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Performance
The Tab S6 is Samsung’s high-end flagship tablet after skipping a generation, and it bounces back in the best fashion possible with the Snapdragon 855 at its heart, which powered numerous flagship smartphones this year. The Tab S5e did have the aforementioned strong points as well but shipped with a mid-range processor.
As expected, the tab performed admirably, irrespective of what we threw at it. If you prefer gaming on a big screen, you will be delighted at how well the Tab S6 can keep up with the latest heavy games. PUBG Mobile could run at the highest settings with ease, a feat that even the Note10 wasn’t able to achieve (presumably due to the Exynos chipset that powered it).
Aimed at productivity and multi-tasking, the Tab S6 rightly juggles between multiple apps without losing track. We wouldn’t close any apps in the background, and more often than not, they would stay in memory right where they were left. Even working with a multi-window was seamless once set up.
For our use, which includes a lot of writing, editing pictures, transferring media files, and uploading stories, everything was sufficiently snappy and comparable to the ultrabook we otherwise use for the same purposes. For digital nomads who need something really petite without compromising on the performance or battery bit, and can make do with Android’s selection of apps, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 fares better than one would expect and can replace a similarly priced laptop. Of course, those who prefer to do more cumbersome tasks such as video editing are anyway not in the target group of this device.
Biometrics and Security
Interestingly, the Tab S6 also has an in-display fingerprint scanner, adding a layer of security that a lot of tabs have historically skipped. It’s an optical scanner, unlike the S10 and the Note 10, and is considerably slower than what we get on current flagships.
It would usually take us two-three tries to get in. While that is an undesirable aspect, we didn’t mind that much as the tab isn’t going to be locked and unlocked as often as our smartphones.
Audio
Back to the good stuff, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 has a total of four speakers, tuned by AKG. They are split between the two sides and provide a spacious stereo audio experience without much distortion.
Because of their positioning and the sheer fact that there are four of them, it’s almost impossible to muffle all the speakers, regardless of how you try to hold the slate. These speakers get quite loud and can compete with small Bluetooth speakers. They were discernably louder than our phones and laptops, re-emphasizing the media consumption forte of the tab.
Some users will be disappointed to know that the Tab does not have a headphone jack. But fitting one would mean that the slab would need to get thicker and heavier, which might not necessarily be a compromise many would have been willing to make.
The tab will also rattle a little if you hold it while blastic bass-heavy music at max volume, but that is an expected property of a sonorous slab of aluminum. If you’re holding it, you are unlikely to need to go all the way up on the volume slider, so this issue shouldn’t matter.
Cameras
Tablet photography is one of the biggest sins in geekdom, but Samsung seems uninterested in falling for these qualms, and has equipped the Tab S6 with two cameras on the back and one for selfies and video calls.
There’s a 13MP f/2.0 primary shooter alongside a 5MP ultra-wide shooter. It’s a serviceable package and does a better job than most other tablets in this regard. The inclusion of the ultra-wide lens is somewhat questionable and is likely just to be able to claim the first place bragging rights.
For the usual document scanning or event coverage workflow, the Tab S6 will work fine, just have your expectations in place.
