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Alongside the Galaxy Xcover 7, Samsung also launched a new rugged Android tablet. The Galaxy Tab Active 5 arrives as a mid-range rugged tablet targeted at field and frontline workers dealing with daily challenging environments. The device will go on sale later this month.
Galaxy Tab Active 5 is a compact rugged tablet
The Galaxy Tab Active 5 measures 126.8 x 213.8 x 10.1mm in dimension and weighs 433 grams. This makes it a relatively compact tablet. However, Samsung hasn’t compromised on its ruggedness. You get a MIL-STD-810H military standard build with shock resistance to drops of up to 1.8 meters when using the bundled protective case. The case has a holster for keeping the S Pen, so there’s an added benefit of using it.
Speaking of the S Pen, it has a rugged design too. Both the tablet and the stylus pen have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Samsung has also slapped a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top of the display for added protection. The display is an 8-inch TFT panel with a WUXGA resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate. It boasts Touch Sensitivity for increased responsiveness in wet conditions or with gloves.
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Tab Active 5 with a 5nm octa-core processor. It might be the Exynos 1380 that powered the Galaxy A54 and Galaxy Tab S9 FE series last year. The chipset has a peak CPU speed of 2.4GHz. The tablet will be available in 6GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB configurations with microSD card support up to 1TB. You get Samsung Knox security with Samsung Knox Vault, face recognition, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
While the chipset supports 5G cellular connectivity, the Galaxy Tab Active 5 will also be available in a non-cellular (Wi-Fi) version. You get Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, and NFC connectivity on both variants. If you pick the cellular model, you might be able to use two SIMs simultaneously depending on the eSIM availability for your carrier and region. The tablet only supports one physical SIM.
The tablet works without a battery too
The Galaxy Tab Active 5 packs a 5,050mAh user-replaceable battery that charges via a USB Type-C port as well as a Pogo Pin. However, it can run without a battery too. The No Battery Mode bypasses the battery and directly sends the power to the device. It requires a USB-C power accessory supporting 9V, 2.3A or above, and PD 2.0 or above. The idea is to prolong the battery life when the device is used non-stop at kiosks or in vehicles.
The new rugged tablet has a 13MP rear-facing camera with LED flash. It supports quick barcode scanning via Knox Capture. There’s also a 5MP selfie camera here. Other known specs and features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, Dolby Atmos audio, GPS, a customizable Active Key, Android 14, and a wide range of built-in sensors, including accelerometer, geomagnetic, gyro, light, hall, and proximity sensor.
Price & availability
The Galaxy Tab Active 5 will be available in Europe later this month. Samsung has priced the Wi-Fi version at €479 and the 5G version at €579 in Germany. In Switzerland, the tablet starts at 449 Swiss Franc (CHF), equivalent to €482 or $528. The Korean firm hasn’t shared price and availability details for other markets such as the US. We will let you know when we have more information.
