Few manufacturers launch tablets regularly. Companies like Google, LG or Sony seem to have lost interest in tablets and today only a handful of manufacturers bet on these devices. Samsung is one of the few that maintains a good number of tablets in its catalog. This year, the company has launched a couple of interesting high-end Galaxy Tab S series models: the most affordable Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e and, recently, the most powerful, Samsung Galaxy Tab S6. Along the way the Galaxy Tab S5 has been lost, which never saw the light.
The Galaxy Tab S6 is Samsung’s most advanced tablet. It has a 10.5 ″ Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855 processor, 6/8 GB of RAM, 128/256 GB of storage, dual 13MP rear camera (wide angle) and 5MP (ultra-wide-angle), 8MP front camera and battery 7,040 mAh with fast charge.
Its price is (List Price $649.99 With Deal: $549.99) with 128 GB and (List Price $729.99 With Deal: $629.99) with 256 GB of storage on online sites like Amazon.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth – S Pen Pointer and BookCover
S Pen Pointer
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 comes with an S Pen pointer in the box that allows you to write and draw on the screen, as well as interact with the tablet remotely through gestures thanks to Bluetooth connectivity.
The S Pen of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is thicker and longer than the Samsung Galaxy Note10 and, therefore, looks more like a traditional pencil. Like the S Pen of the Galaxy Note10, it has a clickable button on the body, closer to the tip.
The S Pen has Bluetooth connectivity and offers a sensitivity of 4,096 pressure levels, allowing more or less thick strokes depending on the pressure we exert.
Its small 0.35 mAh battery is recharged when you place the S Pen in the slot on the back of the tablet and offers a range of up to 10 hours with only 10 minutes of charging.
If we press and hold the S Pen button, we can open the Camera app or, if we prefer, we can choose to open another app that we have installed or to activate any of the S Pen functions.
The S Pen pointer not only has utility in the interface but we can also use it in certain apps for different functions by pressing the S Pen button once or twice in a row :
One of the novelties that the Samsung Galaxy Note10 introduced and that is present in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is the use of the “remote S Pen“, which allows remote control of applications (up to 10 meters away) through clicks and gestures in the pointer’s air, such as If it was a magic wand.
The S Pen recognizes three types of gestures in the air:
The “remote S Pen” functionality is compatible with many Samsung applications – Camera, Gallery, Internet, Voice Recorder, Samsung Notes, AR Emoji, and AR Drawings – as well as any other camera or multimedia playback application (for example, Netflix). Developers can add S Pen support to their own apps through the Samsung SDK.
In practice, the management of the tablet through gestures in the air of the S Pen is still a curiosity since, in my day to day, I do not feel the need to operate the tablet remotely.
Of course, the pointer not only serves to write or draw, but you can also handle the tablet’s interface with it as if you did it with your finger.
When you press the S Pen button when it is close to the screen, those applications or functions of the S Pen that we have chosen are displayed. Among the options we have the following:
One of the most useful functions of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is the possibility of taking notes on the screen while it is turned off.
Simply bring the S Pen to the screen and press the button to be able to write about it and, once we finish, we can save the note. This function is useful for, for example, taking a quick note on the fly.
BookCover case with keyboard and trackpad
Samsung markets a case called “BookCover Keyboard” for € 179.90 that not only protects the tablet from bumps and scratches but also adds a full keyboard with touchpad.
Unlike other keyboards that connect via Bluetooth, it connects through some pins, so the link is instantaneous and does not require a battery.
Having a full keyboard is very useful for writing long texts as long as you can support it on a firm surface – it is not stable if we intend to use it resting on the legs as if it were a laptop.
One aspect that I like is that it has an “Fn key” that allows access to function keys (F1 … F12), Esc, Delete and others. I also find very useful the presence of a trackpad that, although it is a bit small, allows you to use the tablet in DeX mode with a mouse without having to reach out to touch the screen.
As an aspect to improve, the keys are not backlit, which makes it difficult to use in the dark (in fact, tablet keyboards do not usually include illuminated keys).
In addition to the keyboard, there is another piece that magnetically attaches to the back to protect it. This support is so strong that it takes some effort to remove the back cover. Luckily, there is a flap without a magnet that can be easily lifted to access the space where the S Pen is stored.
An interesting aspect of the BookCover is that it is possible to place the support base at any angle for more comfortable use.
The fact that they are two separate pieces is useful for those cases in which, for example, we want to watch a video on the tablet but we don’t want to have the keyboard in front.
Read Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth:
- Part 01: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth – Design and Screen
- Part 02: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth – Hardware, Fingerprint, and Battery
- Part 03: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth – Software and Functionalities
- Part 04: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth – S Pen Pointer and BookCover
- Part 05: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth – Applications, Multimedia and Camera
- Part 06: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review in-depth – Price and Competitors
All Image credits and Reference is Galaxy Tab S6
