Samsung Announces New Galaxy Tab A, An Affordable Android Tablet For Families

Samsung has revived its Galaxy Tab A series of Android tablets for 2017. The new Galaxy Tab A will be available starting on Nov. 1 and will be very affordable at only $229.99.

The original Galaxy Tab A tablets were first released way back in 2015 and were available in 8-inch and 9.7-inch screen sizes. In 2016, Samsung released a new version of the Android tablet with a larger 10.1-inch display. The new 2017 model of the Galaxy Tab A is only available with an 8-inch screen size with a 1,280 x 800 screen resolution. Samsung says that this version of the tablet is primarily aimed at families and children.

“At Samsung, we constantly work to deliver meaningful innovation that delights our customers and meets their unique needs,” Samsung Electronics America vice president and general manager of product marketing Alanna Cotton said. “The Galaxy Tab A is designed for parents and kids. It’s the tablet that’s just as easy to take on the go or curl up with on the couch, with long-lasting battery life to get the whole family through the day.”

The Verge pointed out that Samsung appears to be using the same strategy that Amazon is doing with its own Fire tablets. The new Galaxy Tab A even has a dedicated Kids Mode feature that comes with games, videos and other kid-friendly content from Samsung partners. This includes 5,000 exclusive games and videos from The LEGO Group.

The Samsung Kids subscription service is also available on the new Galaxy Tab A, which offers up educational games, books, movies and TV shows that are appropriate for children 3 to 8 years old. Purchasing the new tablet also grants consumers $100 worth of games, books, movies and TV shows from Samsung Kids.

There’s also a Game Launcher installed on the 2017 Galaxy Tab A, which is able to provide kids a user interface dedicated to showing a personalized gaming experience. Since the new Android tablet is also designed for the whole family, purchasing the new Galaxy Tab A also comes with a free three-month subscription to YouTube Red, so parents will be able to watch YouTube Red original shows or watch other content on the site without any ads. A YouTube Red subscription also means that users can download videos for offline viewing.

The Galaxy Tab A 2017 also comes with parental controls. Parents will be able to set limits on usage and customize what types of content that are available to view on the tablet. This should make it safe and fun for kids to use the tablet on their own.

As for internal specs, the new Samsung Galaxy Tab A isn’t a powerhouse Android tablet but it should get the job done. It’s being powered by a modest Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. It houses a 5,000mAh battery that can last up to 14 hours and charged through its USB Type-C port. There’s also an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 5-megapixel camera up front. Out of the box, the Galaxy Tab A runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat.