For a while now there have been small pieces of information about an 18.4" Samsung Android tablet that was due to release in the near future. The tablet was also hinted at earlier this year at IFA. Today that tablet has gone official as the Samsung Galaxy View, and it's unlike any other Android tablet that I've seen before. Some information is still scarce, but I've put together the known specifications in the chart below.

  Samsung Galaxy View
SoC 1.6GHz Octa-core
GPU ?
RAM 2GB
NAND 32/64GB + MicroSDXC
Display 18.4" 1920x1080 LCD
Dimensions 451.8 x 275.8 x 11.9mm, 2650g
Camera 2.1MP Front-Facing
Battery 5700mAh
OS Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
Cellular Connectivity LTE with NanoSIM Slot
Other Connectivity 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, microUSB 2.0

It's pretty obvious just by looking at the specs that the Galaxy View is a unique device. It sports an enormous 18.4" LCD display, with a 1080p resolution. This certainly isn't near as sharp as the screens you'll get on recent smartphones and tablets, but you're also more likely to use the Galaxy View at a farther distance. However, you are ultimately limited by the length of your arms because you need to touch the display, and so a higher resolution probably would have been beneficial, and I would imagine if the Galaxy View ends up being successful to any degree that we'll see an improved display on the next generation.

With that large display comes a very big and heavy chassis. At 2.65kg it is by far the heaviest Android device I have ever seen, apart from perhaps some AIO desktops that include an Android partition for whatever reason. In order to make the Galaxy View easier to handle Samsung has actually build in a kickstand of sorts, and a handle which can be used to carry it around. It honestly seems a bit comical, but then again so have other past devices like the original Galaxy Note, and perhaps it will eventually be normal to see people walking down the street carrying a giant tablet at their side.

As for the rest of the internals, Samsung has only provided some high level info. The 1.6GHz Octa-core SoC has been reported as the Exynos 7580 by some other sources, but given that it's an unknown part and the available information seems less than reputable I wouldn't want to make any definitive claims at this point about exactly what SoC is in use. It is paired with 2GB of RAM, but it's not clear whether it's of the LPDDR3 or LPDDR4 variety, and that will come along with the SoC verification once we get more concrete specs. There's no rear-facing camera, because when you get to 18.4" there is really no way to take photos. I do wonder if it might have been a useful inclusion for showing a different point of view when video chatting, but ultimately Samsung has decided not to include one.

The battery also looks very small if you assume a 3.85V chemistry, and in fact it would actually be smaller than the battery in the iPad Air 2 if that's the case. If that is true I could only assume that Samsung had to reduce the tablet's mass, and assumed that in most circumstances the user would be close to a power outlet anyway. It's very possible that Samsung is actually using a battery chemistry with a higher voltage and so the capacity will be much larger than the specification given in mAh would imply. This is again something that will hopefully be clarified in the future.

Samsung hasn't announced pricing or availability for the Galaxy View yet, but with it now being official those details shouldn't be far off.

Comments Locked

55 Comments

View All Comments

  • Murloc - Thursday, October 29, 2015 - link

    I can see a use for cheap touch terminals in showrooms to flip the pages of a PDF, but this isn't really cheap.
  • MrSpadge - Thursday, October 29, 2015 - link

    Yep. Pretty much for anyone who wants the simplicity of a tablet but doesn't need the portability and could benefit from a larger screen. May it be due to weak eye sight, clumsy fingers or just to have a larger screen.

    Carrying it around wouldn't be so bad.. it's not too long ago that laptops used to weight this much. But holding it in the hands for longer times may be considered a good workout and won't appeal to most people, obviously.
  • poohbear - Friday, October 30, 2015 - link

    laptops are still 2-3kg. Why are you saying they used to be that weight?
  • Flunk - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - link

    I think it would be pretty good for demonstrating Android apps at tradeshows. It's not a big market but it would make demoing apps for a small croud pretty easy. I'm pretty sure Samsung just made this because they can, just to see if it sells.
  • Mr Perfect - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - link

    Yeah, this clip just popped into my mind when reading this. https://vine.co/v/Oa1QQdpvOIt
  • Hulk - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - link

    Niche market. As a working musician I could use this to view two pages of music at a time.
  • PrinceGaz - Thursday, October 29, 2015 - link

    If it had a rear camera (preferably a poor quality one like most tablets have), it would have been ideal for those people who like to make themselves look utter fools by taking photos on a tablet. The larger the tablet, the more stupid they make themselves look.
  • poohbear - Friday, October 30, 2015 - link

    people said the same thing for the first tablet & even the smartphone.
  • osxandwindows - Sunday, November 1, 2015 - link

    they are saying the same thing for the iPad pro.
  • Shadow7037932 - Wednesday, October 28, 2015 - link

    1080p display on a 18" tablet... what? And only 2GB RAM? Yes, yes, I know, 2GB is enough now, but what about in 2 years? People don't tend to upgrade tablets as often as phones.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now