The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G is a ruggedized tablet with outstanding performance and connection that is made to survive challenging settings. The Tab Active5 5G is aimed at professionals working in manufacturing, logistics, and field services, and it seems to be a flexible tool for productivity on the road. We examine the main characteristics, robustness, functionality, and general user experience of the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G in this review.
Table of Contents
The Galaxy Tab Active5 5G’s release is long overdue, having been delayed since Samsung released its Galaxy Tab S5e predecessor in 2019. This is a redesign of the smaller Galaxy Tab design, as the name “Active” indicates, to produce a powerful and light tablet in a 9-inch form factor.
With an excellent feature set, this tablet is positioned as Samsung’s hardest to date. It is a strong gadget that, in comparison to many of the MediaTek-powered rugged tablets we’ve seen in the previous year, seems noticeably lethargic. It is based upon the Samsung Exynos 1380 SoC.
The Active5 can seamlessly stream data and video across Wi-Fi 6e and 5G communications. It also features a 13MP rear camera for taking both still photos and videos.
But the one thing that sets Active5 apart from most of the competition is its user-replaceable battery. This makes it possible to increase the internal battery’s limited capacity, and if the device is powered directly by a car or another power source, it can function even without a battery.
This allows the Active5 to have a comparatively light design that can run on enough extra batteries or a suitable power source for several working days.
Although you can increase the capacity with a MicroSD card up to 1TB, the tablet’s 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage look small for a device that costs more than $500. This is one of the design’s shortcomings. Additionally, as of this writing, Samsung has not launched any accessories or extra batteries. There isn’t a model with greater memory or space.
When Samsung can be bothered to supply them, the Active5 needs these in addition to an external charger and a power cradle in order to be fully usable.
The cost and availability of the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G
This Samsung tablet differs differently from the others in that regard. It isn’t currently offered for sale on the official Samsung gateway, for whatever reason.
It is only available via independent sellers, who are also the only place to get the accessories.
Samsung claims that this tablet is green, but the color is so faint that we mistakenly believed it to be black on the underside, as it is elsewhere.
The Active5 comes in just one version in Europe: the 5G variant, which retails for £509 directly from Samsung in the UK and £515 from Amazon.co.uk.
Customers in America have the choice between a WiFi-only device and a 5G variant, most likely because 5G communications are not available throughout most of that nation.
The Wi-Fi variant costs $547.29 in the US when purchased directly from Amazon.com, while the 5GB model costs $639.77.
In comparison, the Armor Pad 8 from Ulefone costs about $180, the RT6 from Oukitel costs $300, and the R10 from Doogee costs $290. Therefore, there are far less expensive solutions if you’re looking for a tough tablet.
DESIGN OF SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB ACTIVE5 5G
The Active5 offers a refined solution that’s the outcome of all that experience, and its appearance serves as a reminder that Samsung has produced one or two tablets in the past.
If this were a typical Android tablet, we would point out its unremarkable volume rocker and power button combo along with its industry-standard USB-C charging port. This device simply deviates from the norm in that it has a 3.5mm audio connector, a unique user-definable button, and a SIM card slot.
This hardware utilizes eSIM technology, thus accessing this tray is not necessary. The SIM card accepts a single Nano SIM and a MicroSD card.
The fact that the USB port and the 3.5mm jack are not protected by a rubber plug means that the electronics inside won’t burn up if water gets inside. This is another extremely considerate feature.
There are limits to these environmental safeguards, and although the Active5 features a changeable battery, the thin panel covering it is sealed with a rubber gasket to keep out moisture and dust.
The cover panel appears to be poorly constructed, and it has multiple holding clips around the edge that could eventually break if continuously stressed. Despite this, changing the batteries is usually a good idea. Once the tablet’s protective rubber bumper is installed, this cannot be taken off. It can be difficult to take off and put back on, but at least it gives the passive stylus that Samsung sent a carrying place.
It comes as a little surprise that the battery cannot be charged wirelessly, although it may be charged without a physical connection thanks to pogo connectors on one side that appear to be intended for a cradle.
Overall, the Active5 is a tablet that most people will virtually quickly comprehend and work with, despite a few minor annoyances. The custom button’s proximity to the power button made it simple to handle them mixed up, which was our sole complaint.
Hardware for the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G
This tablet’s hardware neatly fits into two different groups. We’ll refer to one as amazing and another as everything but that.
The Samsung Exynos 1380, an incredibly powerful SoC that makes the majority of MediaTek chips used by Chinese phone and tablet manufacturers look very cheap, is at the top of our list of favorite aspects of this tablet.
The performance section will go over this chip’s capabilities, but for the majority of tablet users, it is next-level, and with its integrated 5G communications, it’s undoubtedly the show stealer.
The fact that Samsung only included 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on this computer isn’t even second billing. Additionally, the 128GB of storage space is reduced to just 105GiB prior to the owner installing their first program. This tablet ought to be equipped with additional RAM and storage by default, especially given its price.
The tablet’s battery life appears to be another area that is lacking in information. While a 5050 mAh Li-Po cell might appear adequate for a phone, it’s clearly on the small side for a tablet.
Since this design is intended to be used outdoors, where not every tree has a power outlet, the battery capacity offered here may not last very long if you don’t have access to an external source of recharging.
The Active5’s no-battery mode, which allows it to be powered by an external source—such as a car—replaces the battery as the only advantageous feature.
Cameras: Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G
There are two cameras on the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G:
We don’t know why tablet manufacturers have chosen that, even with 5G technology, tablets should have much worse photo sensors than phones.
The Active5 is no different; in fact, Samsung has gone above and beyond what most other companies have done to make the cameras on this device actually subpar.
Just two sensors are present, one for the front and one for the rear. There is a 5MP selfie sensor on the front and a meager 12.8MP sensor on the back. That is precisely the same specification as the Galaxy A5, a low-cost phone released in 2016 and superseded by a new model in 2017 that Samsung continues to sell for about £80 or $70.
I could go into boring detail about both of these cameras’ shortcomings, but that would be tedious. All you really need to know is that these sensors’ low light performance isn’t very good without the pixel-binning modes that the current models provide.
Nevertheless, it can capture respectable-quality images in well-lit environments, even though the resolution isn’t as fantastic as it may be.
Two benefits of these sensors are that the video sub-system features Widevine L1 encryption, which enables it to obtain the greatest streaming quality from services like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+, and the back 12.8MP camera can capture 4K video at 30 frames per second.
It seems senseless for Samsung to not offer it a better camera when other phones these days have better cameras and more shooting settings than this.
The Galaxy A05s, the least expensive Samsung phone, sports two additional macro and ultrawide photography sensors in addition to its 50MP primary sensor. However, the Active5 is not comparable to that $150 phone.
Conclusion: Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G
The Samsung Exynos 1380 SoC and the removable battery are two excellent features of the Active5. This tablet is appropriate for people who require additional processing power to handle data and graphics locally because of that chip.
Changing the battery is likewise convenient, but prying off the back repeatedly may erode its tough exterior.
But there are some flaws here that are hard to overlook. First, despite wireless charging being a clear way to charge the internal battery and backups, Samsung chose not to offer it. Regarding auxiliary devices, the Active5 was introduced in January. Nevertheless, this model is not available on many of the official Samsung websites, making it difficult to locate replacement batteries or charging cradles that will work with the Pogo pins. I contacted Samsung for an explanation, but we don’t know why this is happening. We received the following response:
Yes, there are a ton of Tab Active5 accessories available. There is a replacement battery and a five-slot battery charger for power, as well as docks that employ pogo pin charging to charge one tablet or five tablets. We offer docks for attaching vehicles and stands/stations for use with cradles in retail settings. Additionally, the device has a “no battery mode” that allows you to turn it off and just use the mains to power it.
The Active5 costs about $640 for the 5G variant in the United States, which is more than twice as much as some rival designs and nearly three times as much as a few. It has less RAM and storage than others, and it can only operate in full rugged mode with the supplied bumper is fitted, which prevents battery swapping until the bumper is taken off.
Some of these concerns might not be as pressing for certain customers if the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G was closer to $400.
A SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB ACTIVE5 5G: SHOULD I BUY ONE?
Attributes
Value
Design
Hardware
Camera
Performance
Overall
Notes
A powerful CPU, 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage and 5G comms doesn’t cost this much.
Light and easy to handle, though the custom button is way too easy to hit unintentionally.
Excellent processor, but the battery is small, and there should have been a 256GB storage option.
Two low-resolution cameras, neither is wonderful
Excellent CPU that makes it twice the speed of a G99-based tablet.
The SoC is probably overpowered, and the price is excessive.
Rating
2.5/5
4/5
4/5
3/5
4.5/5
4/5
Unleashing Productivity: Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G Review
The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 5G is a ruggedized tablet
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