Technology - Google News

Samsung's latest rugged tablet gets a Dex and WiFi 6 update - Engadget

Posted: 19 Jan 2021 06:05 AM PST

If you thought Samsung was done with its announcements this month, think again. After showing off a slew of new TVs, the Galaxy Chromebook 2, robots, the Galaxy Buds Pro, Galaxy Smart Tags and the Galaxy S21 series, the company has one more thing to share. The Galaxy Tab Active 3, which Samsung launched in Europe and Asia in September, is now headed to the US. It's an 8-inch Android tablet that's positioned as more of a business-to-business product and comes with a protective cover for companies that want something both lightweight and durable.

Though we hardly ever cover enterprise products here at Engadget, some of us miss when Samsung used to make Active versions of its flagship S-series phones. While it doesn't seem like those devices are likely to return, the Tab Active 3 might scratch that itch. We were able to get some hands-on time with the tablet recently and it indeed feels like a larger Active phone.

The new slate follows up the Tab Active 2 and adds WiFi 6 capabilities as well as a programmable key on the side that you can customize to launch your favorite app. This, as well as the volume buttons on the device's right side, was easy to press despite being encased in the rigid cover. That protective sleeve, by the way, will keep your Tab safe even if it falls from up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) high. That's an improvement over the last model's 1.2-meter guarantee. Our demo unit was chained to a desk, so I didn't test this claim out, and we'll have to take Samsung's word for it for now. The Active 3 also meets IP68 and MIL-STD-810H standards for dust and water resistance as well as military-grade durability.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 hands-on pictures | 7 Photos

Samsung also added its DeX software to this year's Tab Active which will let you cast its contents to a larger display and connect peripherals like keyboards and mice for easier controI. This is also the first Tab Active to support Galaxy Enterprise Edition and Knox Suite for security and other IT software.

I especially like that the S Pen that accompanies this device is also built to withstand harsher conditions. It has a ridged texture that makes it easier to hold, and like the tablet is also IP68-compliant. Though it's not as pen-like as Samsung's other styluses, it still provided a smooth writing experience as I doodled on the display.

Despite the added bulk, the Active 3 was surprisingly thin and light. The display was clear and bright. Like most of Samsung's rugged devices, the Tab has physical buttons navigation buttons below the screen (when held vertically) for easier interaction. But the company also said it tuned the display to be more sensitive so you can tap and swipe on it with gloves on too. There are also POGO pins on the side for worksites that require that connection. For those who want to dock the tablet in a kiosk or a vehicle (or machines like forklifts), there's also a No-battery mode available. Plus, the Active 3's 5,050mAh battery is removable so you can simply pop in a new cell when you run low instead of having to wait for it to recharge.

Since it's a B2B device, you're unlikely to be able to just walk into a Best Buy and pick one up — companies will be able to get one via Samsung's distribution channels and website. In case you were wondering though, the Tab Active 3 starts at $490 for WiFi-only models and $590 for LTE versions.

In this article: tablet, rugged, galaxy tab, android tablet, galaxy tab active 2, samsung galaxy tab active 3, samsung, news, gear

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Samsung Introduces 870 EVO SATA SSDs: 128L TLC With an Updated Controller - AnandTech

Posted: 19 Jan 2021 07:00 AM PST

Samsung is launching the latest iteration of their mainstream consumer TLC-based SATA SSDs. The new 870 EVO brings the same generational updates to Samsung's 3D NAND and SSD controller that we saw with last year's 870 QVO. The updated EVO SATA SSD arrives three years after the launch of the Samsung 860 EVO and 860 PRO.

The 870 EVO uses the same sixth-generation Samsung V-NAND (3D NAND) that debuted in the high-end 980 PRO NVMe SSD. Officially, this is "1xx layers", but all signs point to it being 128L 3D NAND. This may sound unimpressive when Micron and SK hynix have already announced their 176-layer 3D NAND, but Samsung's NAND manufacturing process is arguably more advanced: they're still able to manufacture all 128L in one batch, while the competition have all long since adopted string stacking to split the process into two batches (eg. two groups of 88 layers).

The 870 EVO uses the same Samsung MKX controller we first saw with the 870 QVO. Samsung still hasn't shared what's improved with this generation of controller, but we get a bit of a hint from the fact that they claim the 870 EVO offers a 38% improvement to queue depth 1 random read latency compared to the 860 EVO. Since Samsung has previously shared that their 128L 3D TLC only offers a 10% improvement in raw read latency, it looks like the updated controller may be a bigger factor in the drive's overall performance increase. Either way, a 38% improvement in one of the few performance metrics that SATA SSDs have any room to improve on is a bold claim.

Samsung 870 EVO Specifications
Capacity	250 GB	500 GB	1 TB	2 TB	4 TB
Form Factor	2.5" 7mm SATA
Controller	Samsung MKX
NAND Flash	Samsung 512Gbit 128L 3D TLC
LPDDR4 DRAM	512MB		1 GB	2 GB	4 GB
Sequential Read	560 MB/s
Sequential Write	530 MB/s
Random Read	98k IOPS
Random Write	88k IOPS
Warranty	5 years
Write Endurance	150 TB 0.3 DWPD	300 TB 0.3 DWPD	600 TB 0.3 DWPD	1200 TB 0.3 DWPD	2400 TB 0.3 DWPD
Launch MSRP	$49.99 (20¢/GB)	$79.99 (16¢/GB)	$139.99 (14¢/GB)	$269.99 (13¢/GB)	$529.99 (13¢/GB)

Samsung didn't give us the full detailed spec sheet, but among the basic specifications there are no surprises. Peak throughput is as usual limited by the SATA interface. Write endurance is still 0.3 drive writes per day with a five year warranty. The capacity options still run from 250GB to 4TB. Launch MSRPs are substantially higher than current street prices for the 860 EVO and are well into NVMe price territory, but we expect the 870 EVO's prices to come down fairly soon given the overall state of the market with a bit of an oversupply for NAND flash memory.

We don't have a full review of the 870 EVO ready today because the timing is rather awkward. It's a bit cheeky of Samsung to launch this drive just two business days after the end of CES, and with only a week of advance notice. We also hadn't started running SATA drives through our new 2021 SSD test suite, so the past several days have kept our new testbeds busy testing the 870 EVO and various other SATA drives to compare against. Preliminary results show that the 870 EVO improves performance across the board for our AnandTech Storage Bench trace tests, though with slight increases in power consumption. Samsung's claim of 38% better QD1 random read performance also looks to be an exaggeration, but we'll be back later this week with a full analysis of the test results.

We also haven't heard any new official information from Samsung about an 870 PRO to round out this generation of SATA drives, but they did mention an 870 PRO in passing in a newsletter last fall. Since their consumer NVMe line has switched over to using TLC NAND for the 980 PRO, there's some uncertainty whether an 870 PRO will continue using MLC NAND. If it does, that will be the first appearance of 128L MLC from Samsung.

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