Samsung’s popular Galaxy Tab S series is getting more affordable. No, Samsung didn’t release another edition of the series. Instead, the tablet lineup is getting a price adjustment. The prices are taking effect starting on April 9, 2024.
The Galaxy Tab S series has been one of the mainstays of Android’s growing tablet market. Samsung’s flagship tablet series has been pushing boundaries with new functionalities, better hardware and, most recently, even better build materials. The Tab S9, S9+ and S9 Ultra were launched not long ago in July 2023 and continue to be the company’s flagship tablets. The tablets offer a compelling set of features including IP68 dust and water resistance and Samsung’s hallmark S Pen. Just recently, Samsung announced the Tab S9 FE which brings together the most compelling features of the Tab S9 series at an even more affordable price point.
The new pricing for the series sees Samsung reducing prices by up to RM300 across the board. The new pricing brings the entry point for one of Samsung’s flagship tablets to below the RM2000 threshold with the WiFi version of the Tab S9 FE (128GB).
Starting April 9, 2024, these are the prices of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series:
Product
Recommended Retail Price (Before)
Recommended Retail Price (New)
Galaxy Tab S9 5G with Book Cover Keyboard (256GB)
RM4,849
RM4,549
Galaxy Tab S9 with Book Cover Keyboard WiFi (256GB)
Samsung announced its brand new Galaxy A series only weeks ago. One of the biggest upgrades when it comes to the Galaxy A55 is its system on a chip (SoC)- the Exynos 1480. However, there wasn’t much known about the SoC until now. The new Exynos 1480 is Samsung’s Foundry’s new midrange hero when it comes to processors.
The new processor is built using Samsung’s new 4nm process. This has resulted in the processor being more power efficient and also more power than the Exynos 1380 before it. The new 1480 is an octacore comes with a new configuration of four Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.75GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0GHz. This setup of four performance cores (Cortex-A78) and four efficiency cores (Cortex-A55) allows the processor to deliver better performance at lower power drains and also keep base power drains at lower level than before. This lends itself to better battery life and better overall performance.
The Exynos 1480 is Samsung’s first midrange Exynos chip to come with the Xclipse graphics system. The Xclipse 530 GPU on the SoC uses AMD’s RDNA architecture. Although, it’s not clear if it’s using RDNA2 or RDNA3 as the website only states that its using the “latest mobile RDNA architecture”. The new Xclipse 530 GOU boasts a 53% performance improvement over the previous generation. It also supports ray tracing (variable rate shading) and supersampling (super resolution). This promises better gaming and graphical performance in devices using the Exynos 1480.
On device AI is becoming increasingly more important for devices regardless of whether they are flagships, midrange or entry-level. To that end, the Exynos 1480 is coming with an improved AI Engine that runs on an enhanced NPU. This combination is responsible for a near 4x improvement of NPU performance over its predecessor. This feature also helps reinforce the security of your data on your device as it reduces the need for data to leave the device to be processed. It also results in smoother, more fluid AI functions.
The new processor also comes with a 5G modem that supports both mmWave and sub-6GHz bandwidths. It boasts a download theorectical maximum download speed of up to 5.1Gbps which is twice the speed as the previous generation. It also supports WiFi 6E (ax), Bluetooth 5.3 LE and GNSS positioning.
When it comes to image processing, the Exynos 1480 comes has a pretty capable ISP (image singal processor). It supports up to 200-megapixel in single camera mode, a single 64-megapixel at camera with 4K video record at 30fps or dual camera setup with dual 32-megapixel sensors that support 4K recording at 60fps. Display-wise, it supports a Full HD+ display with a max refresh rate of 144 Hz. It also supports high speed RAM with the LPDDR4x and LPDDR5.
So far, only the Samsung Galaxy A55 is using the smartphone. It won’t be surprising to see the processor make it to more devices as the year progresses.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab lineup has been one of the most consistent and feature-packed tablets in the Android ecosystem. While that may be changing with more manufacturers entering the arena, the company is still releasing new tablets with its Galaxy Tab S and Galaxy Tab A lineups. Only recently, the company released its latest Galaxy Tab S9 series but it seems like another tablet is finding it hard to stay down.
In a global announcement, Samsung has announced a refresh to the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. This will be the second refresh to the tablet that was released back in 2020. It received its previous refresh in 2022 when the tablet shifted to Qualcom’s Snapdragon platform. However, this year, it looks like Samsung is shifting its processor back to the homegrown Exynos 1280. The new processor is an octa-core processor with support for Bluetooth 5.3 and also AI features. It will be running One UI 6.1 atop Android 14.
Design-wise, it looks similar to its 2022 counterpart with a 10.4-inch LCD with an FHD+ resolution of 2,000×1200 pixels. The display is surrounded by a symmetrical 7mm bezel. The tablet will continue to sport a single 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 5-megapixel camera up front. It also comes with a 3.5mm earphone jack and support for WiFi 802.11 ac. The biggest change with the new Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is the increase in memory capacity. It now supports configurations with 64GB and 128GB of internal memory with support for more memory via microSD card. RAM, however, remains at 4GB.
Pricing & Availability
According to the announcement, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) will be available globally starting 28 March 2024. It will be available in both WiFi and LTE configurations in Chiffon Pink, Oxford Gray and Mint.
No official pricing has been announced at the time of writing. However, it seems like it will be coming to Malaysia thanks to a SIRIM database entry found by LowYat.net.
Samsung’s One UI 6.1 is one of the biggest software updates that the company has released in a while. While it’s not a big visual update, it will be bringing Galaxy AI to older devices albeit in a more limited fashion. That said, it’s taken the smartphone manufacturer a little bit longer than it usually does to roll out the update. That ends on March 28, 2024, with the initial rollout of One UI 6.1 to some of the company’s older devices.
The devices that are slated to get the update so far are the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 FE, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+ and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Yes, these are basically Samsung’s 2023 devices. These devices will be receiving the full Galaxy AI suite including circle to search, live translate and interpreter, generative editing, and Chat Assist.
The update will bring these devices on par with the Galaxy S24 series when it comes to software features. In fact, the Galaxy Tab S9 series will be the first tablets in Samsung’s lineup to get the update. It will be interesting to see how the software changes the experience on the Tab series moving forward.
Samsung’s Galaxy A series has always been about marrying flagship features with affordability. Over the past few years, Samsung has worked hard to bring camera features and more from its flagship smartphones to the Galaxy A series. Last year, it was Nightography, this year, the focus is on security with Samsung’s Knox Vault and a brand new feature called Auto Blocker. Both the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G and the Galaxy A35 5G will be coming with these enhancements.
Knox Your Average Midrange Device
The Galaxy A55 and A35 will be breaking new ground as the first Galaxy A device to come with Samsung Knox Vault. Samsung’s Knox Vault provides hardware-level encryption and security to the smartphone. It even has measures to resist physical and temperature tampering to keep data secure.
With Knox Vault, sensitive data like Samsung Pay, your PIN, passwords and biometric data are physically isolated from the operating system. In addition, Samsung’s Knox security software will also bring added protection. The multilayered security solution has always been included in Samsung’s devices but is now enhanced on the Galaxy A55 5G and the Galaxy A35 5G with Knox Vault.
Together with Knox Vault, the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 will be able to take advantage of Samsung’s Auto Blocker. This feature will allow you to opt-in to prevent things like app sideloading, malware and malicious commands by scanning app packages and even prevent unauthorised codes from running when you plug in USB cables or devices. This can be enabled through the Security and Privacy dashboard on the devices.
Midrange with a Difference
Speaking of devices, Samsung midrange devices have been head-turners when it comes to performance over the past few years. This year is no different. The Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 both come with Exynos systems on a chip. The A55 comes with the Exynos 1480 SoC which comes with the AMD RDNA2-based Xclipse GPU. The A35, on the other hand, comes with an Exynos 1380 SoC with a Mali-G68 GPU. Both come with a 6.6-inch SuperAMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass Victus+. Both have IP67 water and dust resistance and are powered by a 5,000mAh battery.
The differences continue when it comes to the camera setups of the A55 and A35. The A55 comes with a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel main camera supported by a 5-megapixel macro camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Upfront is a 32-megapixel front camera. The main sensor of the A55 comes with autofocus and OIS. The A35 come with the same 50-megapixel sensor but is supported by an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 5-megapixel macro camera. On the front is a 13-megapixel selfie camera. Both setups support Samsung’s Nightography technology with the A55 having a little bit of an edge thanks to its advanced AI Image Signal Processing (ISP).
Samsung continues to offer one of the best software support in the mobile industry. The Galaxy A series will be receiving four generations of Android OS and One UI upgrades and five years of security updates.
Pricing & Availability
There is no official Malaysian pricing or availability just yet. However, in the Philippines, the Galaxy A55 will be retailing for PHP24,990 (RM2,110.74) while the A35 will be retailing at PHP20,990 (RM1,772.88). These are variants with 8GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage that will be available starting on 18, March 2024.
In Europe, prices for the A55 start at €479 (RM2,446.35) while the A35 starts at €379 (RM1,935.59).
Both the A55 and A35 will be available in Awesome Ice Blue, Awesome Lilac, Awesome Lemon, and Awesome Navy colourways.
Samsung launched its latest flagship the Galaxy S24 series a little over a month ago. Together with the launch, Samsung is working in collaboration with MRT Corp for a station takeover of one of the largest rail stations in Kuala Lumpur’s public transport system – the Tun Razak Exchange station. The takeover sees the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) station get an aesthetic makeover featuring the Galaxy S24 series and Galaxy AI.
The TRX MRT station sees over 220,000 commuters pass through its halls each day and is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s financial district. The station is also a key interchange station for the Kajang-Kwasa Damansara and Putrajaya-Sg. Buloh MRT line. As part of the takeover, the station will be renamed to Tun Razak Exchange Samsung Galaxy.
In addition to this, the Tun Razak Exchange Samsung Galaxy station will be taken over by the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and Galaxy AI. Commuters will be treated to a visually revamped TRX Samsung Galaxy station with artwork that will feature Samsung’s latest flagships. There are also kiosks for commuters to touch and feel the Galaxy AI touting flagship.
The Launch of Tun Razak Exchange Samsung Galaxy
The takeover was officiated today, 29 February 2024 with the presence of key executives from Samsung Malaysia and MRT Corp. The station’s takeover was officiated by the President of Samsung Malaysia, Denny Kim, Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung Malaysia, Elaine Soh, Business Director of Mobile eXperience at Samsung Malaysia, Kevin Kim Tae Hoon, CEO of MRT Corp, Datuk Mohd Zarif Hashim, CFO of MRT Corp Shahrul Fadli Omar and Chief Commercial Officer of MRT Corp, Schrene Goh.
The Launch of Tun Razak Exchange Samsung Galaxy
Samsung Members who will be passing the TRX Samsung Galaxy station can redeem an RM5 Touch ‘N Go eWallet voucher from the Samsung Experience Store a short distance from the station’s entrance in The Exchange. You can take advantage of this offer from the Samsung Members app. Don’t forget, you will need to visit the Samsung Experience Store to complete the redemption.
As the launch of Nothing’s mid-range smartphone, the Nothing Phone (2a), draws near. Nothing has released a 10-minute video, in which it hinted at creating a truly special device for its community.
The official launch of the Nothing Phone (2a) is set for March 5, 2024, with a global release expected to follow. However, for US customers, a unique twist awaits – the need to enrol in a “Developer Program” to acquire the device. This echoes the approach taken during the Phone (1) launch, signalling a strategic move in the US market.
A notable change highlighted in the video is the absence of the “Beta Membership” label used during the Phone (1) launch, suggesting enhanced US network support.
Adding to the intrigue, Nothing teased a crucial detail – the price. While the exact cost remains undisclosed, the company assured viewers that the Phone (2a) would come at a more affordable price point than its predecessor, the Phone (1), initially priced at $299 in the US.
Leaked information has started to surface, providing a sneak peek into the Phone (2a). According to tipster Yogesh Brar, the device is rumoured to feature a 6.7-inch OLED panel, Dimensity 7200 Ultra SoC, 50MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 32MP selfie shooter. With a promising 45W fast charging support, the Phone (2a) is shaping up to be a compelling mid-range option.
Source: X.com
As the countdown to March 5 continues, speculations abound on what Nothing will unveil next. Will they manage to keep the mystery intact, or will leaks gradually unravel the excitement?
Stay tuned for more updates as Nothing drops hints, promising a unique device that combines affordability with cutting-edge features.
CelcomDigi is really upping the ante when it comes to owning devices with an RM0 upfront payment. The Telco is looking to make electronic vehicle (EV) ownership even easier with a CelcomDigi postpaid subscription. In partnership with Yinson GreenTech, the Telco will be making ownership of an e-bike as easy as owning a smartphone with its Easy360 instalment plans. The partnership will see RydeEV’s electric bikes become an option for subscribers with their postpaid plans for as low as RM299.
The new initiative lowers the cost of ownership of EVs tremendously. It comes as a result of a partnership between CelcomDigi’s Innovation Center and Yinson GreenTech. Under this plan, customers will be able to own either rydeEV’s Ryder or Hyper e-bike models with CelcomDigi’s Postpaid for RM299 and RM430 a month respectively. This will be in addition to the Postpaid subscription which starts at RM70. After a contract period of 36 months, customers will have the option of owning the bike for a further RM1 payment.
In addition to the subscription plan, customers who qualify for the Electric Motorcycle Use Promotion Scheme (MARiiCas) from the government will receive a further RM2,400 rebate on their e-bike purchases. This will be remitted as a monthly RM200 rebate over a period of 12 months. This means that you’ll be able to own an e-bike for as low as RM169 a month for the first year. Early birds will also get a limited edition helmet.
Both the Ryder and Hyper e-bikes from RydeEV have a riding range of 70-75km on a full charge at 45km/h speeds. However, they differ in their top speeds; the Ryder caps out at 65km/h while the Hyper caps at 90km/h. The Ryder is only available in red while the Hyper is available in three colours: red, blue and orange. If you run out of power, you won’t need to plug in as you can simply swap the battery out at a charging station. According to Yinson GreenTech, there are over 60 stations available in the Klang Valley area with more to come in the coming months.
Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 series wasn’t really the focus of Unpacked. Instead, Samsung spent a good chunk of the announcement talking about Galaxy AI that powers a whole bevvy of new features that run on One UI 6.1. The new focus on AI brings a renewed focus on creating features that help improve the user experience.
Galaxy AI is the AI platform that is powering a whole load of new features that will make its debut with the Galaxy S24 series. You may recognise a lot of these features from other large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Bard. However, Samsung is using LLMs and LAMs (Large Action Models) to bring a lot of useful and potentially revolutionary features for its devices – particularly the S4 Ultra.
Galaxy AI for Language
When it comes to features that are coming with the Galaxy S24 series, the ones that involve language are the ones that we’re most excited for. Samsung showed off two at Unpacked – both involving translation on the fly. With Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S24 series, you will be able to translate messages and conversations live and on the fly.
When it comes to messaging, Samsung is bringing on-the-fly translations to messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messages and more. This feature will allow you to translate your text messages as you receive them. Translations of your messages will appear underneath the original one. This feature is app-specific and will only work with apps that have been optimised for it. So far, we have confirmation that WhatsApp and Messages will be supported.
In addition to this, you’ll also be able to translate conversations on the fly while you’re on a call or with the person. This translation occurs nearly live as you speak. Of course, you will need to activate it by tapping the Galaxy AI button which will open a text-to-speech interface. This will show you in real-time the translations being done. However, it can’t save the transcript just yet.
Galaxy AI is also being integrated into the Samsung Keyboard. You will be able to use the keyboard to translate your input with the keyboard. These translations can then be sent to the person on the other end of the conversation. Did we mention? You will not need to shift between apps to do this – instead, it’s done on the Samsung keyboard itself.
Samsung has clarified that it’s not using Google Translate to power these features. Instead, they’ve developed these translation models in-house. From what we saw during the demo, the models are pretty reliable. There are about 25 languages available at the moment. All the translation models are done locally on your device.
Galaxy AI for Notetaking & Writing
The Samsung Notes app is getting a supercharge when it comes to Galaxy AI features. The app will be leveraging the generative capabilities of Galaxy more extensively. Samsung isn’t just using AI for handwriting recognition, it’s taking things to the next level with formatting, correction and summarizing.
Your handwritten notes can now be used as a basis to create neatly formatted documents. You’ll be able to take your handwritten or typed-out notes from a meeting to generate neatly organised meeting minutes. Not only does it do this, it will also give you a few options to choose from when it comes to how you want your notes to be presented.
You’ll even be able to generate a cover letter for your notes with Galaxy AI. The generative capabilities of Galaxy AI are pretty impressive, you’ll be able to generate summaries in different tones. Want to inject a little humour? You’ll even be able to get it summarized in Shakespearean English. This feature can even be used to reply to messages in supported messaging apps.
Even searching with Galaxy AI and Google is getting more intuitive with “circle to search”. The new feature allows you to literally draw a circle around the item you’re interested it will automatically search for the item you’ve circled. This can work with humans too, but only for public figures.
Nightography Integrates Galaxy AI
Galaxy AI is also being integrated into the camera features of the Galaxy S24 series. The new Quad Tele camera system which is present on the S24 Ultra leverages AI to help with Nightography and even regular image processing. Samsung is using Galaxy AI to help with the clarity of photos and videos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.
Samsung’s Zoom on the S24 is perhaps one of the most stable we’ve seen in a few years. You’re able to get clear, crisp shots with Galaxy AI. The stabilization is done by both the OIS modules of the camera sensors themselves. The resultant shot is pretty impressive even on hybrid zoom.
However, it’s not just about low-light Nightography and Zooming, Samsung’s Galaxy AI is also bringing quick post-processing and editing to your fingertips. You’ll be able to edit your photos to remove items from the background or replace items in your photos with Generative Fill. You can even remove reflections with Galaxy AI at the touch of a button. Even if you don’t know what will make your photo better, Galaxy AI will have suggestions for you.
Galaxy AI in the Background, But on Your Terms
Galaxy AI is going to be powering a whole bevvy of features that will be debuting with the Galaxy S24 series. However, Samsung isn’t going to be using your data if you don’t want it to. The company is allowing users to opt out of sharing data with its servers. You can toggle this option in the settings of One UI 6.1. However, if you do choose to opt out, you will be unable to leverage Galaxy AI’s features fully, only those features that can be processed locally on your device.
Samsung’s Galaxy AI will be coming to older Galaxy devices – IF the device has the computational power. To date the only devices that have been guaranteed an update with Galaxy AI are the Galaxy S23 series, the Galaxy S23 FE, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Galaxy Z Flip 5, and the Galaxy Tab S9 series. Due to computational requirements, Galaxy AI may not have all its features as it makes its way to older devices.
This year’s Galaxy Unpacked isn’t your regular unpacked. Where we expected Samsung to show off its new flagship, the company showed off its latest software prowess – Galaxy AI. The Galaxy S24 series was the vehicle for Galaxy AI’s debut. Galaxy AI will debut in One UI 6.1 on the Galaxy S24.
Specc’d for Galaxy AI
Before we jump into the meaty parts of Galaxy AI, let’s talk about the Galaxy S24 series. As always, the new flagship series will come with three variants – the Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S24+ and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Aside from Galaxy AI taking centerstage, Samsung is also making another big change with the Galaxy S24 series: it’s taking the curved display we’re used to seeing in the Galaxy S24 Ultra and giving it the boot. The whole series is now coming with flat AMOLED 2X displays with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. As usual, the sizes of the displays will differ according to the variant; the S24 will be coming with a 6.2-inch display, the S24+ will be coming with a 6.7-inch display and the Ultra will be coming with a 6.8-inch display. The displays come with Corning Gorilla Glass Armor across the board.
Aside from this, the Galaxy S24 series will be coming with the latest and greatest when it comes to processors. This includes both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Exynos 2400. For the Malaysian market, the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S24+ will be equipped with the Exynos 2400 while the S24 Ultra will be equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It seems like the American market will be getting the Snapdragon variant across the board. However, processor configurations will differ across different markets. These processors bring a new focus on AI features with dedicated NPUs. The S24+ and S24 Ultra will be coming with 12GB of RAM while the S24 will be coming with 8GB of RAM. The Ultra will also feature a titanium frame while the S24 and S24+ will come with armoured aluminium.
Dual Telephoto Cameras Bring Clarity to the Galaxy S24 Series
The Galaxy S24 Ultra will be the first Galaxy device to be equipped with a quad-camera setup. The highlight of this camera – aside from its Galaxy AI-powered features – is the new dual telephoto setup, The flagship comes with both a 50-megapixel telephoto sensor with 5x optical zoom and a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom. These sensors are complemented by a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor. The main sensor is a 200-megapixel. Upfront is a 12-megapixel selfie camera.
Samsung calls this new setup its Quad Tele System which brings better picture quality especially when it comes to zoomed-in pictures. It has near optical quality for pictures captured in up to 10x zoom. Going further will kick it into hybrid zoom which has been vastly improved with Galaxy AI.
The vanilla Galaxy S24 and the S24+ come with triple camera setups. This consists of a 50-megapixel main sensor complemented by the same 10-megapixel, 3x telephoto sensor and 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor. It even shares the same front 12-megapixel sensor up front for selfies. Nightography does make a return to the flagship. Samsung has enhanced low-light performance with the help of Galaxy AI
All of these features are powered by a 4,000mAh battery on the S24, a 4,500mAh battery on the S24+ and a 4,900mAh battery on the Ultra. Samsung is also bringing better battery performance with Galaxy AI with automatic optimisations happening in the background all the time. Speaking of optimisations, Samsung is promising 7 years of software support for its phones with the S24 series.
Pricing & Availability
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24+ will be available in Amber Yellow, Cobalt Violet, Marble Gray, and Onyx Black. If you want more variety, the Sandstone Orange, Sapphire Blue and Jade Green colours are available exclusively on Samsung.com. Prices start at RM4,099/USD$799 for the S24 and RM4,899/USD$999 for the S24+.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra will be available in Titanium Yellow, Titanium Violet, Titanium Gray, and Titanium Black. Like its siblings, additional colours – Titanium Blue, Titanium Orange and Titanium Green – are available exclusively on Samsung.com. Prices for the S24 Ultra start at RM6,299/USD$1,299.
Pre-orders for the series kick off today – 18 January 2024 – until 6 February 2024. During this time, purchases of the S24 series will come with an RM500 e-voucher for your next Samsung purchase on Samsung.com, an enhanced trade-in valuation worth up to RM650, a purchase with purchase discount on selected Galaxy Buds, up to RM800 off select Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Watch models when purchased together with the S24 series and up to 45% off on Samsung Care+ and accessories.
Detailed pricing and variants for Malaysia are in the table below.
