Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e official, brings AMOLED display tech to a more affordable price point

After launching the top-of-the-line Galaxy Tab S4 just a few months ago, Samsung has already launched a sequel of sorts.  Not quite a full-blown successor, the new Galaxy Tab S5e picks up a new design and a naming scheme similar to what we know is heading our way when the Galaxy S10e goes official. This hints that the new tablet will be soon be followed by a Tab S5 with the full beans -- a launch alongside the new Galaxy S10 range at MWC19 perhaps?

The new Tab S5e is incredibly thin and light coming in at just 5.5mm and weighing just 400 grams encased as it is in a shiny new aluminum chassis. Like the Tab S4, it picks up a  10.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio with a 2,560 x 1600 resolution for a 287ppi density. Helping to the get the price point down, and in line with its “e” label, it is fitted with a modest Snapdragon 670 octa-core processor. 

On the plus side, the Galaxy Tab S5e will ship with Android 9 Pie with Samsung’s One UI out of the box, which should keep things snappy. Also helping performance, it will be available in a 6GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration alongside a 4GB/64GB model. Both are expandable up to 512GB with the addition of a microSD card. The large 7,040mAh battery is rated at 14 hours of battery life, while it comes with a pogo pin port for Keyboard Cover support as well as pogo pin dock support. It also launches with Bixby 2.0.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e goes up for pre-order on March 14 starting from US$400 (about US$250 less than the Tab S4 as a point of comparison). An LTE version will be also be available starting from US$480 while re-orders will also come with a set of AKG Y500 headphones. Choices also include black, silver and gold colors.