Samsung's Rugged Galaxy Tab Active 5 With A Removable Battery Lands In The US
It took a little over a month (since being announced), but Samsung's Galaxy Tab Active 5 with "military-grade durability" is now available to purchase. The durable tablet comes bundled with a protective case that, according to Samsung, allows it to withstand drops from 1.8 meters (around 5.9 feet). It's also water and dust resistant, with Samsung claiming it can survive submersion in up to 1.5 meters (~4.92 feet) of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
As you might have guessed, the Galaxy Tab Active 5 is not really intended for the average consumer, and instead takes aim at adventure seekers and businesses that need to deploy a tablet out the field, like a construction site or in a factory. It's not just about durability, though.
"Samsung’s ruggedized devices are also designed to maximize productivity and make fieldwork streamlined and efficient. Increased speaker volume limits confusion on job sites by ensuring accurate hearing. Programmable keys enable shortcuts and improved productivity, and quick barcode scanning via Knox Capture streamlines operations for warehouse work or mobile points of sale (mPOS)," Samsung explains.
The Galaxy Tab Active 5 features an 8-inch display with a 1920x1200 resolution (16:10 aspect ratio) and 120Hz refresh rate, the latter of which is an upgraded over the previous iteration's 60Hz refresh rate. It's powered by Samsung's Exynos 1380 octa-core processor built on a 5-nanometer node (same as found in the Galaxy A54 5G), 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage space that users can expand to 1TB with an external SD card.
Other features include a 5-megapixel front camera (f/2.2), 13-megapixel wide-angle lens on the rear (f/1.9, flash), Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, optional 5G cellular support (unlocked model), 3.5mm audio jack, and a removable battery.
That latter bit is desirable selling point and one that is mostly unique on tablets (and smartphones). The tablet's 5,050 mAh battery comes with support for POGO charging. There's also a No Battery Mode that lets users continue operating the tablet without a battery installed, though it doesn't work by magic—the caveat is it needs to be plugged in to a power source (via USB-C).
Samsung's Galaxy Tab Active 5 is available now in the US in two trims—the Wi-Fi model for $548.99 and the unlocked/cellular model for $658.99.
