Samsung is the last company standing in the high-end Android tablet landscape and rumors suggest they are ready to go another round with a Galaxy Tab 7 (or is it S20?) in the works for later this year (via SlashGear).
Two new Samsung model numbers, SM-T970 and SM-T975, uncovered by Galaxyclub.nl point to a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 successor. These align closely with the model numbers seen on previous high-end Galaxy tablets, but it's a noteworthy jump from the SM-T860 model number of the Galaxy Tab S6.
It's possible this points to a more significant upgrade than what we've seen in year's past. If the next Galaxy Tab is going to compete with the new iPad Pros, it could use it.
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In our Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 review, we thought the hardware was excellent and it even had some advantages over the iPad Pro like the keyboard with touchpad. But in our Galaxy Tab S6 vs iPad Pro face-off, the raw power of the iPad and the option of a larger screen tipped things in Apple's favor. Of course, the new iPad Pro 2020 and the big iPad OS 13.4 update just moved the goalposts again for Samsung.
We have no additional rumors regarding these tablets yet, but we expect to see them around the same August release timeframe as the Galaxy Tab S6 and the S4 before it.
The forthcoming tablet will most likely use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 found in Samsung's flagship smartphones this year, which isn't likely to catch up to Apple's custom A12Z Bionic chipset. But with reports suggesting the new iPad Pros aren't much faster than the previous models, Samsung could at least inch closer.
A few features that could potentially give Samsung a brief edge against Apple would be the inclusion of a 5G cellular option, further upgrades to the DeX interface to enable a true desktop experience beyond what Apple's iPad Pro offers, and cameras on par with the Galaxy S20.
The one advantage we bet Samsung will hang on to is pricing; The Galaxy Tab S6 starts at $649 compared to the $799 of the iPad Pro 11-inch.
