Above the display (in landscape mode) you will find the ambient light sensor, as well as the front-facing camera. A Samsung logo keeps them company.
The view above the display
Below the screen (landscape) is where the usual trio of Samsung buttons for Android navigation are. The fingerprint sensor it there too - its implementation is the same as in the Samsung Galaxy S5. You can use it for unlocking the slate, authorizing PayPal transactions and even protecting individual images and messages on it.
A look below the screen
The 3.5mm audio jack and one of the stereo speakers are located on the left side of the tablet. The other speaker is on the right side, together with the microSD card slot, and the microUSB port.
The sides of the tablet
The top of the tablet is home to the volume rocker, the power/lock key, and the IR blaster. There's nothing but a microphone pinhole on the bottom.
The top and bottom of the Galaxy Tab S 10.5
The perforated faux leather back of the tablet is where the 8MP main camera and its single LED flash can be found. Two prominent circles on the right side is where the proprietary flip covers are attached. A Samsung logo completes the picture.
The back of the slate
Battery performance
Samsung rates the 7,900mAh battery of the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 to be capable of providing up to nine hours of web usage. As usual, we tested the battery performance of the tablet during web browsing and video playback - it performed superbly on both occasions.
Web browsing
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet 12:53
Sony Xperia C 12:45h
Nokia Lumia 1520 12:40h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 12:37h
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 12:30h
LG G2 11:22h
HTC One Max 11:20h
Sony Xperia ZR 11:20h
HTC Butterfly S 11:07h
Nokia Lumia 1320 10:58h
Apple iPad Air 10:10h
BlackBerry Q5 10:04h
HTC One 9:58h
Apple iPhone 5s 9:58h
Apple iPhone 5 9:56h
Samsung Ativ Odyssey I930 9:54h
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 9:47h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 9:43h
Alcatel Hero 9:40h
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 9:37h
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 9:33h
LG G Pro 2 9:31h
LG G Flex 9:31h
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 9:16h
Motorola RAZR MAXX 9:12h
HTC One (M8) 9:06h
Oppo N1 9:05h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 9:05h
Apple iPhone 5c 9:05h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 9:04h
Motorola Moto G 9:04h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 8:51h
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48h
BlackBerry Q10 8:42h
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 8:25h
Asus PadFone 2 8:20h
Nokia Lumia 810 8:20h
Huawei Ascend Mate 8:17h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 8:17h
HTC One mini 8:12h
Nokia Lumia 610 8:01h
HTC One X+ 7:56h
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 7:43h
Motorola DROID RAZR M 7:42h
Sony Xperia E dual 7:42h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 7:38h
Nokia Lumia 720 7:37h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 7:35h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 7:24h
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 7:23h
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 7:23h
HTC Radar 7:17h
Nokia Lumia 520 7:15h
LG Optimus GJ E975W 7:11h
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 7:09h
Sony Xperia M 7:09h
Meizu MX3 7:09h
Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 7:09h
Nokia Lumia 625 7:07h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 7:06h
Sony Xperia J 7:06h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 6:58h
Apple iPhone 4s 6:56h
Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 6:54h
Samsung Galaxy Core I8260 6:54h
HTC One V 6:49h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 6:40h
Sony Xperia L 6:40h
Samsung Galaxy Premier I9260 6:40h
HTC DROID DNA 6:40h
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 6:40h
Motorola ATRIX HD MB886 6:40h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:40h
Sony Xperia E 6:40h
HTC First 6:39h
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 6:38h
Sony Xperia Z 6:37h
Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 2 6:35h
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 6:34h
HTC Desire 500 6:31h
Huawei Ascend P6 6:30h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 6:27h
BlackBerry Z10 6:27h
HTC Butterfly 6:24h
Sony Xperia SP 6:18h
Samsung Galaxy S III I747 6:16h
HTC One SV 6:15h
Samsung Focus S I937 6:15h
Nokia Lumia 510 6:13h
Sony Xperia ZL 6:04h
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 6:03h
Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 6:02h
Oppo R819 6:01h
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:01h
Sony Xperia Z1 5:59h
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:56h
Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 5:55h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 5:53h
Pantech Burst 5:51h
Nokia Lumia 1020 5:50h
HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE 5:48h
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T769 5:45h
Nokia Lumia 920 5:40h
Nokia Lumia 928 5:36h
Samsung S8600 Wave 3 5:34h
Pantech Discover 5:33h
Oppo Find 5 5:33h
Samsung i927 Captivate Glide 5:33h
Sony Xperia T 5:33h
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 5:28h
Nokia Lumia 900 5:25h
Samsung Galaxy Note I717 5:24h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 5:23h
Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562 5:23h
HTC Sensation XL 5:20h
Meizu MX 4-core 5:19h
Nokia Lumia Icon 5:17h
HTC Desire X 5:16h
HTC Rezound 5:16h
Sony Xperia acro S 5:16h
LG Optimus G E975 5:15h
HTC Rhyme 5:08h
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 5:07h
LG Optimus L9 P760 5:02h
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro 4:50h
LG Optimus Vu F100S 4:49h
LG Nexus 5 4:46h
HTC Vivid 4:46h
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos S6802 4:45h
Meizu MX 4:35h
LG Nexus 4 E960 4:34h
Nokia N9 4:33h
Acer CloudMobile S500 4:32h
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 4:24h
Nokia Lumia 820 4:24h
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 4:20h
HTC One X 4:18h
Nokia 808 PureView 4:14h
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 4:10h
Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T 4:10h
Nokia Lumia 800 4:07h
HTC One S C2 4:03h
HTC One S 4:03h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 4:02h
LG Nitro HD 4:00h
LG Optimus 4X HD P880 3:59h
Sony Xperia P 3:59h
Nokia Lumia 710 3:51h
Nokia Lumia 620 3:50h
Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 3:47h
Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 3:35h
Huawei Ascend P1 3:23h
Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 3:01h
Video playback
LG G Flex 19:57h
Motorola RAZR MAXX 16:35h
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 14:17h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 13:32h
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 13:12h
Nokia Lumia 1020 13:12h
HTC One Max 13:11h
Sony Xperia C 12:53h
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 12:52h
Samsung Galaxy Premier I9260 12:51h
Apple iPad Air 12:49h
Nokia Lumia 1520 12:31h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 12:30h
BlackBerry Q5 12:28h
Huawei Ascend Mate 12:18h
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 12:10h
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 12:05h
LG G2 11:51h
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet 11:46
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 11:38h
Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 11:37h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 11:29h
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 11:27h
Oppo N1 11:15h
BlackBerry Q10 11:15h
HTC One (M8) 11:14h
Apple iPhone 5s 10:31h
Apple iPhone 5 10:12h
HTC First 10:03h
HTC One 10:02h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 10:01h
Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 10:00h
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 10:00h
Nokia 808 PureView 9:53h
Alcatel Hero 9:49h
Sony Xperia M 9:49h
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 9:42h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 9:34h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 9:30h
HTC One S C2 9:28h
HTC One S 9:28h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 9:27h
Apple iPhone 4s 9:24h
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 9:22h
Nokia Lumia 1320 9:17h
HTC Butterfly S 9:03h
Motorola DROID RAZR M 9:00h
Sony Xperia E 9:00h
Samsung Ativ Odyssey I930 8:59h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 8:45h
BlackBerry Z10 8:44h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 8:41h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 8:40h
Nokia N9 8:40h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 8:34h
HTC Butterfly 8:28h
Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 8:25h
LG Optimus GJ E975W 8:15h
Samsung Galaxy S III I747 8:14h
HTC One X+ 8:11h
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 8:11h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 8:11h
Sony Xperia J 8:11h
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 8:00h
Samsung Focus S I937 7:55h
Samsung S8600 Wave 3 7:52h
HTC Desire 500 7:50h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 7:46h
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 7:45h
Apple iPhone 5c 7:41h
Asus PadFone 2 7:38h
Huawei Ascend P1 7:38h
Nokia Lumia Icon 7:34h
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T769 7:33h
Sony Xperia ZR 7:30h
Samsung Galaxy Core I8260 7:30h
HTC DROID DNA 7:30h
Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 2 7:30h
Samsung Galaxy Note I717 7:30h
Sony Xperia SP 7:27h
HTC One mini 7:23h
Nokia Lumia 610 7:23h
LG Optimus G E975 7:16h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 7:03h
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 6:55h
Huawei Ascend P6 6:55h
HTC One SV 6:55h
Pantech Discover 6:55h
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 6:54h
Nokia Lumia 928 6:54h
HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE 6:51h
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 6:49h
Nokia Lumia 720 6:43h
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 6:40h
Motorola Moto G 6:37h
Nokia Lumia 900 6:37h
Meizu MX 4-core 6:33h
Nokia Lumia 620 6:32h
Nokia Lumia 625 6:29h
Sony Xperia E dual 6:27h
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:27h
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 6:26h
Nokia Lumia 810 6:26h
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos S6802 6:25h
Nokia Lumia 820 6:25h
Nokia Lumia 510 6:23h
LG Optimus Vu F100S 6:23h
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 6:21h
Nokia Lumia 920 6:19h
Sony Xperia Z1 6:12h
HTC Sensation XL 6:12h
LG Nexus 5 6:06h
Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 6:06h
Samsung i927 Captivate Glide 6:04h
Sony Xperia ion LTE 6:03h
Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 6:02h
Motorola ATRIX HD MB886 6:01h
Sony Xperia T 6:01h
HTC Vivid 6:00h
HTC Radar 5:54h
Oppo R819 5:54h
LG Optimus L9 P760 5:53h
Nokia Lumia 800 5:52h
Nokia Lumia 520 5:50h
LG G Pro 2 5:49h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:47h
HTC One X 5:45h
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro 5:44h
Sony Xperia Z 5:39h
Meizu MX3 5:38h
Pantech Burst 5:38h
HTC Desire X 5:38h
Sony Xperia acro S 5:38h
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 5:34h
Sony Xperia ZL 5:28h
Meizu MX 5:27h
HTC Rhyme 5:23h
HTC One V 5:20h
Oppo Find 5 5:18h
Acer CloudMobile S500 5:18h
Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T 5:18h
Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 5:16h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 5:09h
HTC Rezound 5:03h
Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 5:02h
LG Nexus 4 E960 4:55h
Sony Xperia L 4:44h
Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562 4:30h
Sony Xperia P 4:30h
LG Nitro HD 4:17h
LG Optimus 4X HD P880 4:14h
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 3:28h
Nokia Lumia 710 3:27h
The ultra power saving mode which made a debut on the Samsung Galaxy S5 is on board too. It drastically prolongs the tablet’s battery life by allowing only a handful essential apps to function.
Ultra power saving mode
The feature also utilizes the energy efficiency of the Super AMOLED display via a black background. As you probably know, AMOLED displays turn off their individual pixels while showing black color.
Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 comes in two flavors - Wi-Fi only and LTE. The LTE model features quad-band GSM and 3G support with HSPDA up to 42Mbps. The LTE support covers six bands and is category 4, which means you get up to 150Mbps downlink and up to 50Mbps uplink speeds.
Both tablet versions feature Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac support, with 2.4GHz and 5GHz band compatibility. Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA support are also available as well as GPS and GLONASS receivers. Bluetooth 4.0 is also available for local data transfer.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 also supports USB-on-the-go, but you will need to buy an additional adapter for that. The tablet can work with USB storage, USB mice and keyboards. Of course, you can always hook up a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard to the slate without relying on the cable connection.
You can also buy a MHL HDMI adapter and use it to pair with HDTV via a regular HDMI cable.
An IR blaster on the right of the tablet allows it to remotely control TV's and other devices using the Samsung WatchON app.
The last piece of the connectivity puzzle, NFC, is missing though.
SideSync 3.0 allows you to pair your tablet with your Galaxy S5 smartphone. The latter shows up virtually on the tablet's display; you can control its functions, make calls, and answer messages while it is in your bag or pocket. It really works very well and can come in handy if you use your tablet at home, while the phone is charging somewhere.
Remote PC client is also preinstalled on the device. It seriously boosts its productivity credentials.
The Samsung AllShare feature is integrated with the Samsung's default apps - the Video Player app, the Gallery, and the Music Player - and it allows you to wirelessly stream all sorts of multimedia content to your connected stereo or HDTV.
Samsung Link (previously known as AllShare Play) is another proprietary service offered by Samsung. Once you download the dedicated app, it automatically syncs all the multimedia content on your device to Samsung servers so it's backed up and also available for instant play on your other Samsung devices, including your Samsung SmartTV.
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