found the Tab A’s screen to be decent. The screen is really bright so you will have no problem using the device outdoors in broad daylight.
Most makers go for an all-metal body but Samsung has chosen textured plastic for the Tab A which feels less premium but more solid.
Like most Samsung products, the Tab A comes with two touch-sensitive keys next to the Home button. We would have preferred for the buttons to light up but it won’t take long for you to get used to the placement.
Practical pen
The Tab A runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface (UI).
Samsung’s feature-rich UI is especially useful on a tablet. For instance, the Multi Window feature, which allows you to view two apps simultaneously, is much more useful on a tablet than smartphone. While this feature is now present in the latest Android (7.0 Nougat), Samsung has had it since the Galaxy Note 2 in 2012 and the luxury of improving it over time.
One of the unique selling points of the Tab A is the S Pen – if you are expecting to take lots of notes or draw on the tablet then the Tab A is your best bet as it comes with a dedicated stylus.
Although you can get any other tablet and purchase a stylus separately, the experience may not be as good. The main reason for this is that the Tab A has a built-in Wacom digitiser which allows it to sense pressure for better input.
The Tab A also has the same S Pen Air Command features seen in the Galaxy Note smartphones such as Translate, Screen Write, Smart Select and Create Note.
I found all the features to work as advertised with the exception of Translate, which requires you to hover the S Pen over a word for it to translate the word automatically – this was usually a hit-or-miss affair.
Long life
One of the Tab A’s strong points is the amazing battery life. Fitted with a generous 7,300mAh battery, the tablet survived many hours of watching videos.
As I mainly used it after work, a full charge lasted around three or four days. Also, unlike my older tablets, it managed to hold its charge admirably when left on standby mode.
The review unit has 16GB of internal memory although only 10.5GB is available as the operating system and pre-installed apps takes up the rest. That’s not much so it is a good thing that the Tab A supports microSD card sizes of up to up to 256GB.
I tested the tablet with games such as Subway Surfers, Fifa Mobile and NBA Live. All the three graphics-intensive games ran smoothly with no hiccups.
The tablet packs an 8-megapixel camera – quality was above average but we were not expecting much from it, as we prefer smartphones over tablets when shooting photos. The tablet also has an LED flash which is a nice addition as it doubles as a torchlight.
Conclusion
While the 2015 Tab A model was a good device, the dealbreaker for many was the 720p screen – this is no longer an issue as the new model has a 1080p screen.
There are many other improvements too and the one we like best is the long battery life so we don’t have to charge the tablet every night.
As it’s one of the few Android tablets released recently with a built-in digitiser and stylus, the Tab A is great for anyone who wants a device mainly for writing and drawing.
Pros: S Pen is great for taking notes and drawing; wider screen is great for watching movies; long battery life.
Cons: Speakers could have been better; capacitive buttons are not backlit.
Get the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 right now at Lazada.
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Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016)
(Samsung)
Android tablet
Network: 4G LTE
Operating system: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
Processor: Exynos 8780 octa-core (4 x 1.6GHz Cortex-A53 and 4 x 1.0GHz Cortex-A53)
Display: 10.1in display (1,200 x 1,920 pixels)
Camera: 8 megapixels (rear), 2 megapixels (front)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, dual-band Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct, WiFi hotspot, microUSB 2.0
Memory: 16GB internal memory; 3GB RAM
Expansion slot: MicroSD (up to 256GB supported)
Features: S Pen, GPS
Dimensions (W x D x H): 254.2 x 155.3 x 8.2mm
Weight: 525g
Battery: 7,300mAh
Website: www.samsung.com.my
Price: RM1,599
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review unit courtesy of Samsung Malaysia Electronics, 1-800-88-9999
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