For a “new” tablet that looks exactly the same as a 2022 model (which in turn changed almost nothing about a 2020 device), the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) sure made
a lot of headlines prior to its
proper announcement a couple of weeks ago. Said (low-key) announcement did not include a price tag or any official US availability details whatsoever, but surprise, surprise, you can now purchase Samsung’s latest mid-range Android slate stateside.
Don’t look for it on the manufacturer’s US website, though, as the 2024 refresh of the “classic” Tab S6 Lite seems to be exclusively available on Amazon. That’s certainly unusual, and what’s perhaps even stranger is that both
Samsung and Best Buy continue to sell the 2022 edition.
Should you buy the “new” Galaxy Tab S6 Lite?
If you’re into
budget tablets, you’re obviously strongly advised to opt for the newer generation, especially while it’s bundled with a nice $100 Amazon gift card. Granted, the Tab S6 Lite (2024) is a bit costlier than
its predecessor in recent months, fetching $329.99 in an entry-level 64GB configuration and 70 bucks more with double the internal storage space.
Both variants seem to pack 4GB RAM, which is not exactly impressive by any 2024 standards, while shipping alongside a handy S Pen in the box, which is definitely nice. Compared to the 2022 edition, this refreshed Galaxy Tab S6 Lite comes with a new processor under its hood… that Samsung and Amazon aren’t sharing a lot of details on for some mysterious reason.
All we know (officially) is that it’s an octa-core affair with CPU clock speeds of 2.4 and 2GHz, although unofficially it’s not a big secret that we’re dealing with an Exynos 1280 SoC also found on mid-range handsets like the
Galaxy A53 5G and
Galaxy A25 5G.
That’s unfortunately slower than both the Exynos 1380 powering the Galaxy A35 5G and the Exynos 1480 inside the
Galaxy A55 5G, which should make you wonder if this is truly the
best Android tablet for you right now. After all, something like the Exynos 1380-based
Galaxy Tab S9 FE only starts at $350 at the time of this writing, and while that doesn’t include a gift card or any other freebies, it does give you 128 gigs of internal storage space.
Other key things to consider before making your buying decision
The Tab S6 Lite (2024) sports a smaller and decidedly lower-quality screen compared to its Fan Edition “cousin” as well, clearly needing an outright discount to better compete against some of those
very well-balanced Lenovo mid-rangers too.
For now, you can buy the (lightly) upgraded 10.4-inch Galaxy Tab S6 Lite in mint and “oxford gray” colorways, with the “chiffon pink” flavor being listed as “currently unavailable”, which probably means it’s coming at a later date.
Samsung’s stellar software support might be the number one reason why you should consider ordering this thing over a comparable product from a rival brand, with
Android 14 offered right out the box and at least three major OS updates guaranteed to take place in timely fashion in the next three years or so.
That all-metal construction is not bad either, especially when you consider the reasonably thin 7mm profile as well, and despite being so slender, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) promises to stay on for up to a solid 14 hours between charges. The dual AKG speakers are also not bad for mobile entertainment purposes, but that $329.99 starting price still needs to go down slightly for this device to achieve its maximum value potential.
