Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite release date, news and leaks

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has been officially announced, offering much of the appeal of the full-fat Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 at a notably lower price.

As leaks and rumors suggested, it sports a similar design and packs a stylus, which could give it a boost over other budget slates – which, if we're being honest, mostly means the similarly-priced iPad 10.2. 

Below you’ll find everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, along with a wish list of things that we had wanted from it that may yet be revealed. 

We’ll also be updating this article as soon as we hear anything new, so make sure to keep checking back if you’re interested in Samsung’s next slate.

Update: The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has been officially revealed, so check below for pricing and availability as that information is revealed.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? A cheaper alternative to the Galaxy Tab S6
• When is it out? April 30 in the UK; TBD elsewhere
• What will it cost? Starting at £349 / $349.99 (roughly AU$690)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite release date and price

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has officially been listed at £349 / $349.99 (roughly AU$690), though it's also available in an LTE version for £399 (roughly $409.99 AU$790).

That all broadly makes sense, as it puts the price roughly in line with the Galaxy Tab S5e, which had a launch price of $399/£379/AU$649. It's also a fair bit less than the $649.99 / £619 / AU$1,099 Samsung Galaxy Tab S6.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite will be available to buy on April 30, 2020 in the UK, though availability in other regions yet to be announced.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite official details

As was rumored, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has a 10.4-inch 2000 x 1200 display, which is smaller than the standard Tab S6 screen. 

The Tab S6 Lite does indeed pack an S Pen stylus, though ther edoesn't seem to be the same groove in the back of the standard Tab S6 where its own stylus rested. The Tab S6 Lite packs a 7,040mAh battery, which Samsung claims will last 13 hours of video watching or 12 hours of browsing the internet. 

The Samsung Store listing confirmed 4GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage, though it didn't specify which chipset it would have. It has a single rear 8MP camera as well as a front-facing 5MP camera. 

Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite rumored features

More recently we've seen additional renders, this time showing the slate from both the front and back. You can see these below.

The source of these renders added that the Tab S6 Lite apparently has a 10.4-inch 1200 x 2000 screen, an aluminum body, a thickness of 7mm, and a weight of 467g. Based on the images it also seems like the slate will come in both black and blue-grey shades.

Given we don't know everything about the new Tab S6 Lite, here's all we'd heard about it leading up to the official announcement.

The same design can also be seen in an Amazon Germany listing, which states that the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has a 10.4-inch screen and dimensions of 245 x 154 x 7mm.

And we've seen the design yet again in a B&H listing, some of which you can see below, this time in ‘Chiffon Rose’, 'Oxford Gray' and 'Angora Blue' shades.

That listing disagreed slightly on screen specs, saying that the Tab S6 Lite has either a 10.4-inch or 10.1-inch display with a 1000 x 2000 resolution, but we suspect that's wrong, especially as the site can't make up its mind about the size.

Another listing meanwhile, this time on a South Korean store, points to a 10.5-inch screen. We still reckon 10.4 inches is the most likely size though.

The stylus in the leaked image above is notable because while the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 comes with one, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e doesn’t. So including one here could help the Tab S6 Lite stand out in the mid-range market.

The design of the stylus also looks similar to the one that comes with the Tab S6, which might mean the features are the same too. So it’s possible that there’s a magnetized slot on the back of the slate to house and charge the stylus.

It might also support Air Actions, which let you interact with the slate by making gestures with the stylus in the air above the screen.

The source of stylus the image above additionally claims that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite will have a mid-range Exynos 9611 chipset, 4GB of RAM, Android 10, and either 64GB or 128GB of storage, depending on where in the world you buy it.

Broadly those exact same specs have been seen on a store listing too – though it claimed the slate uses the Exynos 9610 rather than 9611.

We’ve previously seen the Exynos 9611 chipset, along with that RAM amount and Android version mentioned in a benchmark, so there’s a good chance those details are accurate.

We've also heard the same specs from another source, which adds that the slate will have an 8MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing one, a 7,040mAh battery, a microSD card slot, and that it will come in both LTE and Wi-Fi-only configurations.

Yet another store meanwhile lists an Exynos 9611 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a microSD card slot, an 8MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing one, an S Pen stylus, a 7,040mAh battery, 5G support and quad speakers.

What we want to see in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

While we've gotten a price and a release date, there’s still a lot that we don’t know about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite just yet, but below you’ll find what we’re hoping to see.

1. A stylus

Based on leaks, the inclusion of a stylus looks very likely, and we hope there is one, as this accessory could transform the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite from an identikit mid-ranger to something with a real selling point.

It would also likely be a much cheaper way to get a stylus-packed slate than most iPad options or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6. And if the stylus comes packing all the same tech as it does in the Tab S6 then it will be a good one too.

2. A headphone port

Headphone ports are clearly on the way out, but there’s just as clearly still an audience for them, and in a device as big as a tablet the argument for removing them is less compelling than in a phone, where every tiny amount of space matters.

We don’t expect the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite will have a headphone port, given that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e don’t, but it would be nice if it did.

3. A reasonable price tag

Back in the realms of likely features is an affordable price. We don’t expect the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite to be cheap, but it’s likely to have a mid-range price, and might even undercut the iPad 10.2. If it does that while including a stylus then Samsung could have a real winner on its hands in the cheap Android tablet space.

4. A great screen

If there’s one thing Samsung knows how to do well, it’s screens, and even its mid-range slates tend to have good ones, so we’re not asking for much with our wish for a great screen.

A Super AMOLED display of over ten inches with a QHD+ resolution is likely, and that should just about be enough for us to consider the screen great, but if Samsung could pack in HDR support too then it would be even better.

5. A keyboard cover

As well as a stylus, we’d also love for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite to launch alongside an official keyboard cover. 

But we’re not greedy, we don’t need this to be bundled with the slate, it can be sold as an optional extra just as it is with the standard Samsung Galaxy Tab S6.

Even with the extra expense, the ability to turn the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite into a true productivity device could be enormously desirable for some people, while those who just want a tablet can enjoy the Tab S6 Lite as is, without splashing out on expensive accessories.

• Can't wait for the Tab S6 Lite? Check out the best Android tablets