Samsung unveils budget-centric Galaxy Tab A Plus that supports S Pen

Contrasting sharply with the grandiose launch of products such as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Fold, the South Korean conglomerate’s release of the brand new Galaxy Tab A Plus (2019) has been a fairly quiet affair. However, that should not detract from the fact that we are getting a fine tablet with a decent set of specs, which is also going to be pretty affordable.

Samsung’s newest tablet features an 8-inch display with a resolution of 1920×1200, which is clearly better than last year’s 10.5-inch version. Running on the 1.8GHz Exynos 7904 octa-core processor, the tablet boasts 3GB worth of RAM and 32GB of internal memory, which can be extended to 512GB of storage with a microSD card. The battery capacity is a reasonable 4,200 mAh.

Samsung clearly did not intend to blow us away with its camera technology in the Tab A Plus (2019), as it features an unremarkable configuration of an 8 MP rear camera and 5 MP front camera. Disappointingly, you won’t be able to have bokeh effects in your pictures with this one.

Having said that, the stand-out feature of this tablet is the S Pen, which immediately converts it from a mere consumer electronics product to a tool that can be used for creative work like content writing and artwork.

Other reasons to look forward to the device include excellent portability (it weighs a mere 325g), 4G LTE connectivity and the inclusion of the Android 9.0 Pie operating system.

It can be tempting to view the Tab A Plus as Samsung’s response to the new iPad Mini, but a cursory glance at the specs is enough to make one realize that there is hardly any competition between the two: in terms of performance, the iPad Mini is the winner by a long shot.

However, it is worth noting that Samsung might have hoped that its tablet’s much lower price would be an immense selling point. While there has been no comment so far on the pricing, it will certainly be lower than $400 (what you’ll have to pay for the most basic version of the new iPad Mini).