Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 review: A rugged tablet built for frontline work

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 was in the first place announced in spill 2020 and is the follow-up to 2017 ’ s Galaxy Tab Active 2 — one of the most democratic rugged tablets for business. building on the invention political orientation of the former Tab Active devices, the Galaxy Tab Active 3 focuses on broken portability and general productivity. But is Samsung ’ s latest active tablet worth the $ 489 asking price ? Let ’ s prima donna into Android Authority ’ s Galaxy Tab Active 3 inspection .
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3

$ 489.99 at Samsung About this Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 review: I used the Galaxy Tab Active 3 with 64GB storage on Wi-Fi only for seven days running One UI version 2.5 on Android 10. The inspection unit was provided to Android Authority by Samsung Canada.

What you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 Home Screen 2 Chase Bernath / Android Authority

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 (4GB/64GB): $489/£539/€499

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 is a broken tablet designed to meet the needs of fluid workers. It brings rear many key capabilities of the Tab Active 2 — including its military-grade design, enhanced partake for function with gloves, and a replaceable battery — and adds newly innovations such as a programmable key, Wi-Fi 6/MIMO connectivity, and Samsung wireless DeX support. The device ships with an admit protective case in the box allowing it to withstand drops of up to 1.5 meters. It besides comes with an S Pen which, like the device itself, is IP68 rated for water and dust protection .
Related : The best android tablets of 2021 The third generation of the Galaxy Tab Active series comes with a couple of key spec upgrades over its harbinger. It ships with the octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 1,920 ten 1,200 LCD display. It besides now has 64GB of starting storage, with the option to add in a microSD menu for more outer space. The Galaxy Tab Active 3 is available in North America with a startle price of $ 489.99 for the Wi-Fi-only version and $ 589.99 for the LTE model. It comes in a one black colorway. It is besides available to buy in Europe and blue-ribbon markets in Asia .

How is the design?

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 water drops Chase Bernath / Android Authority Samsung focused on utility when designing its Active series tablets. The massive screen bezels and gawky credit card chassis on the Galaxy Tab Active 3 are evocative of the original Galaxy Tab from over a decade ago. however, the design enables the device to excel at its main objectives : lastingness and productiveness. With the include shock assimilation character attached, the device has a military standard MIL-STD-810H denounce ( the more rigorous successor to MIL-STD-810G ) to survive drops of up to 1.5 meters. It besides has an IP68 military rank meet to survive scatter, dirt, and urine submergence at a depth of 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes .
The design enables the device to excel at its main finish : lastingness. The Galaxy Tab Active 3 besides has a couple of neat features that frontline workers will appreciate. A hotkey push button on the side of the device can be mapped to cursorily launch your most significant apps with either a single water faucet or long-press. There are besides physical home buttons on the bottom of the device and a high touch-sensitive modality allowing for consumption when wearing gloves. The S Pen fits snugly into the circus tent of the case, and I found it works big for signatures, filling out forms, or taking notes on the go. One likely area of concern to note is the lack of flaps to protect the charge and earphone ports from getting soil and moisture stuck inside. This is a raw material design have of most broken devices and cases, and while I didn ’ thymine come into any problems during my screen time period, it could become debatable for long-run lastingness .

How powerful is the Galaxy Tab Active 3?

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 wood log Chase Bernath / Android Authority You won ’ thyroxine find the latest flagship spectacles on the Galaxy Tab Active 3, but it does have enough processing power to make it through most casual tasks. Reading the specification sheet on the Galaxy Tab Active 3 took us on a stumble down memory lane, with most of the operation specifications resembling the Galaxy S9 that Samsung released over three years ago. placid, unless you plan on doing real number heavy multitasking or running CPU-intensive applications, you likely won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate run into performance slowdowns on the device. I never experienced any hiccups when browsing the web, writing emails, or switching between multiple apps. The front and buttocks cameras on the device perform capital for scanning items or taking agile shots on the go. The pad besides supports Google ARCore to enable augment reality experiences and services. 4G LTE will be appreciated by anyone who needs internet connectivity on the sound, although the lack of 5G documentation is a bit detectable for a mobile device in this price scope in 2021 .
The three-year-old Exynos 9810 CPU shows its age when you have multiple tabs on the go but it ‘s a absolutely capable performer for everyday tasks. The software experience international relations and security network ’ t besides far off from stock Android, with Samsung One UI adding some extra productiveness features. You won ’ thyroxine get entree to desktop-class applications on an Android pill like you would on a Windows alternative, though there are batch more fluid applications available in the Google Play shop. A long-standing issue with Android tablets is the miss of app optimization for the larger screen size on tablets, though most major applications ran smoothly on the Galaxy Tab Active 3.

The Galaxy Tab Active 3 besides has Samsung DeX digest, which enables users to connect the pad to a keyboard and monitor for a PC-like setup. This feature works great for showcasing content from your pill on a larger display, but don ’ t expect the pill to replace your main calculator for any serious work. That three-year-old Exynos 9810 CPU with entirely 4GB of RAM in truth starts to show its age when you have multiple tabs on the belong .

How is the battery life?

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 Battery Chase Bernath / Android Authority The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 has a couple of tricks up its sleeve so you ’ ll never have to worry about running out of world power. The tablet ships with a 5,050mAh battery, which is adequate to closely might the device through an eight-hour shift with typical manipulation. fortunately, you can pop off the back covering of the pill to quickly swap out the battery for a in full charged one when needed. There ’ mho besides 15W fast charging available via the USB-C port or POGO connection. If you plan on using the device all day away from a world power mercantile establishment, I would recommend picking up a bare barrage so you can swap it on the go. Keep in mind though that taking the protective case off the device every time you want to swap the barrage is a bite of a pain. If you plan on using the pad in a fixed position and connected to a charger, the Galaxy Tab Active 3 can function without a battery installed. While I personally didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate find a use for this feature, I could see it being valuable for clientele with multiple Galaxy Tab Active 3 devices, as you could take out the batteries in stationary devices to use as spares for ones out in the field .

Anything else?

  • Biometrics: The Galaxy Tab Active 3 comes with face detection and a front-facing fingerprint reader. The face detection only uses the front camera without an additional 3D sensor, but collects several frames to verify. A “faster recognition” mode only checks for one frame, allowing for easier unlocks at the risk of less security.
  • Security: Samsung Knox allows businesses to set software restrictions and controls on the device.
  • Display: While not as vivid as the OLED panels on flagship Samsung devices, the 8-inch LCD display is bright enough to be used in most outdoor environments.
  • Audio: The speakers on the Galaxy Tab Active 3 are underwhelming, both quieter and with less bass than even most smartphone speakers. Luckily, there is a 3.5mm headphone on the bottom to connect to speakers or other audio devices.
  • Software updates: Samsung recently started rolling out Android 11 with One UI 3.0 to Galaxy Tab Active 3 devices in Europe, with availability expanding to more countries soon. Samsung also announced that all Galaxy devices released since 2019 will receive a minimum of four years of security updates.

Galaxy Tab Active 3 specs

Galaxy Tab Active 3Display
8.0″ 1920 x 1200
PLS TFT LCD
Chipset
Samsung Exynos 9810
Octa-core 2.7GHz + 1.7GHz
LTE Support
4G FDD LTE
RAM / Storage
4GB / 64GB
Security
Knox Suite Biometric Authentication (Face Recognition, Fingerprint Scanner)
Camera
Rear: 13 MP
Front: 5 MP

Ports
USB 3.1 Gen 1
Pogo Pin
Sensors
Accelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor
Wireless Connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4G+5GHz, HE80, MIMO, 1024-QAM Wi-Fi Direct
OS
Android 10.0
GPS
GPS + Glonass + Beidou +Galileo
Dimensions and Weight
126.8 x 213.8 x 9.9mm, 426g(Wi-Fi) / 429g(LTE)
Battery Capacity
5,050mAh, User Replaceable
Durability
IP68 Water and Dust Resistance, 1.5m Anti-shock with inbox protective cover, MIL-STD-810H

Value and competition

Samsung Tab Active3 PR main1F Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 is a furrowed tablet designed to meet the needs of a mobile worker. It features MIL-STD-810H and IP68 protection, equally well as an enhance touch mode for use with gloves and the ability to be used without a battery. $ 489.99 at Samsung At a get down price of closely $ 500, it would be hard to call the Galaxy Tab Active 3 a value buy based entirely on the specification listed above. however, this tablet appropriately fills a very specific role for a recess market of frontline workers and comes in at a reasonable monetary value compared to the competition. If you ’ re matter to in the Galaxy Tab Active 3, then the Galaxy Tab Active 2 and Galaxy Tab Active Pro are worth a search. The devices share a closely identical design to the Galaxy Tab Active 3, with the Pro offering a larger 10.1-inch expose for a higher starting price of $ 599.99, while the older Tab Active 2 can nowadays be found on sale for arsenic low as $ 300. however, both tablets are less durable and powerful than the newfangled Active 3, and miss out on some performance features such as the programmable key and the ability to be used without a barrage .
See also: The best bum Android tablets While Samsung is the biggest musician in the Android pad outer space, there are some other rugged pad options that may better suit your needs. Vanquisher offers an 8-inch tablet with an integrate barcode scanner for $ 599.99, but it lacks biometric security sensors and the battery flexibility of the Galaxy Tab Active 3. At the top end of the market is the Panasonic Toughbook A3, which offers a configurable appliance area with a double hot-swap battery design, but at a hefty price of over $ 2,000. Outside of Android, the iPad Mini 5 from Apple offers more far-flung third-party support and integrations in a like form component and price luff as the Galaxy Tab Active 3. For desktop-class programs and applications, check out a Windows-based furrowed pill option such as the MobileDemand Flex 10B. Any of these devices can be used with a stylus, though none offer the integration of the S Pen with Samsung One UI. If you ’ ra looking for a rugged tablet for kids, you ’ re better off picking up an Amazon Fire Tablet for Kids for a divide of the price. due to the work-centric features, the Galaxy Tab Active 3 merely international relations and security network ’ thymine a great suit for little ones .

Galaxy Tab Active 3 review: The verdict

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 Straight On 1 Chase Bernath / Android Authority Durability and productiveness are the cornerstones of the Samsung Tab Active series, and the Galaxy Tab Active 3 continues to excel in these areas. The improved military-grade protection, programmable key, and ability to be used without a battery lend impressive versatility and functionality to the device. even though its spectacles become more outdated with each passing day, the Galaxy Tab Active 3 has adequate power to deliver on most of the daily tasks you could demand of it. Compared to other tablets in its class, it offers good value for your money, particularly if you can pick it up at a bulk or discounted rate .
Durability and productiveness are the cornerstones of the Samsung Tab Active series, and the Galaxy Tab Active 3 continues to excel in these areas The Galaxy Tab Active 3 is a desirable successor to previous genesis rugged tablet devices from Samsung. The military-grade stamina, S Pen, and battery versatility help the device to stand out as a true workhorse. Chances are you already know whether or not this tablet is for you. If you ’ re a frontline worker, business owner, or if any of the singular professional features of the device made you go “ I need that, ” then don ’ thymine hesitate to pick up the Galaxy Tab Active 3 — you won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be disappointed .

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