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REVIEW: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 With Smart Pen, Well Worth Considering

I have always been a fan of Samsung notebooks, the design and functionality was among the best out there, but sadly they aren’t no more in Australia, now the Korean Company has rolled out the Galaxy Tab S6 which is equally as impressive.

While this device looks like a tablet with a keyboard and pen this device is very much a desirable piece of kit with their intelligent pen making a big difference to what you actually can do with this device despite the OS which is 100% Google yet limiting as to what you can do with presentations such as PowerPoint

Apart from being able to draw on the screen with the new S Pen, Samsung has seriously thought through what needed to be improved from prior models, especially the keyboard which I believe is one of the most important elements of this type of device if you want to use it on the road.

In the past I have lost almost every pen on every device when the pen has not been able to be stored properly this includes past Samsung and Lenovo devices.

With the Tab S6 there is a seriously neat flip pocket at the top of the device where the S Pen can be easily accessed and stored afterwards.

The Apple Pencil stylus is held in place by a weak magnet and it is nothing as innovative as the new S Pen holder.

The S Pen that is included in the box with the tablet connects wirelessly to the tablet and is highly practical when making a presentation or simply wanting to scroll through an image library.

The real value of the S Pen on the Tab S6 is when you want to draw or as I have done at press conferences scribble some quick note. You can also use it as a remote control for PowerPoint presentations.

The other big plus is there is a noticeable difference about the fluid way that one can write with this pen over prior models.

And because the pen is easily accessible, I often pull out the pen to navigate the tablet when I am researching information or wanting to make notations on a layout in a PDF.

The other good news is that this pen comes with the tablet unlike a Microsoft or Apple pen which you often have to pay for separately.

On many other tablets, you’d have to pay upwards of $100 for this accessory.

Samsung includes it in the box with this tablet, and that’s a pretty valuable addition especially as Samsung has designed the S Pen to wirelessly charge from the Tab S6 battery.

Magnets attach the stylus to the back of the Galaxy Tab S6 where it has its own storage slot.

One can draw and sketch for hours with precision and control, with 4,096 different levels of pressure sensitivity for compositions and brush strokes and a comfortable grip for less fatigue.

Another advantage that I quickly got use to was that I could experience the PC-like features using Samsung DeX in a slim tablet.

Galaxy Tab S6’s portable Book Cover Keyboard uses a dedicated key for quick DeX access, plus a touchpad to complete your workspace.

You can also Connect to another display with just a USB C HDMI cable.

Built into this device for the first time are two cameras, a rear-facing 13MP and 5MP cameras.

You can use Ultra-Wide angle and smart AI to shoot like a pro and optimize the tone of your shots.

And with Adobe Premiere Rush for Samsung, it’s a breeze to create studio-quality videos from start to finish.

Surrounding the screen are four Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers that make the Apple iPad Pro sound great and even give Apple’s more expensive iPad Pro a run for its money. Unfortunately, the Tab S6 lacks a headphone jack, so you’ll need to use Bluetooth headphones or a USB-C dongle for private listening.

DEX
An expanded addition to this tablet is Samsung’s DeX which lets you run its DeX desktop software right on the tablet via a new short cut FN + DeX.

This feature lets you run desktop-like versions of mobile apps, with multiple windows and the ability to see more than one at a given time.

Using DeX on such a small screen can be frustrating especially if one is trying to multitask.

DeX on this device is nice if you want to knock out a quick email while on the go, but it’s not something I’d like to use as my primary computer or for any extended length of time.

I have been using this product for several weeks and the more I use it the more I like it.

It’s things like the new hinge for the optional keypad and the speed of the device that stands it out from any other Android device.

The biggest problem has nothing to do with the design but more the Google OS. I use PowerPoint presentations every day, and we often design these with unique fonts especially Google Fonts however these fonts are not available on the Tab 6 or any other Android tablet.

Obsessed with only delivering another advertising opportunity Google is not allowing fonts to be downloaded to an Android 9 OS resulting in original fonts not displaying properly despite this device being ideal as a means to present presentations on a sales call.

The optional keyboard is similar to the Microsoft’s Surface Pro and despite a lot of use the totally redesigned keyboard which also has significantly improved keys has never once separate from the display screen other than when I wanted it to.

The keyboard cover has been completely redesigned, and it is now so good I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Apple copied it in years to come for its iPad Pro, the way it copied the iPad Pro, from the Tab S.

The keyboard attaches with magnets, at the top is the cover for the pen and at the bottom is a very handy kick stand that fits flush to the keyboard and provides solid support when watching a video or typing.

As soon as you boot this tablet up you will notice that there is not a lot of difference between the Tab S5e and this tablet which is not a surprise as the display on both tablets are excellent.

The 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display delivers 500nites brightness and 1600 x 2560 pixels, you can set it to standard natural and a vivid mode by adjusting the colour temperature.

You can also adjust the RGB settings of the white balance; which gives it an edge in terms of customization but if you are like me, I leave it on standard mode also built in is a HDR10+ display capability.

Interestingly, this is also the first Android tablet with the HDR10+ standard and it should not come as a surprise since this is a Samsung standard.

With that being said, having HDR10+ onboard will greatly enhance your video consumption experience. Although, even watching SD content on this device is a good experience.

Rating: 9/10



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