Samsung’s new flagship tablet, the Galaxy Tab S2, will be available at select U.S. retailers and carriers starting Sept. 3, with Wi-Fi models priced at a suggested $499 for the 9.7-inch version and $399 for the 8-inch version.
The 9.7-inch model will also be available with 4G LTE through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon.
AT&T announced its 9.7-inch model will be available for order at att.com and AT&T stores starting Sept. 4. The devices will be available to consumers a few days later. Starting Sept. 11, consumers will be able to go into an AT&T store and walk out with the tablet, which the carrier priced at $599 without contract, $30/month for 20 months without contract, and $499 with two-year contract.
For its part, T-Mobile said the 9.7-inch LTE tablet will hit its store shelves on Sept. 3 at $0 down with monthly payments of $27.09 for 23 months and $26.92 for the 24th month. The total price is $649.99.
Pricing and availability dates from other carriers weren’t available.
Samsung is working with Amazon.com and Best Buy to offer a limited-time trade-in offer in which consumers trading in a qualifying tablet get $100 or more off the purchase of a Tab S2.
The new models, announced in July, are thinner at 0.22 inches compared to their 0.26-inch predecessors, which were launched last year but with larger 10.5- and 8.4-inch screens. The original Tab S models were the first Samsung tablets with thin Super AMOLED displays.
The Tab S2 carries over the display technology as well as such key performance measures as 3GB RAM, octacore processor (quad 1.9GHz plus quad 1.3GHz), 8- and 2.1-megapixel cameras, and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO.
The new models also carry over a fingerprint sensor, which appeared in Samsung’s tablets for the first time with the Tab S launches last year. Another carryover feature is multitasking, allowing users to view and run two apps simultaneously.
The new models’ displays are 4:3, said to make printed content fit more naturally on screen. The new models also feature 32GB of embedded memory and 128GB microSD Card slot.
