Samsung is readying a refreshed line of 'Tab' tablets for launch at the MWC 2014 in Barcelona later this month. According to leaked details appearing on MySamsungPhones (via VR Zone) there will be 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.1-inch versions of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 launched at the mobile trade show. Each tablet is available in one of three variants depending upon its Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity – Wi-Fi, 3G or LTE.
Three artistes
The new Tab lineup uses codenames from famous French painters. Let's start by a look at the smallest of the new tablets, the Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 'Degas'. Looking at the key specs supplied by MySamsungPhones, which supplies a handy comparison chart, there aren't a lot of updates in this refresh. The main differences are that the new tablet gets a quad-core rather than dual-core processor and a more capacious battery but manages to get a bit smaller and thinner. However there is 16g weight gained to 320g. Android KitKat is the OS.
Now turning to the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 'Millet', we see similarly uninspiring small tweaks and changes. From the comparison table it seems like the processor has got slower in raw MHz terms but is now a quad-core rather than dual-core part. Again the battery is boosted but this time by a good 50 per cent. If the leaked tabular data is correct however the main camera is downgraded from 5MP to 3MP in the 8-inch Galaxy Tab 4.
Click to zoom these spec comparisons
The largest member of the new Tab 4 range is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 'Matisse'. It has been tweaked, again, from a dual-core to quad-core processor albeit at a slower clock speed. This 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 pixel screened Android KitKat tablet doesn't get a battery upgrade but sticks with the same 6,800mAh unit of its predecessor. A positive change is that the previous model's 3MP camera is boosted to 8MP. Also notable is the weight of this 10.1-incher which is reportedly vastly reduced from 510g to 320g - very light for a big tablet – the scale of this change sounds particularly iffy.
Intel outside
We don't have any pricing indications to see how these refreshed parts will be positioned in the cut-throat Android tablet market. Also it will be fascinating to see what the confirmed processors will be in these new Tab 4 devices as it is rumoured that they will all shift away from using Intel chips and back to the arms of ARM (Exynos).
