Worth buying the tab S4 now?

[Notefan161]

Kind of want the tab to go with my new S10 plus you think it’s worth buying one now or can we expect to see a tab S5 soon?

 

[ClintRo]

The Tab S5E is already announced and launching soon.... It is a budget version. I purchased the S4 on Swappa just a few weeks back. It runs perfect.

 

[SpookDroid]

If you want an S-Pen, yeah. If you don't, then I'd wait for the 'budget' tablet announced before for this year.

 

[Brew Swayne]

Kind of want the tab to go with my new S10 plus you think it’s worth buying one now or can we expect to see a tab S5 soon?

I'd expect to see a Tab S5 sometime this year, but Sammy is all over the map when it comes to releasing tablets (Tab S4 was Aug 2018, Tab S3 in Apr 2017), so it's hard to guess when they will roll out the next one.

As for whether or not it's worth buying, that's all dependent on what your needs are. I just bought one a few days ago and am trying it out as a chromebook replacement. The early results are promising but I've still got about 11 days to decide.

 

[ClintRo]

I agree with the two comments above... If I didn't want the S-pen I would have waited. Only other concern is the budget processor on the S5e

 

[Notefan161]

Yeah s pen is a must for me

Seeing as there is an s5e would think there would be a regular s5

 

[ClintRo]

I am sure there will be... Just who knows when. If it was soon you would have thought the would have announced it with the S5e

 

[Brew Swayne]

The Tab S4 is barely 8 mo old and there isn't a really high demand for premium Android tablets, so I think it's probably safe to think that there would be 18-24 months between generational releases. So in that regard, if you're considering the Tab S4, I don't think you need to worry about a Tab S5 hitting the market in the short term future.

The S3 to S4 was pretty much 18 months on the nose. But like I said in my previous post, there isn't much historical data to go on in order to try and pinpoint exactly when Sammy will put out a new tablet, so this is all pure speculation on my part. The Tab S5e could just signify the elimination of the Tab A line and might be a step towards streamlining all of their tablets into a single Tab S product line, rather than being some sort of precursor to an upcoming Tab S5 release. Again, I'm just speculating.

 

[Notefan161]

True thanks for your input

Any idea when it's due to get samsung UI? Heard April?

 

[Brew Swayne]

No idea. But I don't keep my ear to the ground for most things because there's just far too much going on in the tech world. Unless there happens to be something that I'm particularly interested in, I just go about my business and when I'm prompted to update, I update. I've only had my Tab S4 for a couple of days now, so I'm still focused on getting familiar with what it currently has. I won't worry about what it doesn't have or what it might get in the future once I decide if I'm going to keep it.

 

[SpookDroid]

True thanks for your input

Any idea when it's due to get samsung UI? Heard April?

April is the 'latest' that's mentioned on roadmaps, but that hasn't been confirmed (although not entirely misinformed either). With staged rollouts and everything, I'd say mid-year at the latest. I don't care much for the One UI (most of the 'useful' features were already on the Tab S4 as it is) as I always end up using Nova, but it's always nice to be updated and as up to date as possible when it comes to security patches.

 

[Notefan161]

Decided to get one, hopefully won't be updated anytime soon yet

 

[ClintRo]

I am pretty sure you will be good for a while... The S4 is still a great device, pretty much handles everything and battery for days.

 

[srgonu]

Looks like a great deal.

https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/t/12917113

 

[srgonu]

I have respect for snapdragon 835 after my note 8. I hope this tablet holds as good and long as note 8. Purchased one and will arrive tomorrow.

 

[Brew Swayne]

I have respect for snapdragon 835 after my note 8. I hope this tablet holds as good and long as note 8. Purchased one and will arrive tomorrow.

I've only had mine for about a week now, but I think this might suit my needs perfectly. I've got a USB C hub with passthrough charging on order right now, so I want to see how well this thing performs with an external hard drive connected, but if that goes well then I'll be over the top happy with this thing.

 

[Notefan161]

Liking it so far and glad it transfered everything over from my S10 plus

 

[srgonu]

I've only had mine for about a week now, but I think this might suit my needs perfectly. I've got a USB C hub with passthrough charging on order right now, so I want to see how well this thing performs with an external hard drive connected, but if that goes well then I'll be over the top happy with this thing.

Have you tried DeX mode? If so, how are you liking it?

 

[Brew Swayne]

Have you tried DeX mode? If so, how are you liking it?

DeX mode seems decent, but to be honest I've mostly been running in Android mode.

I bought the tablet and the Sammy keyboard case. I also connect my Apple trackpad to it via bluetooth. The trackpad works in both DeX and Android modes.

Since buying the tablet, I'd say that about 95% of my usage has been with the keyboard connected and using Android in landscape mode. The connected trackpad lets me fully navigate with the same swipe and tap gestures as if I were touching the screen. I did test a regular mouse as well, and it works on Android mode, but anything that requires a swiping motion is awkward with a mouse, so I won't be using it again.

I can see DeX being highly functional when you need to quickly navigate back and forth through multiple apps. That's not something I necessarily need on a regular basis since this tablet is 100% for personal use, but I can definitely see how it would be a highly desirable function for people using it for business.

My overall (brief) impression of it is that it's smooth and fluid, though it will take a little getting used to because DeX doesn't support most of the swipe gestures we're all accustomed to. There is no swiping down from the top of the screen for notifications nor is there a multi-page homescreen like Android. You'd think that would be a no brainer and non-issue, but even in DeX mode, my brain still thinks "This a tablet, I should be able to swipe around to see the things I want." So there's probably a slight adjustment period for that.

The downside to DeX is that the app drawer is EXTREMELY cluttered. Every single Android app you've installed is in the app drawer. On the Android side, I hide all the apps I don't use (like icon packs or a clock/weather widget) because I hate clutter and I only want to see the apps that I actually use.

Well, every single app is in the app drawer on the DeX side and they can't be hidden (yet - fingers crossed that gets addressed in a future update). There's also plenty of apps that I don't necessarily need or want to use on DeX, such as games or shopping apps or Netflix. To me, DeX is the "work side" and Android is the "play side" so any app that isn't used for productivity has little value to me on DeX. Not to mention that most of these apps haven't been optimized for DeX so they don't even display properly. You can still create folders in the drawer, so I took everything that I don't think I'll ever use and put them in a single folder to eliminate clutter, but I'm borderline OCD with stuff like this and I'd really just like to hide them and not see them at all. Lol.

All in all though it seems like a really good feature to have, especially if you're looking for a way to remain productive on the go without needing to lug a laptop around with you. I could see someone using it on a plane and writing up a business proposal on the DeX side and then taking a 10 min break and going to the Android side to play quick game of Tetris or something before getting back to work.

 

[Notefan161]

I had no idea the tab s4 could do other profiles for family members. Great bonus