After checking it out briefly when it first announced , I was prepared to hate the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. Sporting outdated specs similar to last year's Galaxy Note 8 (except with 2GB less of RAM and worse cameras), no fingerprint reader, and a price tag of $650 (and that's not including its $150...

Gorgeous screen; solid build; big battery Dated specs; no fingerprint reader; optional keyboard cover isn't really optional and lacks a touch pad; and it's too expensive

Dated specs; no fingerprint reader; optional keyboard cover isn't really optional and lacks a touch pad; and it's too expensive

A 10.5-inch tablet with a focus on mobile productivity

Gorgeous screen; solid build; big battery

Last week Samsung showed me the Galaxy Tab S4 . I was apprehensive at first because I wasn't a fan of the previous Tab S3 , but Samsung assured me the new S4 added some new functionality that would change my mind on the whole system. I wanted to like this tablet.

In some ways, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 feels like it has a bit of an identity problem. It offers a fantastic multimedia experience with its sharp screen and great audio, but if you want a tablet just for entertainment, the $329 iPad has similar features and even more apps for half the price.

Sleek build; Gorgeous display; Loud speakers; Great stylus for drawing and note-taking; Excellent Wi-Fi connectivity; Dex brings desktop-like experience

Expensive; Keyboard accessory costs extra; Mediocre camera; Android-powered tablets still can't do everything Windows tablets can

Premium tablets are at a crossroads. It's no longer good enough to have great performance, an amazing display and stellar sound. If you're going to charge laptop prices for a tablet, you better make one that can be used for productivity tasks, too.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is an excellent premium Android tablet that can also help your productivity in a pinch.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 raises the bar on its predecessor with a bigger display, better performance and the addition of Samsung DeX, which gives it a PC-like interface; Samsung includes an excellent S Pen for drawing and writing on the 10.5-inch display.

The keyboard cover is not included; it's expensive and; in the end; hurts the DeX desktop experience.

Productivity and Android tablets aren't exactly synonymous, but don't tell Samsung. The $649.99 Galaxy Tab S4 aspires to be the ultimate work-minded Android slate. And in many ways, it is, with powerful hardware, a useful S Pen stylus, and a bevy of productivity features. That said, apps like Adobe Photoshop are the same limited versions you get on any Android tablet, and you can forget about easy file management and image editing. DeX integration brings an approximation of the desktop experience, but requires a $150 keyboard accessory for the full experience. So while the Galaxy Tab S4 is the undoubtedly the finest Android tablet you can buy right now, it's still far less productive than a Windows 2-in-1. Design The Galaxy Tab S4 is a refinement on the design of the Tab S3. It's still a big slab of slick glass with metal sides, but the bezels are narrower and the fingerprint sensor has been removed. Instead of unlocking the slate with your thumbprint, you can enable Intelligent F...

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is the best Android tablet we've seen to date, but it still can't beat Windows-powered 2-in-1s for productivity.

Sleek build; Gorgeous display; Loud speakers; Great stylus for drawing and note-taking; Excellent Wi-Fi connectivity; Dex brings desktop-like experience

Expensive; Keyboard accessory costs extra; Mediocre camera; Android-powered tablets still can't do everything Windows tablets can

A new weight class of tablet

Gorgeous screen; Excellent battery life; DeX is great for multitasking

Android apps for tablets are still mediocre; Requires you to buy keyboard / mouse for Dex to be useful; Face / iris scanning is hit or miss

It has been a long time since I got excited about an Android tablet - mostly because there aren't many launched each year - but the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 has managed to hook me in.

Beautifully sharp and bright display; Enviable design that grabs the eye; S Pen stylus is impressive and comes with it; Top audio quality for a tablet

Average battery life; Doesn't come with keyboard case; Outdated chipset inside

If you've searched for an Android tablet in recent years, especially one in the premium segment, you've probably noticed that there are precious few options available. No Android manufacturer comes close to matching Apple's portfolio, and the one OEM that has dared to challenge the iPad's supremacy...

Display The 10.5" Super AMOLED display is among the very best that you'll find on any device with a screen of this size - be it a laptop or a tablet; It makes for outstanding movie watching and gaming, Battery life The Tab S4's massive 7300mAh battery lasts a very long time, giving it a level of...

DeX DeX's tiny touch targets and unintuitive layout along with a suite of half-baked "desktop" apps just add up to a crappy laptop experience; The Tab S4 is not a laptop replacement - it's laptop cosplay, Keyboard case It's ghastly.

The Tab S4 would be an excellent Android tablet if Samsung hadn't tried to do too much with it. By adding DeX software integration, the company hoped to provide a desktop-like interface to boost productivity, but ended up with an finicky interface that's ultimately unreliable.