If the "iPad Pro" - the rumored 12-inch+ sized Apple tablet - is truly in development, it looks like Samsung got there first. Today at the Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung Electronics announced its PRO lineup of Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab slates, including a 12.2-inch Galaxy NotePRO.
Bigger screens, higher specs, and full-sized USB ports are among the selling points for high-end electronics buyers in Samsung's new PRO lineup, which it showed off at CES in Las Vegas today. The Galaxy NotePRO comes in only 12.2-inch, while the TabPRO lineup comes in 12.2 inches, 10.1 inches, and 8.4 inches.
"We created the Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO series to kick-off a year in which Samsung truly establishes its leadership in the tablet market," said JK Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics. "This new line offers the best-in-class content consumption and productivity, combining a stunning viewing experience with Samsung's design legacy. The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO truly demonstrate our commitment to providing our customers with extraordinarily versatile product offerings, tailored to tablet users of every description."
Samsung is already a popular brand for tablets, having recently beaten Apple for the top spot in JD Power's 2013 Tablet rankings. But despite getting a perfect score in overall customer satisfaction, Samsung has lagged behind Apple in categories like performance, ease of use, and design. The new PRO line may be Samsung's stab at creating an Android experience so rich and flexible that it can take on Apple in these other categories.
Upsized: Galaxy NotePRO 12.2
Both the Galaxy NotePRO and largest TabPRO come with the world's first 12.2-inch WQXGA Widescreen display, according to Samsung's release. The display gets an incredibly dense 2560 x 1600p resolution for Full HD on a large screen tablet.
The Galaxy NotePRO comes with a quad core Exynos 5 processor for the WiFi-only variant, and a 2.3GHz quad core Snapdragon 800 for LTE. It comes with Android 4.4 KitKat pre-loaded, along with the Samsung TouchWiz UI seen in the Galaxy Note 3 with its upgraded multitasking S Pen software like Air Command, Action Memo, and Scrapbook (along with an S Pen, of course). All of these tabs are styled like the Galaxy Note 3, by the way, with its faux-leather and edge stitching.
Samsung's UI layer may be annoying to some Android purists, but the company's Multi-window mode is perfect for such a large screen. Speaking of software, Samsung says it is bundling about $700 worth of pre-paid or long term subscriptions including Evernote and LinkedIn.
Other specs include an 8-megapixel camera (2-megapixel front-facing), 3GB of RAM, a full sized USB 3.0 port, a microSD card slot, a 9,500 mAh battery, and a choice of 32 or 64GB internal storage.
Galaxy TabPRO Line: 12.2, 10.1, and 8.4
The Galaxy TabPRO 12.2 is essentially the same thing as the NotePRO, minus the S Pen stylus and its accompanying software. It comes with that huge Full HD display and the same cameras, Android version, processor options, RAM, internal storage, and battery.
The TabPRO 10.1 and 8.4-inch tablets include most of the specifications of the 12.2 as well.
Both include a 2560 x 1600p WQXGA high definition screen in their respective sizes, and 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processors for the LTE versions. The main difference is 2GB of RAM instead of 3GB, lowered storage options of 16/32GB, and an understandably smaller battery size for each. Also, the full-sized USB port is USB 2.0 in these smaller options.
Samsung is releasing the tablets in Asia in early 2014, with other markets undoubtedly following. No word yet on pricing, though expect these tablets to cost appreciably more than their older Samsung counterparts.