Samsung's Galaxy Tab S2 certified in South Korea, pricing details also leaked

The Galaxy Tab S2 has proven to be a rather elusive product with information (leaks) coming from every-which-way, save for Samsung itself. Detailed rumors have been abound for months now, dating as far back as February. The size and shape is all but cemented. The device posed for some glamour shots in China and at the FCC. The latest in the long-running pre-launch leak line-up reports the South Korean Radio Research Agency (RRA) – which reports to the Korean Communications Commission (think FCC) – has certified both size variants of the hardware.

Model SM-T715, assumed to be the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, and model SM-T815, believed to be the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 recently passed through the RRA and received the government’s stamp of approval. It is assumed these are LTE variants largely based upon the model numbers which corresponded to last year’s Tab S 8.4 (SM-T705) and Tab S 10.5 (SM-T805). SamMobile has weighed in on the news and declared that these two models will be sold unlocked due to the lack of a carrier letter following their product code.

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The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 LTE was never released in South Korea, and the Tab S 10.5 LTE was released exclusively in the Titanium Bronze color variant. It would make sense for Samsung to offer the tablets directly to consumers instead of making them sign carrier contracts, however the Tab S 10.5 LTE was quite expensive and thus without carrier subsidies the potential market would seem questionable. Still, Samsung Korea has at least one other carrier unlocked product currently being sold. the Galaxy Grand Max.

Amid this news, yesterday a leak sprung that claimed to have the prices of this new pair of tablets. It alleges that the Wi-Fi Tab S2 8.0 will cost €399 ($441) and the Wi-Fi Tab S2 9.7 will retail for €499 ($550). No price was given for the LTE 8.0 model, however the Tab S2 9.4 LTE product was quoted at €589 ($650). These prices are more-or-less in line with those charged last year for the original Tab S pair and would make sense provided they pan out.

Based on everything we know so far, it is expected that the Tab S2 will feature a 4:3 aspect ratio not unlike the recent Galaxy Tab A products. They will feature a QHD Super AMOLED display, an Exynos 5433 CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage, microSD support, and Android Lollipop (the exact version of which is seemingly less clear). They are expected to come in at a svelte 5.4mm.

Granted the specs aren’t wildly different from last year’s offerings. It is expected that Samsung is will make a case that they have significant differences worthy of an upgrade in the form of the new aspect ratio (better for browsing the internet), a new fingerprint sensor (the S6 variant), and presumably the S6-build of TouchWiz (more immersive). And of course, the two tablets are expected to be constructed of a unibody metal design which would indeed set them apart from anything Samsung has offered, the Tab 7.7 included (as it used a combination of metal and plastic).

Just how well the Tab S2 line will perform remains to be seen, though with Samsung now having filed for trademark protection of a Galaxy Tab S Pro, it clearly has high hopes.