If you're looking for a tablet to get work done, Apple's iPad Pro line or any number of 2-in-1s probably come to mind.
But don't tell that to Samsung, which is hoping you'll pick up its Android-powered Galaxy Tab S6 (starting at $649) and a $179 keyboard case to satisfy your productivity needs.
The Tab S6 is an undeniably powerful tablet, with top-notch build quality and hardware.
Unfortunately, that same care doesn't transfer over to the software experience, which proved quite buggy in testing.
And Google Play simply can't keep up with Apple's App Store when it comes to creative apps for professionals, making the promise of productivity here a relatively empty one.
Design and Display
The Galaxy Tab S6 features a lustrous, high-quality design.
The frame is powder coated in black, blue, or gray, with antenna lines at the top and bottom.
It measures 9.63 by 6.28 by 0.22 inches (HWD) and weighs 14.72 ounces.
When held vertically, there's a dual camera stack in the top left corner of the back of the tablet, above a depression that holds the S Pen stylus.
The top and bottom edges are each home to dual speakers, and there's also a USB-C charging port on the bottom.
On the right, you'll find a micro SD slot, a volume rocker, and a Bixby button.
A pogo pin port and two notches to hold the optional keyboard case are on the left.
The front of the tablet is dominated by a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display.
Resolution clocks in at 2,560 by 1,660, for 287 pixels per inch.
The AMOLED display is gorgeous, with deep, inky blacks and rich colors.
Color accuracy is excellent, and the screen is bright enough to use in any scenario.
Unfortunately, the in-display fingerprint sensor at the bottom of the screen works poorly.
It seems to only be able to detect your finger in one position, making it useless when holding the tablet in landscape mode.
Audio, Cameras, and Connectivity
The Tab S6 features four Dolby Atmos speakers tuned by AKG.
Overall, sound is rich at any volume, with a surprising level of bass.
And with peak volume coming in at 93dB, the Tab S6 can easily fill a room with audio.
As mentioned above, there is a dual camera stack on the back of the tablet with a 13MP primary sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and a 5MP wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture.
In bright light, the 13MP camera is solid.
Our test shots were crisp, with excellent color accuracy.
A few images showed some background blur, though we only noticed it when closely examining them at full size.
Low-light performance is acceptable, though we noticed background blurring in several shots, as well as noise around the edges of images.
The wide-angle lens is acceptable, but won't replace your smartphone's camera.
While test shots had excellent color accuracy and captured fine detail, several were noticeably distorted around the edges.
In low-light photos, distortion was traded for some muddiness and noise.
The front-facing camera sports an 8MP lens with an f/2.0 aperture.
In daylight, all of our images were crisp, with excellent color accuracy and depth of field.
The camera also works well for video conferencing.
In low light, the camera is still good, but we noticed some noise and blurring in the background of some images.
When it comes to connectivity, the Tab S6 comes in Wi-Fi-only and LTE models.
Both support dual-band Wi-Fi, and the LTE model works on all of major US carriers except AT&T.
We tested a Wi-Fi model.
In addition, all Tab S6 variants have Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and an accelerometer.
Hardware and Performance
The Galaxy Tab S6 ships with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor.
The base model we tested has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and a step-up model has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
Both support up to 512GB of external storage via microSD card, and the tablet's USB-C charging port also supports a handful of flash drives.
See How We Test Tablets
Benchmarks are in line with other devices with similar hardware.
On Geekbench 5, a series of tests that measures processor performance, the Tab S6 earned a multi-core score of 2,652, which is just shy of the Snapdragon 855-powered Galaxy Note 10 at 2,745.
But when compared with the iPad Pro, which is powered by Apple's A12X Bionic processor and turned in a score of 4,500, there's simply no contest.
That said, t's worth noting that benchmarks provide a way for us to objectively measure performance on similar products, but do not necessarily reflect how a product performs in real life.
In day to day operation, the Tab S6 easily handled about a dozen apps open as well the Chrome browser without issue.
Gameplay is solid too.
We played PUBG for over an hour and didn't encounter any lag or skipped frames.
In our battery drain test, which streams HD video over Wi-Fi at full brightness, the tablet's 7,040mAh battery managed to last 8 hours and 19 minutes.
With more conservative use, you should easily be able to get 10 hours between charges on the Wi-Fi model.
When you do find your battery running low, the Tab S6 supports fast charging with the included 15W adapter.
Laptop Replacement?
Samsung is pushing the Tab S6 as a laptop replacement for creative professionals.
While the S Pen is included with the tablet, you'll need to shell out $179 for the keyboard case, which you'll really need if you're planning to use it in lieu of a computer.
The keyboard case is small, it isn't backlit, and it takes a little practice to get comfortable with its chiclet keys.
That said, the keys are deep and have nice travel.
A trackpad sits below the keys.
We found it to be fine for moving the cursor and opening apps, but if you want to select text, it's easier to do so with your finger or the S Pen.
Palm rejection is poor, however, and an accidental swipe of your palm can move the cursor to a completely different location in a document.
The back half of the keyboard attaches via a reusable adhesive, which started to fail after removing it only a few times.
In doing some research, we found numerous customer complaints about this.
In addition, the attached kickstand only works well when used on a desk or other completely flat surface.
If you work on the couch or in your lap, the kickstand doesn't adequately support the tablet.
For the most part, the S Pen is accurate and has good pressure sensitivity.
Latency isn't quite as low as using the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro, but lag is minimal.
The S Pen is excellent for taking notes, marking up documents, or making a sketch.
We didn't find it reliable for triggering Air Gestures, however, which only worked some of the time in testing.
Can the Tab S6 replace your laptop? We tried using it for a week as our home computer and found it was fine for basic tasks like sending emails, typing short documents, and updating social media.
But if you're a creative professional or power user, the keyboard cover simply isn't good enough for daily use and the software catalog leaves a lot to be desired.
Software
The Tab S6 ships with Android 9 Pie along with Samsung's custom One UI.
For the most part, it looks very similar to the software you get on a Samsung Galaxy phone, with one notable exception: The Tab S6 has a built-in DeX Mode that works on the tablet as opposed to an external monitor.
DeX Mode is Samsung's custom interface that emulates a laptop, like ChromeOS but not as polished.
Unfortunately, we found it frustratingly buggy in testing.
On several occasions, the tablet got stuck in DeX Mode and the only way to disable it was by turning the power off.
We also experienced a handful of times when it didn't recognize the keyboard.
We also encountered numerous bugs and quirks outside of Dex Mode.
For instance, we had to restart the tablet a number of times because it would get stuck in portrait orientation, and the orientation icon would disappear from the Quick Settings tray.
By comparison, Apple's newly released iPadOS really makes the iPad Pro a viable alternative to a laptop for many people, and ChromeOS has evolved exponentially over the last several years to become an excellent cloud computing option.
And while we expect to see Samsung update the Tab S6 to Android 10 in the future, there's no guarantee after that.
At this price, we expect fast and guaranteed updates for at least several years, like you get with the iPad line and Chromebook 2-in-1s.
Conclusions
Although the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is a gorgeous tablet with stellar specs, its software keeps it from being a true competitor to other pro-minded tablets and 2-in-1 devices.
If you're looking for an alternative that has access to the Google Play store, check out the 2-in-1 Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 (starting at $599), which features a stylus, some of the best hardware you'll find in a Chromebook, and excellent service and support from Google.
Content creators will want to consider spending more on an iPad Pro (starting at $799), which works with many creative apps like Adobe Creative Cloud that you won't find in Google Play.
And if you simply want a tablet for multimedia consumption and gaming, the $329 base model iPad is an excellent choice.
The Bottom Line
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is the best Android tablet on the market for power users but lacks the same polish you'll find on the iPad Pro or ChomeOS 2-in-1 devices
