14 DAY TRIAL // While most people praise Samsung for the awesome job that it does in the smartphone market, the South Korean firm is also fully committed to the tablet industry and it is, in fact, one of the few companies whose devices compete against the iPad.
The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, however, which was released earlier this year, isn’t supposed to be a direct rival to the iPad, and it’s all for a good reason: at its price level, it’s one of the best buys today, as it offers incredible value for the money.
I’ve kind of started this review with a conclusion, but this is something that’s very important to clarify. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a compelling product, and a quick look at the spec sheet confirms why.
First and foremost, let’s check out the thing that’s the most important on a tablet: the display.
Galaxy Tab S6 Lite features a 10.4-inch TFT capacitive display with a resolution of 1200x2000 pixels and 5:3 aspect ratio, which leads to a 224 ppi density. The screen to body ratio is 81.6%, but while this is something that’s critical in the mobile market, where everyone wants bigger screens and smaller bezels, this isn’t such a deal-breaker in the tablet world.
A bigger bezel means you can hold the tablet in hand much easier, especially because such a device is larger than the typical smartphone. And at 467 grams, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is pretty easy to carry around and hold in hand for more than ten minutes.
The weight itself is something that’s essential given that the tablet also comes with a pen. So basically, the lighter it is, the easiest it gets to work with the pen, draw, and write on the screen, and after using the Tab S6 Lite for a couple of weeks, I can confirm that Samsung has done a terrific job here.
The glass front and the aluminum back and frame provide pretty good grip, and while Samsung is also selling a case that enhances the Tab S6 Lite even further, I was just fine using the tablet without one. However, if you want to use it for video calls and things like that, I recommend you to get one.
The device is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 9611 processor that is paired with 4GB RAM, and there is a choice of two different storage options, namely 64GB and 128GB. A microSD card slot is also offered for expanded storage, and this certainly comes in handy given the top of the range configuration comes with just 128GB.
Samsung equipped the tablet with a Mali-G72 MP3 GPU chip, and while this isn’t the best, I think that it serves its purpose just alright. And it happens for a good reason. For example, while the Tab S6 Lite can run most games in the Google Play Store, some with a small struggle and occasional slowdowns, I believe this device is just better for productivity stuff.
For example, the Tab S6 Lite is one proper device for students who’ve moved their classes online due to the global health issue, and given the hardware specs, it can deal with such a purpose just fine. And the S Pen certain gives it a huge advantage over the competition, especially as it makes taking notes so much easier. But more on this later.
The rest of the specs on the tablet include stereo speakers tuned by AKG, something that has become rather common on Samsung devices, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and a USB Type-C connector.
The battery is a 7,040 mAh unit with 15W fast charging, and the device typically recharges in a little over 2 hours. This is just fine, especially because the battery life itself is something that will probably impress you. If you use the device for online classes, it can easily get you through the day, while those who just want a tablet to browse the web, read the news, and send some emails, you can go as high as 3 to 4 days per charge.
Now let’s talk a little bit about the S Pen experience.
As I said already, this rather affordable tablet is just the right choice for students who are forced to stay home these days, and the S Pen makes taking notes incredibly easy.
Samsung has released a ton of updates for its Notes app lately, so right now, this tablet provides just the right feature arsenal for those who attend classes from the comfort of their homes. One cool feature that I really liked was the adjustable window transparency level of the note-taking app, which essentially allows users to keep the app on top of a video call and take notes as they watch the other person talking to them. For a student, this is something that’s extremely useful, although it could take a while until you get used to writing on the screen while keeping an eye on a different app.
The S Pen itself has improved a lot in the last few years, and additional polishing is still needed. There’s a noticeable lag especially when writing faster, and I noticed the whole thing in Samsung’s coloring app. Obviously, the S Pen is not the one that comes with the Samsung Galaxy Note20, which features 9ms latency, but those who buy the tablet for writing and drawing might feel the need for some improvements here.
THE BOTTOM LINE
At the end of the day, Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is one tablet that is definitely worth a try. It’s affordable and comes with really good specs that make it a proper choice for those who don’t necessarily want a tablet for playing games, but for video calls and homeschooling.
There are two things that set it apart from the rest of the crowd.
First and foremost, it’s the screen + S Pen combo. The Tab S6 Lite allows you to take notes and draw with minimum effort, and while there is clearly room for more improvements here, Samsung really struggled to make the experience overall feel more natural. Sure, it’s still not in the point where it feels like writing on a piece of paper, but it’s getting pretty close.
Fortunately, the company has the know-how to resolve the latency issue, and the latest-generation stylus does come with massive improvements in this regard on the Galaxy Note20. So if anything, we can only hope that the experience overall would be more polished on an improved version of the tablet.
And then, it’s the battery. For me, a good tablet doesn’t need to be recharged every day, and the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite can easily go up to several days per charge depending on how you use it. Furthermore, it comes with a fast charging system too, so if you don’t like to recharge your devices during the night, it should be good to go in a little over two hours.
Overall, if you’re not in the market for a high-end tablet and just want a device that offers a good value for the money, this one right here is definitely worth checking out. It has a pen and everything and costs less than a new iPhone SE.
