The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is a cheaper Galaxy Tab S4 marketed at families and kids

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, announced today, is the flagship tablet from the Korean behemoth that is Samsung. Filled to the brim with features, the tablet comes with a high price tag to match; starting at USD $650, the Galaxy Tab S4 is an expensive piece of kit for diehard Android tablet users. For everyone else, there’s the Galaxy Tab A 10.5.

The Tab A 10.5 is geared towards families and kids, as evidenced by its lower price (still TBD), lack of features compared to the Galaxy Tab S4, and its “Kids Mode,” a UI aimed squarely at children. The Kids Mode profile also comes with eight kid-styled apps pre-installed. For the rest of the family, there’s an integrated multi-user system so that parents don’t have to deal with the limited “kiddy” UI.

On the specs side, the Tab A 10.5 features (unsurprisingly) a 10.5 display. Compared to the Tab S4’s high-res 1600x2560 resolution, the Tab A 10.5 is scaled down quite a bit. The WUXGA comes in at 1920x1200 and uses a TFT LCD panel instead of the AMOLED tech seen in the flagship tablet. The Tab A 10.5 is also missing the S Pen, the iris scanner, and DeX support, all features included with the Tab S4. The Tab A is powered by a Snapdragon 450, 3 GB of RAM, and comes with an expandable 32 GB of storage, all running on a 7300 mAh battery. The Tab A 10.5 also comes with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and will ship with either WiFi or WiFi/LTE support.

Admittedly, the Tab A 10.5’s specs are more akin to a 2016 Android tablet, but if the price is right, it may be a good buy for families wanting a bit more out of their tablet than Amazon’s Kindle devices (a popular choice for kids). Still, with the waning popularity of tablets in general (and Android tablets in particular), the Tab A 10.5 is already fighting an uphill battle.

Samsung has yet to announce pricing and shipment dates.

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