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Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 vs Apple iPad Air: specs comparison

By Michael Heller

Published: Jun 13, 2014, 1:32 AM

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 vs Apple iPad Air: specs comparison

Samsung has just announced its newest flagship tablets (that don't include S Pen styluses), so we naturally want to see how the new Galaxy Tab S devices stack up to the current competition. This one focuses on the larger display category, and that means it is time for a specs battle between the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and the Apple iPad Air.

The big focus of the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 was in the dimensions and the display, with both changes aimed squarely at the iPad Air. Samsung was able to build a tablet that has a larger display with a higher resolution than the iPad Air, while still making the table thinner and (just barely) lighter. Maybe even more impressive is that the Galaxy Tab S doesn't have a footprint all that much bigger than the Air, even though its display is 0.8 inches larger. If you can get past Samsung's usual plastic backing materials, that could make for an impressive tablet.

Unsurprisingly, the other internals of the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 (SoC, RAM, etc) look far more impressive on paper, but we'll have to wait and see how the device performs in real world conditions, because Samsung's software additions tend to cause performance issues.

For this comparison, we've also added in the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1, which was released back in February and is the most direct predecessor to the new Tab S 10.5.


Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5	Apple iPad Air	Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1

Design

Dimensions
9.74 x 6.98 x 0.26 inches 247.3 x 177.3 x 6.6 mm	9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 inches 240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm	9.57 x 6.75 x 0.29 inches 243.1 x 171.4 x 7.3 mm
Weight
16.47 oz / 467.0 g	16.86 oz / 478.0 g	16.54 oz / 469.0 g
Materials
	Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (swipe)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
	Right: Volume control, Other
Colors
Black, White	Black, Gray, Silver, White	White

Display

Size
10.5-inch, 72.88% screen-to-body	9.7-inch, 71.65% screen-to-body	10.1-inch, 70.97% screen-to-body
Type
Super AMOLED	IPS LCD	Super Clear LCD
Resolution
1600x2560px, 288 PPI	1536x2048px, 264 PPI	1600x2560px, 299 PPI
Colors
16 777 216	16 777 216	16 777 216
Features
	Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor

Hardware

System chip
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420	Apple A7	Snapdragon 800 MSM8974
Processor
Octa-core 1900 MHz ARM Cortex-A15 and ARM Cortex-A7	Dual-core 1400 MHz Cyclone	Quad-core 2300 MHz Krait 400
GPU
Mali-T628 MP6	PowerVR G6430	Adreno 330
Memory
3GB (LPDDR3)/32GB 3GB/16GB	1GB (LPDDR3)/128GB 1GB/16GB 1GB/32GB 1GB/64GB 1GB/128GB	2GB (LPDDR3)/32GB 2GB/16GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 128 GB		microSDXC up to 64 GB
OS
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.2)	iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x)	Android (4.4)

Battery

Type
7900 mAh	8820 mAh, Li - Polymer	8220 mAh

Camera

Rear
Single camera	Single camera	Single camera
Main camera
8 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)	5 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.4 Focal length: 33 mm	8 MP (Autofocus)
Flash
LED		LED
Video recording
1080p (30 fps)	1080p (30 fps) Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling	1080p Video calling
Front
2.1 MP	1.2 MP Video capture: 720p (30 fps)	2 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0	4.0	4.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac	a,b,g,n,dual-band Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n	a,b,g,n,dual-band,ac Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0	Lightning	microUSB, USB 2.0
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Ambient light sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor
HDMI
Yes		Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass	A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Other
Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync	Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop	Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, ANT+, Infrared

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack	3.5mm jack	3.5mm jack
Speakers
Multiple speakers	Multiple speakers	Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback	Album art cover, Background playback	Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
MHL	TV-out	Wireless screen share,MHL,TV-out
Additional microphone(s)
	Yes

Cellular

4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
3G Bands
5, 8, 2, 1	5, 8, 2, 1	5, 8, 2, 1
Data Speed
LTE	LTE, HSPA, UMTS	LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Micro SIM	Nano SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Flight mode, Silent mode	Flight mode, Silent mode	Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice commands, Voice recording	Voice commands, Voice recording	Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
	Date approved: Oct 22, 2013 FCC ID value: BCGA1475
Measured SAR
	Body: 1.19 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.33 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Jun 12, 2014	Oct 22, 2013	Jan 06, 2014
Prices (MSRP)
	$929

See the full Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 vs Apple iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 specs comparison or compare them to other phones using our Phone Comparison tool

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Michael Heller is known for his clear and informative articles on mobile technology. He explores important topics such as the rollouts of 5G networks and the advancements in mobile payments, offering readers insights into the evolving tech landscape.