UNBOXING: As far as the unboxing experience is concerned, it’s nothing memorable, nor is it bad. Inside the box is the Tab S6, the S Pen, an SD-card ejector tool, a fast-charger, and some replacement tips for the S Pen as well as a tool to remove the tip from the S Pen. BUILD/DESIGN: As far as the design is concerned, color me impressed. The device is sleek & slim, and the placement and indentation for the S-Pen to magnetically attach and charge is intuitively placed. The tablet is a small form factor while also having a large enough display to be productive or enjoy some entertainment. I’m able to fit it into my small sling bag without issue, which makes it incredibly portable and convenient compared to a laptop for use cases where a larger laptop isn’t necessary. I’ve personally owned around 7 or so Android tablets, including ones made by Google, and the Tab S6 delivers the most premium design and features that would make iPad users happy, as well. You can also purchase a keyboard book cover separately which will provide you with a decent keyboard for using Samsung’s Dex software built into the Tab S6. Additionally, the keyboard book cover provides reinforcement to the rear side that adds a kickstand and also ensures that your pen won’t escape. DISPLAY: The 10.5” Super AMOLED display on the Tab S6 has a resolution of 2560x1600 and gets very bright and delivers vibrant colors, as expected from a Samsung-produced display panel. There are times where I’ve woken up and tried using it and had to turn the brightness down to the lowest setting but still found it to be a bit too bright for me. In the Display settings, you can select from “Vivid” or “Natural” screen modes as well as a Blue Light Filter mode to prevent harsh blue lights from causing eye strain—especially useful for long sessions of usage. Interacting with the screen is very snappy and responsive, but one complaint I have is that scrolling seems to exhibit some ghosting. This is only a 60Hz display, but with more phones and tablets starting to adopt higher refresh rate displays, it would have been nice to see that in the Tab S6. Despite that, this is still a great display for day-to-day usage and unless I’m nit-picking, I don’t have any complaints. AUDIO: The speakers on the Tab S6 are fantastic—my favorite in a tablet this size. If you haven’t had the opportunity to experience quad speakers on a tablet, the Tab S6 rivals my iPad Pro in clarity and loudness. You’ll want to use the Dolby Atmos mode to get the best experience, and I personally have not found a reason to turn it off during normal use. Unfortunately, there is no headphone jack on this model, and it does not come with a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle, so you will need to buy one of those if you intend to use wired headphones with the Tab S6. FINGERPRINT SENSOR: The fingerprint sensor on the Tab S6 is under the display much like Samsung’s latest smartphones. I have found that the finger placement and calibration is pretty important to unlocking the device. I have had to re-attempt quite a few times if I wasn’t deliberately placing my finger on the sensor in a way that would result in the best scan. I have mostly relied on their face-unlock which is less secure, but quite fast. That being said, humidity has declined in my area since I first set up the fingerprint sensor, so my fingers have been a lot drier and may be contributing to the issue. Either way, the experience hasn’t been terrible, but definitely not seamless for me. PEN SUPPORT: Samsung, as usual, is doing more and more to make their S Pen more useful for consumers. Firstly, this pen has been a joy for me to use. I’ve used pens on Windows 2-in-1 devices that are incredibly unreliable, but using the S Pen with the Tab S6 has been a joy. As a software developer and Scrum Master, I’ve had to take notes in meetings and had a company-wide 2-day planning event where I had to frequently meet with others to report status updates on my team’s plans as well as issues our teams have encountered. The S Pen made it easy to take notes during stand up meetings, and the size of the Tab S6 lent to my agility, rather than making it a cumbersome experience. While the S Pen could also be used for artists (as demonstrated by the included PENUP app), it’s not a use-case that I can reasonably cover. That being said, the PENUP app has a lot of uploads from other S Pen users that illustrate how well the S Pen can perform as a tool for artists. Additionally, the S Pen has a feature called “Air Actions” which allow you to use the button on the S Pen or wave gestures to perform actions in certain apps. The actions are pre-determined for the apps that support Air Actions, but you can re-map the gestures so that if you want to wave the pen right to go back instead of forward in Google Chrome, you can do so. Aside from the features mentioned above, there are other S Pen features integrated into Samsung’s One UI and many third-party apps that were designed to use styluses will work great with the S Pen. PERFORMANCE: If you know anything about the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, you’ll know that it’s been used in all the high-end Android smartphones this year. With this octa-core processor, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, the Tab S6 is blazing fast compared to any other Android tablet I’ve used. To put that in perspective, I actually enjoy using the Tab S6 as a media consumption machine as well as ultra portable productivity machine. The performance has been buttery smooth, even rivaling my 2016 9.7” iPad Pro in terms of the fluidity and snappiness of the animations. The Galaxy Tab S6 holds up very well for performance in a 2019 product. Considering how loved the Galaxy S10 is, it’s really no surprise since under the hood they are running variants of the same One UI software as well as the same processor. BATTERY: As far as battery is concerned, iPadOS has historically showed much better usage and standby time than Android tablets. While there are modes on the Tab S6 to conserve more battery, the idle drain is still disappointing compared to iPads. I can definitely get a full day of mixed use out of the Tab S6, but I always make sure to charge it overnight, as it will otherwise lose precious battery that I need throughout the day. WI-FI: Connectivity was originally a bit of a mixed bag when I first received the device, but a software update was delivered on Oct 4, 2019 (Version: T860XXU1ASJ1/T860OXM1ASJ1/, Security patch level: Sept 1, 2019) which has resolved any issues with Wi-Fi connectivity that I was previously experiencing across a multitude of networks. I recommend clearing your network settings and performing a restart of the device once the software update has been properly installed. After which, you can reconnect to your networks and should experience much more reliable connectivity without random disconnects. DEX: For the uninitiated, Dex is Samsung’s “Desktop Mode” for those who are more familiar with traditional computer operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux) that have more capabilities for multitasking compared to a mobile operating system like Android. Dex allows you to open any of your Android apps in a Windows-like environment. It allows you to open multiple apps and use them simultaneously—and evn drag and resize your apps across the desktop much like Windows. You can even have shortcuts to your most-used apps on the desktop. Dex can be used not only with the keyboard book cover, but it can be used with any USB-C docking station that can use DisplayPort Alt Mode as its mechanism for outputting to a monitor. Once I got my dock working with the Tab S6, I pulled down the toggle settings, and opened Dex. At this point, I noticed that Dex opened up on my ultrawide monitor, while Samsung’s standard One UI was simultaneously accessible from the tablet. So you could use Dex via your monitor for more productive tasks while also having other apps open on the Tab S6’s display, if you so choose. I was able to simultaneously open YouTube, a web browser with several tabs, my preferred music app, and my preferred messaging app—enabling me to multitask via a tablet’s operating system in a way I’ve never experienced before, and that’s pretty incredible. CAMERA: If you’re buying the Tab S6 with the intent on using the camera, I’d say it’s competent. It’s not going to compete with flagship smartphones, but it certainly isn’t bad. It has dual cameras, but no flash, so don’t anticipate using it for low-light photos. That being said, the inclusion is great for those who might consider capturing a photo then marking it up later. I can see a lot of utility in that, so having a competent camera is an absolute must-have. But if you’re intending to use it as your camera for taking pictures and throwing them on social media, that’s your prerogative, not mine. For students and professionals, you will be glad that this is here, as you can avoid the hassle of transferring a picture from your phone to the Tab S6 in order to mark it up later. CONCLUSION: The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is the best Android tablet experience I’ve experienced to date, and it’s actually really good. If you’re the kind of person who really values the Android ecosystem and the features that Samsung is providing here, this is a great tablet with some caveats that you should consider. I’ve been putting the Tab S6 in my small everyday carry bag and have found myself using it not only for entertainment, but also for professional purposes with the keyboard book cover. It has saved me from using a much larger, bulkier device on occasions, and for those who are looking to travel really light with some capability to be productive, this might be right down your alley.

Had a Note 10.1 2014 that was great but aging. Treated myself to this and love it. Still getting used to pen. Picked up a $25 case & keyboard and with DeX it really replaces a PC. Tons of storage. Super fast loading and downloading.

This is my first Samsung tablet which is ironic since I’ve owned many tablets over the years, especially when I add the fact that my last 4 phones were all from Samsung with the latest being a note. I say that to ask this, why did I take so long to try a Samsung tablet??? Who knows, but without a doubt this is the best android tablet I have ever used. So, in the box comes……,I won’t bore you with specs and tidbits in the box, I’m sure someone else has covered that, but I will discuss what surprised/disappointed me and what unique features I really appreciate. First off, if you are a Samsung user, setting up and using this will be a breeze if you sign into your Samsung account. Even if you are not a Samsung user it is still easy to set up. An added benefit if you are Samsung user is that you can receive calls and messages from your cellphone through your tablet. This is cool. I currently use T-Mobile so I’m not sure what other providers it will work with. The build quality seems to be very good and I am confident it will last a long time despite how thin and light it feels. The Screen is simply superb. No matter what you view on it, it will be fantastic. Whether it is playing games or consuming media you will not be let down. The colors are vibrant and appealing. You’ll probably be so impressed, that like me, you wish the screen was more than 10.5 inches, (Come on Samsung! Give us a 2 more inches). I can’t complain the screen is beautiful. Also, I think it’s the first time Samsung has added an under-screen fingerprint scanner (thumbs up Samsung). It won’t take long to get used to its position and it works a little bit slower than the ones on their phones. Another amazing part of this tablet is the sound. What can I say, I was blown away. There are four AKG tuned speakers and I really appreciate that they are found with one at each corner so sound will still be reaching you no matter how you hold it. Unfortunately, there is no headphone jack, and that’s just the world we live in now (Bluetooth life it is then). Kudos to Samsung for providing us with a S-pen. The pen is slightly rectangular in design and has one singular button. It is stored on the back of the tablet below the rear cameras, in a cut-out groove that also charges the pen. I’m not a big fan of this position, I was constantly worrying that the pen would fall off, surprisingly it never did. It also connects the tablet to the tablet through Bluetooth. As a side note the S-pens from all my note devices also worked with the tablet, which was also surprising. When it comes to the S-pen there are a bunch of features and built in apps built just for it such as you can screen write at any time even when the tablet is off. You can preview most media by just hovering the pen over the file and also very handy is that it has a built-in translator, just hover the pen over the word you would like to translate. There are also a bunch of gestures with the pen that offers extra functionality inside certain apps like the camera, such as zoom in/out and switch from front to back rear camera and back. It is important to note that the pen which charges pretty quickly and can still be used when dead, I just think that the features that require Bluetooth, like the gestures won’t be available to you. When it comes to performance, this tablet is a KING no doubt to its processor the Snapdragon 855 which is the same processor in the top of line android phones Like the Note 10, S10 and One Plus 7 Pro. This tablet handled everything I threw at it and at once too. I had Chrome running (with multiple tabs), Gmail, Calendar, Brave Browser as well as One Note and a couple games and there was never a slowdown. I was very impressed, and this was the same with the battery. I have used it heavily for a few days, browsing various media ( mainly music and movies), watching YouTube, using it as a notebook, you know, all things that rack up screen on time and I’m surprised to say it lasted over a day being used like this. When I did a check, I racked up about 10 hours of screen on time and there was still about 32 % battery left. Again, Samsung well done. I did however notice some significant battery drain over one night. I do believe the culprit might be one or a few of my apps that were loaded on. Maybe it’s not optimized well for the Tablet but, you can get around that by putting the tablet in airplane mode overnight until you find it/them or at least turn off apps running in the background. Verdict TheTab S6 is the most capable Android tablet that exist right now. It is a media consumption beast with its wonderful screen and solid sounding speakers. Not to mention it comes packed with the options and features to get some work done if needs be. The included S-pen and the attachable keyboard (sold separately) along with Samsung Dex will see to that. In fact, you don’t even necessarily need Samsung’s keyboard, you can attach many Bluetooth keyboards and mice. I don’t believe it is the king of tablets, but it does a lot of things very well at a very competitive price.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 The Galaxy Tab S6 takes the latest greatest Android phone hardware and jams it in a tablet. That’s right, this tablet boasts a Snapdragon 855 with 6GB of ram. Compare that to most Android tablets on the market with their pitiful MT quad cores that sound more impressive than they are, this thing is a Cadillac. If you’re looking for a no compromises Android tablet, then look no further than the S6. Specifically I bemoan the fact that Android tablets have pretty much turned into whatever the cheapest chipset in bulk is paired with the lowest end IPS panels possible. While some tablets aren’t bad values, there is a distinct lack of high end presence in the Android tablet market. This is partially due to the fact that the tablet market is dominated by one major player that distinctly isn’t an Android OEM. To be fair, that brand offers great experiences from their low-end to their highest end. Samsung themselves haven’t really ever stopped making high end tablets, but there have been some misses over the years. I still have a Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 that is approaching 6 years old, and it never seemed to work right on battery, but has served well as a secondary screen in my battlestation. So what makes the Galaxy Tab S6 worth its price? First of all, the build quality on the Tab S6 is quite solid. The materials are premium, and the tablet feels premium. The anodized aluminum casing feels amazing, and is thinner than you’d expect. The tablet doesn’t come across as unbalanced either, the size is just about perfect for a side arm device. There are no sharp corners, but each side is rounded and any edges bevelled. The power and volume rockers are where you’d expect, and there are 4 speaker cutouts in each of the top and bottom edges. On the left side there are 4 pogo pin connectors for the optional keyboard that is held in place with magnets. Port wise, there is the standard USB-C port. This port supports USB-C power delivery, display output, and USB hubs which makes the case for this being a solid productivity device. Included in the box is a 2 amp, 10w USB-C charger. The screen is a great example of Samsung’s excellent AMOLED screens. The 2560x1600 resolution is a 16:10 aspect ratio, and suited well to both work and play. The bezels of the screen are thin, while still providing enough area to grab the device. The screen is rounded on the corners. The screen boasts HDR10+ certification, meaning it can produce expanded color space images with ease. I tested this by watching several HDR youtube clips, and a few that weren’t back to back. Indeed the HDR display is apparent, even at lower brightness levels. Where it shines is the highest brightness setting, which Samsung will warn you can drain the battery quickly. At the highest setting, HDR video, and indeed any video look amazing. Being OLED, blacks are dark as night, and the display, while not the brightest, does get quite bright. At lower levels, the display still provides good contrast, and the adaptive brightness setting keeps your retinas safe. Samsung implements a ‘Night mode’, which makes many of the apps, and browser prefer blacks, which is both a great way to enjoy the AMOLEDs amazing blacks and save battery. The 4 speakers found in the Galaxy Tab S6 complement the screen’s astounding quality with excellent sound. There is a Dolby Atmos setting that does a good job enhancing the sound to match. It’s impressive how good it sounds considering the size and thickness of the device. This is probably good, as the lack of a headphone jack means your stuck with the speakers or bluetooth headphones. Battery wise, the S6 comes with a large 7000mAh battery. It offers quite a bit of battery life, at least 8 hours of screen time. Standby, it drained more than I like to see, but such is my life with Android devices. The included 2a charger (10w) is a bit undersized in my opinion, but it does the job. Larger USB-C chargers will pour in more power. A 90w Dell charger was able to charge at 3.2 amps or around 16w, so if you have a spare USB power adapter that is larger, the tablet will use it. Inside you’ll find a Snapdragon 855 - Qualcomm's latest and greatest mobile CPU, offering 8 cpu cores on TMSC’s 7nm with up to 2.84GHz boosting speeds. This CPU makes for an ultimately fluid experience in Android, with nary a hiccup. Even in Dex with multiple windows open, the CPU just flies. 6GB of RAM help ensure things stay fluid as well. The chipset is paired with 128GB of internal NAND storage which is also quite fast - keeping up with NVMe storage speeds. A1SD reported over 1300MB/sec read and almost 300MB/sec write. Overall this is desktop class performance from a tablet, which is excellent. Performance overall matches its productivity aspirations. The included S pen offers an excellent writing and drawing experience. It attaches to the back of the tablet in a small divot. Here it charges wirelessly and remains out of the way. However, the magnetic attachment of the pen is weak compared with say a surface or iPad pro which means you won’t want to leave the pen there. In fact, the optional type case from Samsung offers a magnetic door/cover for the pen to keep it safe from falling off. Otherwise, the pen is absolutely excellent. The pressure sensitivity is great, and the feel of the pen is one of the best. It has a distinct feeling of a gel pen, with good feedback and a friction level that is satisfying. Some may prefer the softer feeling of the Apple pencil, but for handwriting, the S pen is amazing. Cameras found on the device are pretty good. The front facing is passable, with somewhat noisy and pixelated shots even in bright light. The rear cameras are actually pretty good, with the wide angle producing significantly worse images however providing a near human like viewpoint. The 13MP main shooter however is actually one of the better cameras I’ve used. In good light, it’s hard to criticize it, and in low light it produces a clear, but noisy image. Night shooting mode improves quality a bit, and increases the contrast significantly, but the details are always a bit lost. That said 4k video and photos are excellent from this tablet with at least halfway decent light. Desktop style productivity is one area where Samsung has definitely put a lot of effort. Long gone are the days where Samsung’s customizations were a detriment on Android. They have taken a level of sophistication and polish that is impossible to deny. The Samsung DeX interface prompts when you connect and external display or the keyboard. DeX is Samsung’s desktop experience for Android, which promises to be more like a traditional desktop environment, but with Android at the helm instead of Windows or MacOS. I believe that Google had intended for Android tablets to get to this level of development when they first worked with Motorola on the Xoom. Google obviously abandoned pushing Android as a tablet OS, which is a shame, considering its focus on the same core values that make iPad’s so compelling. Android translates much better to a desktop style OS than iOS ever could. Windows abound, allowing resizing, and serious multi-tasking. The notifications drawer, and menus work the way you’d expect, and do harken back to the tablet capabilities baked into Android 3 and 4 before they were removed. If you’re used to Windows or even Chrome OS you will find DeX works very similarly. Productivity is one of the main selling features of this tablet. Of course whether or not you can use this for work depends very much on the software suite you need/use. If all you need is the Google toolkit, or even Microsoft Office, then Dex will most likely suit your needs. If you’re an IT professional, you might enjoy the expanded universe of system tools and diagnostics on Android. Photo and video editing have much greater maturity on other platforms - even so, there are still solid solutions on Android. Native mouse support makes certain things a lot more natural, and indeed the type cover optionally offered includes a trackpad. Android gets much closer than iOS to a full desktop experience. If you’re looking primarily for a larger screen device for media consumption, while pricey, the Tab S6 performs excellent here as well. Placing Samsung’s customizations aside, the S6 runs Android Pie (9.0). Pie solves many issues while bringing a polish to Android like never before. It’s good to see Samsung ship a pretty updated version of Android, although 10 is already generally available. That said, given the level of customization, Pie feels pretty solid. Performance is great, and the animations are polished, subtle, and enhance the experience without detracting from it. Overall, the Galaxy S6 offers a premium Android experience with a large excellent 10.5” AMOLED screen. Performance is extremely high, besting many high-end Android phones. Build quality, sound, and overall experience are unparalleled in the Android realm. Many might suggest that iPads are a better device if you’re looking for a tablet, but I think that depends a lot on the individual. If you’re an Android user already, then a tablet like this allows you to use your purchases, experience, and knowledge to their max. Android’s quality has increased in both app quality and availability over the years, and Android tablets make more sense now than ever. Samsung, with DeX brings a unique desktop like experience, making this tablet work harder than any tablet device I’ve ever used (save perhaps a Surface). It’s hard to criticize this device at it’s intended market. You get top tier hardware, a great screen, and rechargeable pen out of the box. Those things alone factor into a good value, but Samsung’s DeX customizations make this device potent for hardcore multi-taskers like me.This is truly the best Android tablet I've ever used.

It has been a long time since I have owned a Samsung tablet. Eight years, to be exact, when I acquired the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 7. It was nice for a while, but I was eventually forced to replace it when it would not support newer versions of Android. Rather than acquire the latest and greatest Samsung tablet, I chose the route of cheaper tablets, which were, at best, barely functional. Before long, I found that route to be unacceptable because cheaper tablets are just too underpowered and slow to use. They take forever to boot up and it is impossible to run multiple apps without serious lag. So I made a decision this year to go back to Samsung's flagship line with the Galaxy Tab S6 (10.5" 128GB). On unboxing, I was first struck by how stunningly gorgeous the Tab S6 is in appearance and design. Every bit as beautiful, in my opinion, as an Apple iPad. As I held it in my hands, however, I immediately began to fear that the tablet's appearance (and functionality) could be easily damaged, for I did not yet have a case for it. I think it would be crazy to own this attractive, expensive tablet without protecting it with a case. There are a lot of choices in this regard, from the official Samsung Bookcover Keyboard, which is fairly pricey but full of features, to third-party cases/keyboards that are much cheaper. Whichever way you go, I strongly recommend that you get some kind of protective case, because none is automatically included with the tablet. In addition to being attractive, the Tab S6 is a real powerhouse. It was lightning fast, no matter what tasks I threw at it. Such a pleasure after suffering with underpowered tablets. Streamed videos were crisp and colorful and played just as well as with my i7-powered Windows 10 computers. Oh, and by the way, if you want this tablet to take on the appearance of a Windows 10 computer, you can run Samsung Dex on it, which does just that. Truly remarkable. The only tiny drawback I found with Dex is, as a separate operating system, going to organize your desktop independently of what you have in tablet mode. You start out with a standard set of apps. None of the apps you had added to your home screen in tablet mode will be there; you have to add these individually. I was very impressed with the way that the Tab S6 allowed me to immediately add the apps from my Samsung Galaxy S10 phone to the tablet. Now that did take some time, but I was able to go ahead and use the tablet while this happened in the background. Before long, everything was there and it was like looking at a giant version of my phone, wonderfully familiar and easy to use. I was not super-excited by the S-Pen, but perhaps that is because I had a bad experience with by first experience with such a pen—the infamous Galaxy Note 7 that I was forced to return due to its alleged fire hazard. I had just begun to learn what such a pen could be used for when I had to return that phone. I tried out the S-Pen for the Tab 6 and found it easy to scrawl hand-written notes that were accurately transformed into text. I'm no artist, so I would see that as the pen's basic use. There are some cool things you can do with the pen such as remotely control a slideshow with its button and create and mark-up screen captures. Maybe this device will grow on me. The pen is held by a magnet on the back of the tablet fairly securely, but if you will be moving the tablet around and sliding it against surfaces, this is another reason to get a cover that includes a method for better securing the pen. I'm not big on taking photos and videos with tablets, but I tried this out for sake of review. As one would expect for a Samsung device, it takes remarkably clear photos and videos. One last note before I conclude. On first trial I was perplexed about how to turn off the tablet. You would think you could just press the same button you used to power on the device, right? Wrong. This opens up Samsung Bixby by default. I guess they really want you to use Bixby. Initially you have to press the power button and volume down button simultaneously. Unacceptably awkward. If I could tell Bixby to power down my tablet, that might be okay, but I have yet to find a phrase that does this. Fortunately, you have the option to reassign the power button from opening Bixby to powering down the device. All-in-all, you get what you pay for. If you are serious about using a tablet, I would say it is well worth the money to get the Samsung Tab S6. It has all the features of Android, some neat tricks with the S Pen, and can almost serve as a replacement for a laptop if you get a keyboard for it. And if you really need a Windows 10 computer, you can always Remote Desktop into it, which is what I did with the S6 to finish writing this review. I can heartily recommend the Samsung .Galaxy Tab S6

This is not my first tablet – but this is my first high-end tablet by any maker. My previous tablets, which are still in use, are Apple iPad 2, Amazon Fire, Samsung Tab A. I have one in the kitchen and I watch either YouTube or Netflix (etc.) while I cook and eat to my food. I'm not unhappy with any of them – the Amazon Fire is smaller, so I play with it (i.e. watching Netflix) in bed. But Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 was a shocker. Just like others, it came in the beautiful box and it took me a while to figure out where (the manual) was. (What computers/tablets come with a book-sized manual now?) It's a TINY pamphlet and was inside a tiny little box that contains a device to access the SD card slot (mainly a paperclip.) The tablet also comes with what they call a Spen and it can be magnetically "attached" to the back. With the optional keyboard (not reviewed with the tablet), the top part of the back of the cover seals it safely away so it doesn't get knocked off and get lost accidentally. (By the way, there is a replacement stylet in a TINY box, so don't lose it.) Just like any android tablet, ideally, you should have a Google account because it can transfer the setting from any of your devices (including a telephone) which basically duplicated and install all the programs that you have there (you could pick and choose which one you want to install, too.) And this tablet can be linked to your phone, so you can "call" someone with it. (I know, right?) It works in portrait mode while you are doing the initial set up so if you get yourself a cover or case or the optional keyboard, you will have to put that away for now. (Once done, it can work in landscape mode.) The screen is amazingly clear. It has the supposedly the same technology as OLED (called AMOLED). And since I have an LG OLED television, and a Samsung Galaxy Note 8, I am happy to say that indeed, black is truly black. And at 2,560 x 1,600, higher than 1080p, but nowhere near 4k, for the size of 10 and a half-inch screen, it looks very very clear. And yes, you can watch Netflix with HDR. If you are not used to it, and if you are old enough, think of it as three-strip Technicolor or Kodachrome slide. The colors will pop at you. The tablet has six gigabyte of memory, and 128 gigabytes of internal storage. The little slot on the side (which you will need that little paperclip tool to open) accepts the mini SD card – up to half a terabyte. The tablet is powered by Qualcomm 8-core Snapdragon 855 CPU. (That's more cores than my i7 desktop!) For a tablet, it is quite fast and everything feels snappy. The pen reminds me of the Wacom pressure-sensitive pen. I don't have a drawing program like Corel Painter (for Windows) to test it, and am not an artist so I don't think it would be that useful for me. However, so you know, it does not have to actually touch the screen to work. You can set it so when it gets close to the screen, the cursor changes the color and you can tell by looking at it. The little switch on the side can be accidentally pressed so you have to be careful when you hold the pen. It has 4096 pressure sensitive levels but I don't know if it is tilt-sensitive like a Wacom pen, as well. This tablet is really made to watch Netflix (etc.) I have never heard such clear sound from a tablet (this thin) before. I put it on the desk and walked across the room, and I still can hear it clearly even though it was too far to watch it. By the way, the power button is defaulted to setting up Bixby. This program also is available on my telephone (it is a part of the operating system and cannot be uninstalled), but I don't have a set up because I don't need it. I couldn't figured out how to turn it off the first day I had this tablet, so after a while, the screen went dark (by default) and I simply put it away for the long weekend and when I picked it up, I realized it was in sleep mode and it still had enough power to use for hours. The settings can be changed so the power button will bring up "shut down" and "restart" which I am used to. This is not mentioned in the little pamphlet manual. While am not writing this review about the optional keyboard, when it is connected, it activates something called Dex. It is a Samsung's interface for this tablet. Something you need to know is that if you run Netflix through the Dex, you only can watch it in a little tiny window – not in a full-screen. This tablet also has the fingerprint reader which you can use to turn it on. It is built right into the screen and it reminded me of something from Star Trek. I set it up, but I deleted my data because I prefer entering the pin number instead. There are two lenses on the back – one is wide-angle, and the other one is a "normal" lens. It is fun to use but don't expect to get quality like something from a DSLR. It has its own apps that you can create panorama pictures, etc. and it is fun to play with. Of course there is a camera on the other side and you can use it with Skype or whatever program you use to chat with someone (with video.) The cameras on the back do video, too. So what else can you do with this tablet? I don't think for the same amount of money, it would be a good substitute for a laptop. (And you can get an inexpensive Windows laptop for half the price of this tablet.) If you need full-featured word processor, Microsoft makes the word program available for android but you must sign in to use it. Apache (Oracle) has 3rd party ported of Open Office – so that is another option. However, without the keyboard, it is way too difficult to use. I will certainly never use the pen to "write" a report – it is hard enough to type – I prefer voice dictation (which I am doing now, and the program I use is only available for Windows.) But it is a high end android tablet which is fun to use. It is not heavy like a laptop (there are light and powerful laptops but they are very expensive and are not comparable to this tablet at all.) And you could take it just about anywhere provided that you have a third-party case or its own case, or the keyboard which is basically a case, to protect it. Remember that the pen can easily fall off and you use have to be careful or you will end up having to buy a replacement. What do I think of this? It has a terrific long battery life with a beautiful screen and very good speakers. (There is no a headphone jack and you can use a Bluetooth speaker or headset instead.) And has microSD card slot on the side which you will need to use the tool provided (looks like a paperclip) to open. It supports up to 512 gigabytes. The screen supports HDR and technically it is an OLED which is beyond gorgeous. You don't have to be sitting in front of an LG/Sony OLED, think of this as a portable version of one. (I don't know about the infamous OLED burn-in problem, so I turn the 'screen saver' on and it goes blank after 5 minutes without activity. Netflix stays on though.) It is the best tablet in the android world – and it will cost you.

As an avid iPad user, and in need of a portable laptop, I could not resist when the opportunity to test this product came along. First off this is a solid device, the construction is fantastic, it has the feel of a high end device. It is a good looking tablet, feels good in my hands and really not too heavy. Look and construction, 5 stars. Use as a productivity machine, for me, it is a home run. I am typing this review on the device. Paired with a Samsung Keyboard and bluetooth mouse, it makes a nice little portable laptop experience. The tablet comes with DEX, at first I was unsure aboout it, but after giving it a try, I am liking it so far. It gives you a more PC type of look on the screen layout. I am not 100% sold on DEX, but will continue to use it and all its features, two days is really not enough time to give it a proper review. The speed of this tablet is very good, with the new Snapdragon processor it is very snappy and quick. I can easily go from task to task with no stuttering or slowdowns. It is running Android 9 and so far it is as good as advertised. Screen is bright and the resolution is terrific. Battery life is very good, I have fully charged it once and it is still going with light to moderate use for the past two days, battery is at 39%. Not bad at all. I am using this device for work, and it has been stellar. I do inspections and use the tablet to photograph the items, complete my online reports, edit and complete PDF files. This tablet has really been a real workhorse for me. Now, for my favorite thing about this tablet, the S-Pen. The S-Pen is the geratest addition to a tablet, ever. For me, it is indispensible. I use it to take notes during inspections, annotate photos to highlight damages, and it keeps my screen smudge free when completing forms and online reports. The S-Pen has really advanced in the past few years, it is better and more powerful than ever, and is no longer a gimmick, it is a true tool for work and productivity. My last galaxy tablet was the old Galaxy Note 10.1, a great tablet for its time, but not nearly as civilized as the S6 tablet. The other issue I had, and even have now with my iPad Pro, is what to do with the S-Pen/Apple Pencil when not in use. The S6 tab has solved that issue without the need to purchase any additional items. There is a magnetic notch on the back of the device and the S-Pen conveniently sets in it nicely. For even more added security, the Keyboard case has a flap that covers the S-Pen and keeps it very secure on the tablet. I really like this portable productivity machine and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a solid choice in a tablet.

love the Samsung tablet it is great I bought it but was little unhappy no accessories were there no screen protector no case . .wish if all accessories need to be available when new product are on shelves.