Samsung - Galaxy Tab S6 - 10.5" - 128GB - Mountain Gray

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.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is a very beautiful device. It is made of a single dark non-glossy aluminum sheet that looks and feels exceptionally premium. The body is smooth and rather cool to the touch. I do worry about scratching the unit, so a cover/case is undoubtedly needed. It is super light weighing only 420g (14.8oz or .9lbs) which makes it easy to hold in one hand. There is an indentation on the back that accommodates the included (yes, included!) S-Pen magnetically and recharges it. However, the pen feels rather exposed and doesn’t often stay securely in place and has fallen off in my bookbag. Also, I worry that laying the tablet down on top of the pen may damage it. The tablet features a volume rocker and power/sleep/Bixby button on top and are easy to press. There is only one USB-C input/output for power and accessories. There is no audio jack so a USB-C-audio adapter or Bluetooth wireless headset must be used. Now, I must say that the 10.5” s-AMOLED display is stunning to behold and that may be the best feature. The tablet has thin bezels, and the screen is very bright and clear with a resolution of 1600X2560, 16:10 ratio and 287ppi. The colors are even more vibrant, with darker blacks and well-defined whites, all because of the HDR10 capability. There is also a handy auto-brightness adjustment option. The tablet features quad-speakers -2 on each side, which are loud and clear. However, as with any tablet speakers, more base would’ve been nice. But I will say that the ATMOS effect works rather impressively well for added immersion and soundstage. Again, I am very pleased and a bit surprised that Samsung included the S-Pen (take that, MS and Apple). It works great for notetaking and sketching. It is much bigger than its phone counterpart and therefore more comfortable to hold. It is responsive, has nice traction, and is pressure sensitive. I will say that it can feel a bit cheap in the hand because it is made of plastic (in contrast to the tablet’s body) and weighs next to nothing. But that’s a minor issue as I got used to it rather quickly. Honestly, I didn’t care much for the pen’s gesture features as I found them awkward and hit-or-miss. The model I have features the latest Android 9 (pie) OS, the powerful Snapdragon 8150 processor, 128GB of space (expandable via micro-SD) and 6GB RAM. These specs make this tablet great for smooth multitasking. Video/audio editing performance was decent and smooth. Games such as COD, PUBG and Fortnite can be played at maximum graphics settings and the frame rate is consistent. It has an accelerometer and a gyro capability for the games that use them. The S6 has a very reliable Wi-Fi, Smart View, and Bluetooth v5.0 for connectivity, which makes it a very versatile device. It also is compatible with DisplayPort via USB-C. For security, the tablets uses the usual PIN, pattern, and password entries. Also, face recognition and a fingerprint sensor are available, which work just OK, as I did experience some hiccups and inconsistencies. The tablet offers a wide and ultrawide 13MP and 5MP camera in the back and an 8MP front camera. Although these are nice cameras, I still would not regularly use them since my phone has much better ones. One awesome feature is DeX, which is a mode that offers a PC-like experience and works great in my opinion. It basically allows you to use a Windows-like environment and makes it buttery easy to multi-task and/or keep several windows open. Dragging and dropping between apps is easy. I must mention that the apps still run in Android mode, especially Microsoft Office, but one can easily forget/forgive that. However, to fully take advantage of and enjoy DeX, one must have a keyboard and mouse. The Official Samsung Book Cover & Keyboard, which is an accessory that “converts” the tablet into a laptop, just seems way too expensive for me at $180 ($200 with tax)-even if the design is very convenient and has a trackpad. I ended up going with a third-party cover, Bluetooth universal mini-keyboard, and Bluetooth mouse which work great for less than one-third of the price. In the end, I do recommend the Galaxy Tab S6 if you are looking for a light, powerful, fast, responsive tablet with arguably the best and most beautiful display, and you are already immersed in the Android or Samsung ecosystem (phone and wireless headphones). Also, if buying expensive (or third-party) must-have accessories for the best experience such as wireless headphones and keyboard/cases is not an issue, then this is definitely for you. However, if you are looking for a true laptop replacement with full-fledged apps such as MS Office or Adobe, or do not like the Android ecosystem, then I’d recommend looking elsewhere.

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.

So i learned today you can not get a lte tab from any store you can only get it from a cell carrier.I also found out you cant connect any phones but a 10 or newer which i only have a s8+ at the moment but luckily my bf ordered me the s20 so i will be able to connect my phone to the tablet when i receive it.I feel this should be in the description for the tablet to let people know what you are actually buying .I bought this tablet on 5/2/2020 and received it on 5/14/2020 not 5/8/2020 like it says

this is a great tablet I've been researching and waiting for this and then to get it on sale on top of that great deal for me!

I bought this tablet for my mom that lives across the country. She's never really been good with computers but has used an older tablet for many years and has been great for her to keep in touch. Her first samsung tablet lasted a long time but was never really fast to begin with so I decided to surprise her with a brand new one.

I've always been a Apple product user until I bought the Samsung S6. I love it. Since then I've purchased the Samsung Galaxy S10 phone and the Samsung Active 2 watch.

I watch movies on it so yes I like it . It does buffer though once in a while but I don't know if it is my internet speed or the tablet. The guy at the store said it has a great ram speed on it so maybe it's my internet hopefully.