Samsung bets big on fingerprint scanning in its war with Apple’s iPad:
Samsung has beaten Apple to a fingerprint-reading tablet with the launch of two new flagship Galaxy Tab S models, four months before Apple unveils its next iPad.
The new 8.4in and full-sized 10.5in Galaxy Tab S are also the first tablets available with a high-resolution large-size organic LED (OLED) screen showing that the new display technology, which emits its own light and does not need a backlight, has reached maturity beyond smaller smartphone screens and high-priced televisions.
OLED screens are widely expected to replace LCDs in most instances, being more power-efficient and producing more vibrant colours with deeper blacks than is possible with the LCD screens like those used by most smartphones, tablets, laptops and televisions.
The new device is Samsung's latest move to capitalise on its growing share of the world tablet market. The company claimed an 18% share of the global tablet market in 2013 with 39.2m tablets shipped, compared to Apple’s 35% and 74.3m tablets, giving them together more than half of all shipments.
“The tablet is becoming a popular personal viewing device for enjoying content, which makes the quality of the display a critical feature,” said JK Shin, CEO and president of Samsung's IT & Mobile Division. “With the launch of the Galaxy Tab S, Samsung is setting the industry bar higher for the entire mobile industry. It will provide consumers with a visual and entertainment experience that brings colours to life, beautifully packaged in a sleek and ultra-portable mobile device.”
Denise Yuan, tablet planner for Samsung, told the Guardian: "We performed a lot of research on consumer usage and found that people mainly
use tablets for web browsing, videos and gaming - entertainment mostly, which made the display the most important part and why we focused on bringing our Super AMOLED screen to the Tab S.”
Samsung claims that the Tab S's Super AMOLED screen has a contrast ratio 100 times better than LCD, which makes text easier to read on screen, but also photos and videos appear closer in depth of colour to the real world as the eye sees it.
The Galaxy Tab S runs the latest version of Google’s Android “KitKat” 4.4.2, but uses Samsung’s "TouchWiz" customisations to the basic Android experience, which the Korean company also uses on its Galaxy smartphones and other Galaxy tablets.
The Tab S uses Samsung’s own Samsung Exynos eight-core processor – instead of the Qualcomm processors used in almost every other premium Android tablet and smartphone – with 3GB of RAM and 16 or 32GB of internal storage as well as a microSD card slot for adding more space for music, videos and photos. Models with 3G and 4G capabilities, able to make calls and send text messages, are also available.
Samsung hopes that the fingerprint scanner, like that introduced on the company’s flagship smartphone the Galaxy S5 in April, as well as the 10.5in Tab S’s thin 6.6mm frame and 465g weight – which is 0.9mm thinner and 4g lighterthan the iPad Air – will help in its battle for dominance with Apple and win customers from rivals.
After Apple and Samsung, Asus came third in the global rankings with 5% and 10.4m shipped, while Amazon came in fourth with 4.6% and 9.8m of its Kindle Fire tablets shipped, according to data from research firm IDC.
Breaking down by region, Apple claimed 34% of Western Europe versus Samsung’s 23% marketshare, while Apple dominated the UK in 2013 with 39% of the market to Samsung’s 16%. In the US, Apple is even more entrenched with a 44% share of the market leaving Samsung with an 18% share.
Fast forward to the first quarter of 2014 and Samsung has shown significant gains. Globally, Samsung claimed 22% of tablet sales compared with Apple’s 34%, while in western Europe, Samsung increased its market share to 30% with Apple decreasing one percent to 34%.
In the UK, Samsung had a 26% share of tablets, while Apple claimed a 35% share. In the US Samsung jumped to 26% of the market, while Apple increased slightly to 45%.
“Samsung is making significant progress in tablet marketshare,” explained Francisco Jeronimo, research director of IDC. “But its gains in share have not been at the expense of Apple, but of the other tablet vendors.”
He said that the cause is down to apps. “That is the result of the Android tablet app ecosystem not being as strong as it is for Apple’s iPad.”
“Apple has effectively locked out the market for high quality tablet apps with the 475,000+ 'made for iPad' apps,” says Ben Wood from research firm CCS Insight. “Developers seem to feel it is worth the effort to optimise their apps specifically for the iPad, which means you get a great experience.
“On Android, other than a few exceptions, most apps are merely scaled up version of phone apps. This is not such a problem on a 7in screen – but once you get to 10in and above it becomes a real issue,” continued Wood.
The Galaxy Tab S is unlikely to change that status quo but provides another premium Android tablet option, joining the thin and light Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet for those that do not want to buy into Apple’s walled garden and its iPad.
The Tab S will be available between the end of June and beginning of July and costs around $399 for the 8.4in version and $499 for the 10.5in variant.
The 10.5in Tab S also adds yet another screen size to Samsung’s tumefied range of Galaxy tablets which currently span the Tab 4 7, Tab 4 8, Tab Pro 8.4, Tab 4 10.1, Tab Pro 10.1, Note 10.1, Note Pro 12.2, as well as others like the Tab 3 Kids.
The new 8.4in and full-sized 10.5in Galaxy Tab S are also the first tablets available with a high-resolution large-size organic LED (OLED) screen showing that the new display technology, which emits its own light and does not need a backlight, has reached maturity beyond smaller smartphone screens and high-priced televisions.
OLED screens are widely expected to replace LCDs in most instances, being more power-efficient and producing more vibrant colours with deeper blacks than is possible with the LCD screens like those used by most smartphones, tablets, laptops and televisions.
The new device is Samsung's latest move to capitalise on its growing share of the world tablet market. The company claimed an 18% share of the global tablet market in 2013 with 39.2m tablets shipped, compared to Apple’s 35% and 74.3m tablets, giving them together more than half of all shipments.
“The tablet is becoming a popular personal viewing device for enjoying content, which makes the quality of the display a critical feature,” said JK Shin, CEO and president of Samsung's IT & Mobile Division. “With the launch of the Galaxy Tab S, Samsung is setting the industry bar higher for the entire mobile industry. It will provide consumers with a visual and entertainment experience that brings colours to life, beautifully packaged in a sleek and ultra-portable mobile device.”
Denise Yuan, tablet planner for Samsung, told the Guardian: "We performed a lot of research on consumer usage and found that people mainly
use tablets for web browsing, videos and gaming - entertainment mostly, which made the display the most important part and why we focused on bringing our Super AMOLED screen to the Tab S.”
Samsung claims that the Tab S's Super AMOLED screen has a contrast ratio 100 times better than LCD, which makes text easier to read on screen, but also photos and videos appear closer in depth of colour to the real world as the eye sees it.
It’s all about touch
Apple is widely expected to bring its Touch ID fingerprint sensor, released with the iPhones 5S in September last year, to its iPad Air and iPad mini tablets in October, marking a year since the Cupertino-based company unveiled the biggest design change in its tablet’s history with the iPad Air.The Galaxy Tab S runs the latest version of Google’s Android “KitKat” 4.4.2, but uses Samsung’s "TouchWiz" customisations to the basic Android experience, which the Korean company also uses on its Galaxy smartphones and other Galaxy tablets.
The Tab S uses Samsung’s own Samsung Exynos eight-core processor – instead of the Qualcomm processors used in almost every other premium Android tablet and smartphone – with 3GB of RAM and 16 or 32GB of internal storage as well as a microSD card slot for adding more space for music, videos and photos. Models with 3G and 4G capabilities, able to make calls and send text messages, are also available.
Samsung hopes that the fingerprint scanner, like that introduced on the company’s flagship smartphone the Galaxy S5 in April, as well as the 10.5in Tab S’s thin 6.6mm frame and 465g weight – which is 0.9mm thinner and 4g lighterthan the iPad Air – will help in its battle for dominance with Apple and win customers from rivals.
Samsung gaining ground
Samsung has made significant progress in marketshare for its range of tablets over the last year, making the battle for tablet sales globally a two-horse race with Apple.After Apple and Samsung, Asus came third in the global rankings with 5% and 10.4m shipped, while Amazon came in fourth with 4.6% and 9.8m of its Kindle Fire tablets shipped, according to data from research firm IDC.
Breaking down by region, Apple claimed 34% of Western Europe versus Samsung’s 23% marketshare, while Apple dominated the UK in 2013 with 39% of the market to Samsung’s 16%. In the US, Apple is even more entrenched with a 44% share of the market leaving Samsung with an 18% share.
Fast forward to the first quarter of 2014 and Samsung has shown significant gains. Globally, Samsung claimed 22% of tablet sales compared with Apple’s 34%, while in western Europe, Samsung increased its market share to 30% with Apple decreasing one percent to 34%.
In the UK, Samsung had a 26% share of tablets, while Apple claimed a 35% share. In the US Samsung jumped to 26% of the market, while Apple increased slightly to 45%.
“Samsung is making significant progress in tablet marketshare,” explained Francisco Jeronimo, research director of IDC. “But its gains in share have not been at the expense of Apple, but of the other tablet vendors.”
He said that the cause is down to apps. “That is the result of the Android tablet app ecosystem not being as strong as it is for Apple’s iPad.”
‘Most apps are merely scaled up version of phone apps on Android’
Android tablets have struggled to garner the interest of developers, whereas Apple has persuaded developers to create apps specifically tailored for the larger screens. While Android is arguably on par with Apple’s iOS for smartphone apps, it still lags on tablets.“Apple has effectively locked out the market for high quality tablet apps with the 475,000+ 'made for iPad' apps,” says Ben Wood from research firm CCS Insight. “Developers seem to feel it is worth the effort to optimise their apps specifically for the iPad, which means you get a great experience.
“On Android, other than a few exceptions, most apps are merely scaled up version of phone apps. This is not such a problem on a 7in screen – but once you get to 10in and above it becomes a real issue,” continued Wood.
The Galaxy Tab S is unlikely to change that status quo but provides another premium Android tablet option, joining the thin and light Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet for those that do not want to buy into Apple’s walled garden and its iPad.
The Tab S will be available between the end of June and beginning of July and costs around $399 for the 8.4in version and $499 for the 10.5in variant.
The 10.5in Tab S also adds yet another screen size to Samsung’s tumefied range of Galaxy tablets which currently span the Tab 4 7, Tab 4 8, Tab Pro 8.4, Tab 4 10.1, Tab Pro 10.1, Note 10.1, Note Pro 12.2, as well as others like the Tab 3 Kids.
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