Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5 hands-on review

Introduction

Tablets never killed the PC, but they did change how we look at laptops - between keyboard add-ons and styluses, a modern 2-in-1 is an alleged Swiss knife of productivity. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5 is bundled with an S Pen and you can get a Book Cover keyboard if you type more often than you sketch.

This tablet is the first to add dual monitor support to Samsung DeX. What this means is you can hook up an external monitor over HDMI and use both it and the tablet's own screen. This way you get not only a larger screen, but two screens to spread your work.

When you're on the go, the Book Cover keyboard is a great option to boost your typing speed. The keys have been refined and magnets keep the tablet secure in both the "closed" and "laptop" positions.

It's not all work and no play either, the Galaxy Tab S4 10.5 has a 16:10 Super AMOLED screen and quad speakers tuned by AKG and with Dolby Atmos support to boot. Here's a quick overview of the rest of the specs:

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 10.5 at a glance:

• Body: Metal frame, glass front and back
• Screen: 10.5" Super AMOLED, 2,560 x 1,600px, 16:10
• Add-ons: S Pen included, DeX dock and Book Cover keyboard sold separately
• Chipset: Snapdragon 835 chipset
• Memory: 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, microSD card slot
• Software: Android 8.1 Oreo, Samsung Experience, Microsoft apps pre-loaded
• Audio: Quad speakers tuned by AKG, Dolby Atmos support
• Camera: 13MP / 4K on the back, 8MP / 1080p on the front
• Connectivity: Optional LTE Cat. 16, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C 3.1
• Battery: 7,300mAh, fast charging (9V at 1.67A or 5V at 2A)
• Misc: Iris scanner, pogo pins, global positioning

Analysts got it wrong with their post-PC predictions - instead of moving to a one "do-it-all" device, consumers just bought several devices. A smartphone, tablet and smartwatch each has its own duties, the key is that they talk to each other.

For example, with Samsung Flow you can check the notifications from your phone on the Tab S4 and even use the phone's data connection (in case you didn't get the LTE model).