Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on Monday announced its new Galaxy Tab S2 consumer tablet. Available in two screen sizes, 8-inch and 9.7-inch, Samsung bills the Galaxy Tab S2 as its “thinnest and lightest tablet of its size ever.”

As Samsung’s new tablet is set to compete directly with offerings from rival Apple when it goes on sale in August, we compare the 8-inch Galaxy Tab S2 to Apple’s slightly smaller-screen, but heavier, iPad mini 3 below.

8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 vs. Apple iPad mini 3:

Design and dimensions

Galaxy Tab S2: 134.8mm x 198.6mm x 5.6mm, with the Wi-Fi-only model weighing 265g and the Wi-Fi and LTE version weighing 272g, all metal frame and – judging by Samsung’s product images – available in standard black or white.

iPad mini 3: 200mm x 134.7 mm x 7.5 mm, the iPad is heavier than the Galaxy, with the Wi-Fi-only model weighing 331g and the Wi-Fi and LTE version weighing 341g, anodized aluminum unibody, available in Apple’s signature Silver, Gold, Space Gray.

Display

Galaxy Tab S2: 8-inch 2048 x 1536 (QXGA) Super AMOLED displays, unknown pixel density at this point.

iPad mini 3: 7.9‑inch LED‑backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology, 2048 x 1536 resolution at 326 pixels per inch (ppi), Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

Processor

Galaxy Tab S2: Exynos 5433 SoC with four Cortex A57 cores at 1.9GHz, and four Cortex A53 cores at 1.3GHz with 3GB of RAM

iPad mini 3: A7 chip with 64‑bit architecture (Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone [ARM v8-based]), 1GB of RAM and M7 motion coprocessor.

Storage

Galaxy Tab S2: 32GB and 64GB versions both with microSD up to 128GB.

iPad mini 3: Available in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB versions, no microsSD.

Camera

Galaxy Tab S2: 8MP AF rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, QHD video recording (2560 x 1440) @30 fps and UHD video playback (3840 x 2160) @ 30fps.

iPad mini 3: 1.2MP FaceTime Camera with 720p HD video capability, 5MP iSight camera with autofocus, face detection, backside illumination, five-element lens, HDR photos, Panorama feature, Hybrid IR filter, 1080p HD video recording with time-lapse video feature, 3x video zoom, video stabilization, and tap to focus while recording.

Battery

Galaxy Tab S2: 4,000mAh (no further details at time of writing).

iPad mini 3: Built-in 23.8-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video or listening to music.

Sensors

Galaxy Tab S2: Accelerometer, Finger Scanner, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall Sensor, RGB Sensor.

iPad mini 3: Touch ID, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor.

Operating System

Galaxy Tab S2: Android 5.0 Lollipop

iPad mini 3: iOS 8, with a free upgrade to iOS 8.4 currently available.

Price

Galaxy Tab S2: Samsung has not released pricing yet, but we expect it to be in the region of $399 to $499 – similar to the outgoing Galaxy Tab S.

iPad mini 3: Ranging from $399 for the 16GB, Wi-Fi only model to $729 for the 128GB Wi-Fi and Cellular model.

Image via Samsung Mobile Press