Unlike smartphones and smartwatches, Samsung hasn’t historically maintained an annual launch cycle for its flagship Android tablets. The Galaxy Tab S7 series arrived in August 2020 while the Galaxy Tab S8 came alongside the Galaxy S22 in February last year.
The Galaxy S23 came and went earlier this month without a new Samsung tablet. The Korean firm has reportedly delayed the Galaxy Tab S9 series due to weak demand. However, the company will launch new flagship tablets sooner or later, and we’re hearing that they will boast an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.
Despite being rather costly, Samsung’s flagship tablets have always lacked an official IP (ingress protection) rating. The devices are built pretty sturdy, but the company never took a step further to add dust and water resistance to them. At least not in the official capacity.
This has been a big letdown considering that the Galaxy Tab lineup is quite powerful and mostly unmatched in the flagship Android tablet space. Samsung even made its foldables water-resistant a couple of years back, but not its tablets. Well, it has an “Active” line of mid-range rugged tablets with an IP68 rating. But we are talking about flagships here.
Unsurprisingly, flagship Galaxy tablet customers have been asking for dust and water resistance for a long time, as many use the devices outdoors for work or other purposes. It appears Samsung is finally listening to them and adding an official IP rating to the Galaxy Tab S9 series.
Sources have told SamMobile that the next-gen models will ship with an IP67 certification. While that’s a marginally weaker protection against water than an IP68 rating found on most other Galaxy devices, something is better than nothing. Hopefully, Samsung will not change its mind as it progresses with the development of the new tablets.
The Galaxy Tab S9 series may launch in the second half of 2023
February is coming to an end and there have hardly been any rumors about the Galaxy Tab S9 series yet. This may very well be the first notable information we have heard about the new Samsung tablets. If anything, this suggests the devices are still quite far from a launch. We likely won’t see the Korean firm unveil them before the second half of this year.
It will probably unveil the Galaxy Tab S9 series alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldables and Galaxy Watch 6 series smartwatches sometime in August 2023. The Galaxy S23 FE may also debut around the same time. Stay tuned for more information about these Samsung devices.
2023-02-24 15:08:41