Samsung has been the pioneer for many features in the mobile space, one of the most notable being super-sized smartphones. The original Samsung Galaxy Note, sized with an unusually large 5.3-inch display (at the time), received a lukewarm welcome, but has since become a favorite for smartphone users. In the years following, countless manufacturers have followed suit in making their best smartphones bigger.
Now that the smartphone market is well saturated with big smartphones, it makes sense for Samsung to push the size limits of another device - like tablets. Tablets typically range anywhere from having 7 to 13-inch displays, but recent rumors suggest that Samsung intends size up one of their next tablets to a massive 18.4-inch display, in a device that many presume to be the recently teased Galaxy View.
We’ve come to expect that “bigger” is synonymous with “better” when it comes to our mobile gadgets, but the rumored specs for the Samsung Galaxy View put this 18-inch tablet somewhere in the mid-range category. Allegedly the device will feature a 1080p display, 1.6GHz 64-bit octa-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage with microSD card slot for expandable storage, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera.
Honestly, it would probably best if the specs remain modest in a device this big, at least for now.
Although a lot of people seem critical of the device’s size, I think the Galaxy View will be a great device if it ends up coming to fruition. The Galaxy View seems like it’s best suited for places where it can be used in a group. Businesses, schools, and families are likely the maintargets for this large tablet, and each of those demographics are probably more budget-conscious than anything. With mid-range specs, the Galaxy View could come at a pleasantly affordable price.
Places of business, classrooms, and families who are joining the rising numbers of “cord-cutters” would likely find this to be a reasonable purchase. Businesses have always seemed to push for more technology in the workplace, and recently many schools have found that putting technology in schools is beneficial for students as well. Families who no longer wish to pay for cable TV when there are much cheaper streaming options out there would likely also benefit from the Galaxy View, as they could also use it for gaming, web browsing, and anything else Android tablets can already do.
I’m typically very critical of large displays, but my issues with smartphones being too big have little to do with how tablets are used. Tablets have never been optimal for one-handed use to begin with (which is my personal issue with so many smartphones having larger displays) so a big tablet like the View – which is also allegedly equipped with a handy stand – seems like it could do very well for itself. It’s an untapped area of tablets that probably should be tapped into at this point.
Hopefully the Galaxy View will be priced appropriately if the mid-range specs are true, despite that it is supposedly a very large tablet and there aren’t any competing products size-wise yet. If so, I can see the Samsung Galaxy View becoming a great asset for technology in the workplace, classroom, and home.