Samsung Galaxy Tab Active series

What should you look out for in a rugged tablet?

Four things set a Galaxy Tab Active apart from a standard tablet: the IP rating, drop resistance, the removable battery and the ability to operate it whilst wearing work gloves. The current range consists of the Galaxy Tab Active5 and the more heavily equipped Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro; the older Tab Active4 Pro is also still available. Which one you need depends on how long you’ll be away from a power socket during each shift.

IP68 and MIL-STD-810H: what does that mean in practice?

IP68 means fully dust-tight and resistant to prolonged immersion in water. MIL-STD-810H is a series of US military test methods covering, amongst other things, drop, shock, vibration and temperature resistance. In practical terms: you can hose the device down or wipe it with disinfectant, the screen will continue to work in the rain, and a fall on a building site or from a tailgate doesn’t have to spell the end. Both the Tab Active5 and Tab Active5 Pro meet these standards, and the Pro’s screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+.

Removable battery: keep working without stopping to charge

This is the main reason people usually buy the Tab Active series. The Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro has two 5,050 mAh batteries (totalling 10,100 mAh) that you can swap whilst working without switching the device off. With the Tab Active5, you can buy a spare battery separately. There is also a “No Battery Mode”, which allows the device to run on a fixed power source without a battery: intended for installation in a forklift, delivery van or information kiosk. For shift work, this means that a flat battery is no longer a reason to stop.

Operation with gloves, wet fingers and the S Pen

The screen responds to work gloves and wet fingers, and the Tab Active5 Pro’s S Pen is itself dust- and water-resistant. A programmable Active Key on the side can be linked to an app or scanning function, so you can press it whilst wearing gloves. With NFC on the front, you can scan tags and badges without having to turn the device round. For work orders, checklists and scanning tasks, that really saves time every day.

What you’re giving up compared to a standard tablet

For the same price, you can buy a consumer tablet with better specs. That’s the trade-off.

• The screen is functional, not pretty: a 10.1-inch LCD with 1920 x 1200 pixels, 120 Hz and up to 600 nits. Perfectly readable outdoors, but no AMOLED like the Galaxy Tab S series.
• Mid-range processing power: the Tab Active5 Pro runs on a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. More than enough for forms, navigation, scanning and video calls, but not intended for heavy image editing.
• Substantial size and weight: the rubberised casing makes the device thicker and heavier. You won’t be able to hold it comfortably in one hand for hours on end.
• You’re paying for the casing: the price reflects the certification and battery design, not the specifications. If you work indoors at a desk, this is a waste of money.

Eight years of updates: the business case

Samsung promises eight years of Android updates for the Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro. For a business roll-out, this is often more decisive than the purchase price: you can keep a fleet of devices manageable and compliant for years without needing to replace them early, which reduces the cost per device per year. There are also Enterprise Edition models, designed for remote deployment and management. You can expand the storage with a microSD card up to 2 TB, which is handy if you need to carry offline maps or documentation.

Tablet or a rugged phone after all?

A Tab Active is worth it if you’re filling in forms, viewing drawings or scanning documents. If it’s mainly about making calls, taking photos of a job and using the odd app, then a rugged phone is lighter and cheaper: take a look at the Samsung Galaxy XCover series or the full overview of rugged phones.