Not to be outdone by its biggest rival, Samsung just reportedly released new hardware for those who are on a tight budget. While it is not intended to rival the new iPhone SE, it appears to be aimed for productivity and entertainment. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite manages to keep some of the good things its premium cousin brings to the table with a more wallet-friendly price. Consumers can choose between an LTE version or a Wi-Fi-only model as well.

So far it currently seems to be a limited release for certain markets as of this writing and will possibly get an international launch soon. For comparison, the regular Galaxy Tab S6 sports a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2560 x 1600 resolution. The Lite version, on the other hand, settles for a 10.4-inch TFT touchscreen with a lower 2000 x 1200 resolution. In fact, XDA Developers references it as a "spiritual successor" to the Galaxy Tab S5e.

Aside from the lower quality display, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite no longer uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. Instead, it will be shipping with a Samsung Exynos 9611. The RAM size is apparently the same for both storage capacities at 4 GB. Buyers can go for the base model at 64 GB or the slightly higher 128 GB. Nevertheless, with an expandable storage option via a microSDXC, it would not really matter which one consumers would go for.

Another notable difference is the dual speaker configuration. While it is still tuned by AKG with Dolby Audio enhancement, the missing two speakers mean stereo audio is only available while it is held in landscape orientation. Some of the manufacturer's older low-cost slates usually featured a plastic housing, but this one boasts a metal chassis that manages to give it a premium appeal.

Samsung
The pandemic is wreaking havoc across the global economy and Samsung had operations suspended at 11 overseas assembly lines as of Tuesday Photo: AFP / Jung Yeon-je

The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite also includes an S-Pen stylus. Samsung is yet to clarify if this needs to be recharged wirelessly much like the one on the regular Tab S6. Other reports point out the missing pogo pin connectors, which likely means that it will not support the available keyboard case, but could use Bluetooth connectivity instead.

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