The Galaxy Tab Active 3, which Samsung launched in Europe and Asia in September, is now headed to the US. It’s an 8-inch Android tablet that’s positioned as more of a business-to-business product and comes with a protective cover for companies that want something both lightweight and durable.
This follows up the Tab Active 2 and adds WiFi 6 capabilities as well as a programmable key on the side that you can customize to launch your favorite app. This, as well as the volume buttons on the device’s right side, was easy to press despite being encased in the rigid cover. That protective sleeve, by the way, will keep your Tab safe even if it falls from up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) high. That’s an improvement over the last model’s 1.2-meter guarantee. Our demo unit was chained to a desk, so I didn’t test this claim out, and we’ll have to take Samsung’s word for it for now. The Active 3 also meets IP68 and MIL-STD-810H standards for dust and water resistance as well as military-grade durability.
Samsung also added its DeX software to this year’s Tab Active which will let you cast its contents to a larger display and connect peripherals like keyboards and mice for easier controI. This is also the first Tab Active to support Galaxy Enterprise Edition and Knox Suite for security and other IT software.
The display is clear and bright. Like most of Samsung’s rugged devices, the Tab has physical buttons navigation buttons below the screen for easier interaction. But the company also said it tuned the display to be more sensitive so you can tap and swipe on it with gloves on too. There are also POGO pins on the side for worksites that require that connection. For those who want to dock the tablet in a kiosk or a vehicle, there’s also a No-battery mode available. Plus, the Active 3’s 5,050mAh battery is removable so you can simply pop in a new cell when you run low instead of having to wait for it to recharge.
The Galaxy Tab Active 3 runs One UI 2.5 based on Android 10 and is the first U.S. tablet to be Enterprise Edition-ready out of the box, which gives administrators access to a suite of workforce management tools. It will also support up to three generations of OS updates, and the Android 11 update will introduce the tablet as one of Samsung’s Android Enterprise Recommended (AER) devices.
The Galaxy Tab Active 3 is available in the U.S. starting today and can be found on Samsung’s website and various distribution channels. The WiFi-only model retails for $489.99, while the LTE model can be picked up for $589.99.
