We check out the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1!

While the market share for tablets has been shrinking for the past few years, big tech brands like Samsung believe that there’s still an audience for slates, even with the existence of big-screen smartphones. The Korean brand recently made official three of its new Galaxy Tabs in the Philippines, and today we’ll be taking a closer look at the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1.

Clean, minimalist look

While Samsung’s previous tablets almost always had vibrant Super AMOLED panels, the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 sports a 10.1-inch TFT panel with a WUXGA resolution. The display is still pretty vibrant despite the downgrade, though it’s not going to be as good as an AMOLED panel. That being said, the display has decent viewing angles and good color reproduction that’s ideal for binge-watching your favorite shows.

The only visual element you see within the bezels is the 5-megapixel f/2.2 front camera. While the top and bottom bezels may be sizeable for 2019 standards, it’s not a big deal for us—we don’t think anyone would fancy a tablet with curved displays or bezel-less designs for practical reasons.

The Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1 is housed in an aluminum unibody with a matte finish. There’s a plastic tab on top, where the necessary antennas (WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE) are located. With the black color, the Samsung branding is dressed in a darker shade of black. The build is solid to the core and feels premium, though the finish is a smudge magnet.

There’s no fingerprint scanner in sight, so you will need to settle with the ol’ school PIN or Pattern unlock methods. You only have an 8-megapixel f/1.9 camera on the top left corner of the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1’s back panel—there’s no LED flash to be found here.

You have a 3.5mm jack and microphone on top, while you get a USB-C port and stereo speakers at the bottom. On the right side, you have the power and volume controls, along with the NanoSIM/MicroSD card tray.

Powering the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1 is an Exynos 7904 processor paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The internals should ring a bell, as this is the same configuration used on the Galaxy M20. Based on our limited time with the tablet, the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1 felt quick and snappy while watching Netflix’s Always be my Maybe, though a full test will only determine if its internals are capable enough for day-to-day use.

Keeping the lights on is a 6150mAh with support for fast charging. Samsung claims that the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1’s battery is good for 13 hours of video playback on a single charge, though we have to do our usual tests to see if their claims are true.

On the software side, the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1 ships with Android Pie out of the box, along with Samsung’s OneUI overlay.

How much is it?

The Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1 retails for Php 16,990. Its closest rival is Huawei’s MediaPad M5 Lite: while it is Php 2k more expensive, you get more RAM and internal storage, a better front camera, a fingerprint scanner, quad speakers, and a bigger battery. We will put the Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1 to our usual battery of tests once we get our hands on a review unit.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) 10.1 Specs

• Exynos 7904 Octa-core processor
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB internal storage, expandable via MicroSD
• 10.5-inch WUXGA TFT display
• 8-megapixel f/1.9 rear camera
• 5-megapixel f/2.2 front camera
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• Dolby Atmos, Stereo speakers, USB-C
• 6150mAh battery with fast charging
• Android 9.0 Pie with OneUI