Galaxy Tab S5E Review: A Rebirth of Great Android Tablets

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Galaxy Tab S5E: At First Glance

It is no news that the smartphone market is increasingly gaining the attention of tech lovers. This has left tablets feeling neglected both by manufacturers and end-users.

The only exception to this is for Apple products which have been doing so much in the tablet space with its iPad series. However, Samsung hasn’t been relenting with the constant release of the Galaxy Tab S series.

When the Galaxy Tab S4 was released in 2018, it got the attention of many tablet lovers. Perhaps this was what prompted Samsung to make a greater comeback with this flagship Galaxy Tab S5E in 2019.

Well, we can’t be sure if this is truly a comeback till we get into the review, right? Let’s do that then!

Galaxy Tab S5E: Design, Dimensions and Weight

If you do not end up loving anything about the Galaxy Tab S5E, you will definitely love its design. This is a premium metal unibody tablet.

Having a metal build means it’s all smooth. This tablet is so smooth that you’ll need a case to protect it from slipping off your hand.

Furthermore, this sturdy device is very thin with a dimension of 245.0 x 160.0 x 5.5 mm. The Galaxy Tab S5E is so thin that it cannot accommodate a headphone jack.

In other to make this device super thin, Samsung didn’t include a space to plug in a headphone. This is because a typical headphone jack is 3.5mm and the 5.5 mm thickness of this device just won’t be enough.

In addition to the dimension of the Galaxy Tab S5E, this premium-looking device weighs 400 g. Notably, the Galaxy Tab S5E is lighter than the iPad Air 2019 which weighs 464 g.

Also, the Galaxy Tab S5E is lighter than its predecessor – the Tab S4 which weighs 482 g. Still in comparison, the Galaxy Tab S5E is slimmer than the 6.1 mm thickness of the iPad Air 2019.

Apparently, the slim design of the Galaxy Tab S5E may give the iPad Air a run for its money!

On a different note, it is common to see gadget manufacturers providing different color options for a device. Well, the Galaxy Tab S5E has good colors to choose from as it comes in black, gold, and silver.

Moving on, the bezels on this device are proportionally thick on all sides. There’s actually nothing occupying these bezels – no brand logo or navigation keys.

What you see at the top bezel is only the selfie camera. By the right side of this phone, there’s the power button which also has an inbuilt fingerprint sensor.

Having an in-built fingerprint sensor in the power button has been a trend since 2019 – and it’s good to have that in this device as well. Just below that sensor are the volume bar and SIM tray slot that allows a microSD card and single nano-SIM card.

When it comes to branding, the only sign of branding is located at the back of this device. To be exact, there’s the “Samsung” text logo that lets you know what device you are looking at.

This logo has a mirror finish that further adds to the overall premium look of this tablet. Still on the back, there’s the single rear-facing camera on the top left corner of the tablet’s back.

One major highlight of this tablet is the quad speakers – Yeah! The Galaxy Tab S5E has four speakers.

Furthermore, Samsung didn’t cluster all four speakers together. Actually, two of those speakers are at the top area of the tablet while the other two are below.

With such a design choice from Samsung, you cannot expect mediocre sound quality. To be exact, these speakers produce an amazing sound that will impress you.

Also, these speakers don’t just sound good because they are four in number. Actually, these speakers are tuned by AKG and if you’re familiar with that brand, you shouldn’t expect anything less

For clarity, AKG is an acoustic engineering company known for manufacturing audio equipment. We know AKG is responsible for this because Samsung made it obvious with the “Sound by AKG” text on the tablet’s back.

We definitely love these speakers and perhaps this is Samsung’s way of making up for the absence of a headphone jack. Trust me, you won’t be needing a headphone with such sound quality on the Galaxy Tab S5E.

I guess the headphone jack situation is not exactly hopeless after all. That aside, when it’s time to power on this device, you’ll find the USB Type C charging port in between the dual speakers below.

If you feel you want an additional laptop feel to this tab, you can get an external keyboard from Samsung. There is a keyboard connector at the base of the tablet that easily connects a POGO keyboard to this tablet.

It’s worth noting that this keyboard does not come with the tablet which means you’ll have to purchase it separately.

All in all, the design of this tablet is everything you could possibly ask for. Such design features of the Galaxy Tab S5E are worth a nine out of ten in this review.

Galaxy Tab S5E: Display Features

For a super AMOLED display, expect high density and vibrant colors on this device. To provide some background, AMOLED stands for “active-matrix organic light-emitting diode”.

As regards why AMOLEDs and Super AMOLEDs are sought after, this display portrays colors exceptionally well. Another advantage is its great viewing angles as well as vivid and high contrast displays.

Even though AMOLEDs are the most sophisticated display panels out there, they aren’t exactly flawless. This display type tends to cause battery drain faster and it is also expensive so don’t be surprised when devices with AMOLEDs are on the high side.

When it comes to the display resolution, Samsung doesn’t deliver anything less. The Galaxy Tab S5E has a WQXGA (2560 x 1600) resolution.

To start off, WQXGA stands for Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array. This display resolution provides exceptionally crisp clear visual information you would love.

As for its display size, you definitely get the maximum screen size of 10.5″. This is well enough for typing, gaming, and general viewing pleasure.

What could have sealed this display is the support of a stylus pen. Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t make this tablet stylus friendly.

This means if you’re a creative or generally a fan of the stylus pen, you may not find this device so pleasing. Undoubtedly, the Galaxy Tab S5E is still a great tablet with an impressive display.

Such features make the Galaxy Tab S5E worth a nine in the display section of this review.

Galaxy Tab S5E: Camera Features

It is common knowledge that taking great pictures has never been the strong point of tablets – and the Galaxy Tab S5E is no exception. As expected, this device has both front and rear-facing cameras.

The rear-facing camera is 13 MP with f/2.0 aperture while the front-facing is 8 MP with f/2.0 aperture. As it’s common in smartphones and tablets, there are various modes to enhance picture-taking.

There’s the portrait, pro settings, and panorama for wide-angle shots. When it comes to performance, the 13 MP main cam is good for taking shots in the daytime.

Similarly, the 8 MP front-facing camera, performs like the main cam. Both the main and selfie cameras produce pictures with decent details in a well-lit environment.

When in low light conditions, don’t expect anything close to its performance in good lighting. In fact, both cameras really struggle in providing clear and well-detailed pictures in low light.

On a different note, video calls won’t irritate you when using these cameras. Your recipient will still get a good view of you and whatever surrounds you – except for adequate details.

Apparently, Samsung didn’t aim to impress in the camera aspect of this device. Then again, it’s a tablet after all and we couldn’t expect so much from it.

In a word, the camera features on this tablet are decent enough to be rated an eight in this Galaxy Tab S5E review.

Galaxy Tab S5E: Battery Life and Talk Time

In the battery aspect, Samsung wasn’t playing! The Galaxy Tab S5E comes with a 7040mAh non-removable battery.

According to the South-Korean company, this tablet lasts up to 9 hours during continuous internet use. Also, it is said to last up to 15 hours on video playback.

As for audio playback, Samsung claims this device will survive up to 161 hours. When it comes to 3G talk time, the Galaxy Tab S5E lasts up to 41 hours.

During real-life use, the Galaxy Tab S5E doesn’t perform lesser than what it claims. To be precise, you should expect this tablet to last you over a day whether on average or high use.

Comparatively, iPad Air 2019 comes with a higher battery capacity of 8134 mAh battery. With such a battery size, you should expect that the iPad Air will last longer than the Galaxy Tab S5E.

All the same, this Samsung tablet has impressive battery life. Furthermore, when it’s time to charge the Galaxy Tab S5E, it takes 3 hours 10 minutes to achieve a full charge from 0-100%.

It doesn’t end there, Samsung included the reverse charging feature on this device. If you didn’t know, reverse charging lets you charge another device using this tablet with a USB cable.

In essence, the Galaxy Tab S5e can serve as a power bank. This makes Galaxy Tab S5e a saver when you need to power another smartphone or even a power bank.

As a whole, the battery features on here are meant to impress. With that said, rating this section a nine in this Galaxy Tab S5E is not far-fetched.

Galaxy Tab S5E: Storage Options and Performance

The storage feature on the Galaxy Tab S5E is typically what you get in a tablet. More precisely, 64 GB internal storage is what the Galaxy Tab S5E has to offer.

This is not disappointing in any way especially when its strong competitor – the iPad Air 2019 does the same. The only noticeable difference is that the iPad Air offers two storage options to choose from.

In fact, there’s the choice of either 64 GB or 256 GB storage on the iPad Air. However, the Galaxy Tab S5E is not limited to just 64 GB.

To be exact, you can expand this storage with the use of a microSD card slot of up to 512 GB. This means you can have total storage of (512 + 64) 576 GB in the Galaxy Tab S5E.

Comparatively, the Galaxy Tab S5E has more storage options than the iPad Air 2019. This is because the iPad does not have room for expandable storage with a microSD card slot.

In brief, the storage features on this tablet are typically what you would expect on an android tablet. Even though it’s not remarkable, this storage of the Galaxy Tab S5E deserves a nine in this review section.

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Galaxy Tab S5E: Security Features and Sensors

The available sensors on the Galaxy Tab S5E are as you would expect on a tablet. To be exact, there’s the accelerometer, fingerprint, geomagnetic, gyro, hall, RGB Light and face recognition.

Starting with the most common, the accelerometer as the name suggests functions by measuring acceleration. To be exact, it provides the user the option of switching the position of the device from portrait to landscape and vice versa.

When it comes to the gyro sensor, it is similar yet, more advanced than the accelerometer. This sensor is responsible for how you’re comfortably able to play that racing game when you tilt your phone.

Next is the RGB light sensor that measures the intensity of the light surrounding the screen. If it gets too bright in your surroundings, this sensor detects that brightness level and automatically reduces the screen light.

One common sensor in tablets is the hall sensor. As for its function, the hall sensor recognizes the presence of an object over a device screen.

For example, this sensor is responsible for how the screen light automatically comes on – when the tablet has a flip case.

Another sensor on this device is the geomagnetic sensor. This geomagnetic sensor functions by using the magnetic field feature in compass-related mobile applications like Apple Maps and Google Maps.

In essence, you can trust that the Galaxy Tab S5E would function well when you install a compass app on it. This geomagnetic sensor will help provide direction with its ability to distinguish the four cardinal points.

On the aspect of security, there’s the face unlock and fingerprint sensor on this tablet. The former uses the selfie camera in detecting your face and automatically unlocking the device.

While for the latter, your fingerprint is detected and the device is unlocked. Furthermore, both sensors are quick to respond.

If you’re used to the PIN or pattern method of unlocking a device, the responsiveness of the fingerprint and face unlock welcomes you to the faster part of securing your device.

In brief, this tablet has all the sensors you’ll need. With such features, the Galaxy Tab S5E sensors features are worth a nine in this review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Concluusion

On a final note, Samsung has done well by delivering a productive, work-efficient, and good-looking device. In the world of the more expensive iPad Air, you can be sure to get a good tablet at an affordable price.

The Galaxy Tab S5E has great sound quality that makes you forget that there’s no headphone jack. It is also a super handy device that won’t be a burden to move around with.

One major downside we couldn’t get over is the absence of a stylus pen. Well, if you don’t badly need it, you can ignore that aspect of this device.

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