UPDATED 03:27 EDT / AUGUST 13 2015

NEWS

8” Galaxy Tab S2 vs. rumored iPad mini 4: Design, specs, price, and more

When Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced its new Galaxy Tab S2 consumer tablet lineup last month, we immediately recognized that the new offerings will compete directly with rival Apple’s iPad lineup.

With that in mind, we compared the 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S2 to the iPad Air 2 and the 8-inch Galaxy Tab S2 to the iPad mini 3.

But, with rumors suggesting Apple’s new iPad mini, the iPad mini 4, might hit the market later this year, the Galaxy Tab S2 8-inch is more likely to compete with the newest small-screen iPad around. But how does it stack up?

8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 vs. Apple iPad mini 4:

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 4: While the height and width are likely to remain unchanged at 200mm x 134.7 mm, the iPad mini 4 is rumored to match the thinness of the iPad Air 2, at just 6.1 millimeters thick. No specific are available on the expected weight, but a thinner device will likely be a lighter device in both Wi-Fi and LTE versions. Apple should stick to the same 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 4: 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 with the addition of full laminate with the same anti-reflective coating seen on the iPad Air 2.

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 4: Rumors suggest the iPad 4 mini will support split-screen mode in iOS 9, therefore it is likely to ship with Apple’s A8X chip with 2GB of RAM to handle the functionality.

Storage

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

iPad mini 4: Apple will likely stick to the same 16GB, 64GB and 128GB versions, with 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 4: 1.2MP FaceTime Camera with 720p HD video capability, an upgraded 8MP iSight camera with autofocus, face detection, backside illumination, five-element lens, HDR photos, Panorama feature, burst mode, 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 4: No changes from the iPad mini 3 expected here: 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 4: Touch ID, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor. Apple might add a barometer to match the iPad Air 2’s sensors.

Operating System

Galaxy Tab S2: Android 5.0 Lollipop

iPad mini 4: iOS 9

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 4: It’s too early to speculate on price but given the increase in performance, pricing might increase slightly over current models.

Image via Samsung

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