Samsung unveiled the Galaxy View earlier this morning and we had a chance to meet up with the company to check out its latest tablet. But wait, we’ve already gotten ahead of ourselves, because it isn’t really a tablet, at least not in the traditional sense.
Sure, it runs Android and looks kind of like a tablet, but it’s more of a portable display with built-in streaming options. Kind of like a TV you can carry around your house, complete with a built-in handle that doubles as a two-position stand. It’s not too heavy or clunky for that kind of use, moving from room-to-room, propping on a coffee table or a nightstand, but it does seem kind of cumbersome for something you’d attempt to bring on a trip outside of the house. Samsung assures us it fits in carry-on bags easily, though, so we’ll try that out.
The 1080p screen might not seem impressive, not for a company known for building some of the sharpest and most colorful displays on the market, but it does the trick. Viewing angles are good enough for two people to sit comfortably side-by-side to binge-watch some Downton Abbey.
Speaking of streaming — Samsung has a custom primary homepage with shortcuts to apps like Twitch, Netflix, YouTube, Crackle, CNN, Hulu, History, Showtime and even streaming TV options from DISH, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and more. you can’t customize this screen, and some of the content you’ll need to pay for to access, but it shows the focus is on streaming media, not really anything else.
In other words, this isn’t Samsung’s take on an iPad Pro, which Apple is clearly marketing as a productivity tool with the Apple Pen and keyboard accessories. Samsung isn’t talking about productivity, it’s promoting this as a catch-all for the folks who want a screen in the kitchen… sometimes, maybe while they cook… and another screen in the bathroom… but also only sometimes, maybe while they brush their teeth in the morning.
It’s a compelling case, and the product seems well built. Do we need this sort of thing? Well, that’s another story entirely, and we’ll be testing it over the coming days to find out.