Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S3 is now official in India with a price tag of Rs 47,990. That’s quite steep, even with the company’s proprietary S Pen stylus on board. This is a big change for Samsung, coming from the Galaxy Tab S2 which was launched a couple of years ago.
Today is as good a time as any to compare the two tablets in order to ascertain what changes are on board the new tablet. So let’s get right to it.
Display
Both tablets come with 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 Super AMOLED displays. It seems like Samsung has used the same front design with the new tablet as it did with the Galaxy Tab S2. This is pretty obvious since both tablets have the same screen-to-body ratio.
Performance
This is an area where Samsung has made a big leap. The new Galaxy Tab S3 is running the quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor whereas the Galaxy Tab S2 comes with the Snapdragon 652 octa-core chipset. Although the latter is housing an octa-core chipset, the Galaxy Tab S3 is significantly more powerful thanks to the use of the SD820.
Camera
The Galaxy Tab S3 houses a 13MP f/1.9 rear camera along with a 5MP front camera for selfies and video calls. The Tab S2, on the other hand, comes with an 8MP rear camera, and a 2.1MP front camera. Clearly, Samsung has come a long way since the Galaxy Tab S2.
Battery
Samsung is using a slightly bigger 6,000mAh battery on the Galaxy Tab S3. The Tab S2 is packing a 5,870mAh battery underneath. The battery performance should be considerably improved with the Galaxy Tab S3 thanks to the bigger battery as well as the software changes that would be in place.
Other features
The Galaxy Tab S3 comes with the S Pen stylus out of the box, giving you extensive editing features at your fingertips. There’s a keyboard cover sold separately by the company for Rs 8,499.
The tablet also comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (expandable). The Galaxy Tab S2 comes with 32GB of expandable storage and 3GB of RAM on board. Both tablets are equipped with fingerprint scanners and come with Android 7.0 Nougat on board.
Samsung has been mindful enough to offer a USB Type-C port with the Galaxy Tab S3, while the predecessor settles for a conventional micro USB port. Both tablets are data enabled, so you can use a SIM card to use the internet while on the go. The Galaxy Tab S3 is likely to support all the new 4G LTE bands in India while the Galaxy Tab S2 might have to settle for 3G in some areas.
Pricing and availability
The Galaxy Tab S2 can be currently bought from select retailers, including Samsung’s own online store for Rs 38,500. The Galaxy Tab S3 will be available across the country very soon for Rs 47,990.
Verdict
It’s clear that Samsung is repeating old mistakes again. While the Galaxy Tab S3 is a stellar tablet, we don’t think it justifies the price tag of Rs 47,990. Given that the display is pretty much the same as the one we saw on the predecessor, it might not be a bad idea to consider the Galaxy Tab S2.
We also have to consider the 2017 Apple iPad, which was always going to be the Galaxy Tab S3’s number one rival. The 2017 iPad with 32GB of storage and cellular connectivity will set you back by Rs 39,900 in India. This is a much better prospect compared to the Galaxy Tab S3 given Apple’s vast app ecosystem and polished user experience.
