Samsung will continue to broaden its Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note tablet lineup in 2014, today announcing the Galaxy TabPro and Galaxy NotePro (pictured above) at their CES 2014 keynote.
Available in three sizes, 8.4″, 10.1″ and, 12.2″, the Galaxy TabPro is the same as the Galaxy NotePro, apart from no stylus support. The Galaxy NotePro will also only come in a 12.2″ variant but with typical Galaxy Note features, such as Samsung S Pen support.
Both are built for multitasking, with the software including a new four-pane multi-window app view. Easily resizable, the panels even allow you to run multiple instances of the same application. As well as panels, pop-up app views will also be an option throughout the OS. Each tablet has a 2560 x 1600 display, as well as Android 4.4 KitKat, Wi-Fi, optional LTE and an 8-megapixel rear camera, with 2-megapixel front camera.
All the tablets will have up to 64GB of internal storage; but in terms of RAM, it varies (3GB for 12.2-inch models, 2GB for 10.1-inch and 8.4-inch models)
Meant to challenge modern laptops, the tablets feature Samsung’s new Magazine UI, which looks very similar to Microsoft’s LiveTile UI. 3 pages of apps and news widgets are featured out of the box, while users will be able to customise the 3-5 homescreens with apps and widgets. However this customisation will not be as open as regular Android homescreens, with a more design-oriented vision coming from Samsung, rather than an insane widget sandbox.
Like other late-2013 Samsung phones and tablets, the Tab 10.1 and Note 3, the new tablets have a faux leather back, a home-key, touch-buttons, a plastic silver rim, and are 8mm thin. Weight increases with size of the screen.
Alongside the tablets Samsung will be releasing a number of accessories, including a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, however there isn’t a laptop-style dock as you might expect. It will also bundle at least $700 worth of subscriptions – including the New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Dropbox and Evernote. These will depend on the region, however.
The tablets should ship Q1 2014 worldwide. Images can be found below – the first is the Galaxy TabPro, and the second is the Galaxy NotePro.
UPDATED [Terence Huynh]: Samsung Australia has released a statement when the NotePRO and TabPRO will be available in Australia. “We look forward to offering Australians a wider range of tablet devices in 2014 starting with the launch of the new GALAXY NotePRO and TabPRO tablets in this market from March 2014,” Todd Lynton, Samsung Australia’s Director of Information Technology and Digital Imaging, said in a statement.
Pricing details and further news will be made in the coming weeks, according to Samsung Australia.