Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Review: How Good Is This Rugged Tablet?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 is a very exciting 8-inch outdoor tablet that is rugged built and protected against water, dust and shocks. I loved its predecessor and here too we get a 3-in-1 device, as it can be a tablet, smartphone and desktop PC in one. Compared to the Active3, the display in particular has improved. However, it hasn’t improved much in one respect and has even deteriorated in another.

For my review, I compared the Active5 with the iPad Mini 6, as this is currently our winner among 8-inch tablets.

Design & Build Quality

The design of the Galaxy Tab Active5 is very special, as it is not intended to look particularly slim or elegant. Instead, it has to withstand tough conditions in factories, on construction sites and possibly in the military.

It’s a rugged outdoor tablet that is protected against water and dust in accordance with the IP68 standard. This means you can take it into water up to 1.5 meters deep for up to 30 minutes. It’s also resistant to MIL-STD 810H and can withstand accidental drops. You can even clean it with disinfectant.

According to Samsung, it can withstand a fall from 1.5 m without a cover and a fall from 1.8 m with the protective cover that’s included with the tablet.

The Active5 looks very robust. It is made of plastic on the outside and feels very sturdy. The back can be removed easily to replace the battery. That’s right, it’s one of very few devices where you can change the battery yourself, just like it was possible 10 years ago with most devices.

If you want, you can even use the tablet without the battery. In a truck, for instance. To do this, simply remove the battery and plug it into the power supply.

Samsung has built an earpiece into the top center, as you can also make calls with the 5G version of the Active5. Next to it is a 5-megapixel front camera that takes good pictures.

There are three physical buttons under the display, as we used to see on all Android devices in the past. So, you can use them even when wearing protective gloves. A fingerprint reader is built into the home button, which works quickly and reliably.

There is a USB C 2.0 port and a normal headphone jack on the bottom. On the left, there is a connection for an optional charging dock and a microSD card slot. With the 5G version that I have, there is also space for a SIM card. But you can also use an eSIM.

I think it’s a shame that it only has a USB 2.0 port, as this means you can’t connect external monitors. This was possible with the predecessor and wasnone of the reasons why I thought it was so great.

To the right of the tablet are the volume controls, the power button and an action button, which you can assign as you wish.

On the back is a 13-megapixel camera with an LED flash, which takes pretty good pictures, especially for a tablet. Videos can also be recorded in 4K.

A protective cover is included with the device, which makes the rugged tablet even more resistant. It’s made of a stretchy plastic. The case is also useful if you don’t need such a robust tablet, as there is a storage slot at the top for the included S Pen.

Display & Speakers

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 has an 8-inch IPS display with a FullHD resolution of 1920×1200 pixels. At 8 inches, this is definitely high-resolution enough for the screen to look nice and sharp. It’s fully laminated and protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

I think the display is a big highlight of the Active5, because at 600 nits, it’s brighter than most Android tablets and just as bright as the 11-inch iPad Pro. It’s even 100 nits brighter than the iPad Mini, which is otherwise our top-choice among 8-inch tablets. But it also needs to be bright for outdoor use and 600 nits is just about enough.

I also think it’s great that the display supports 120Hz. This is particularly useful for the S Pen, but also for smoother animations and for some games.

However, I cannot recommend the Galaxy Tab Active5 as an entertainment tablet despite the good display. This is due to the one speaker, which is located at the bottom next to the headphone jack. Considering that the speaker is so small, the sound is actually quite good. But noticeably weaker than the iPad Mini.

In addition to that, the sound comes from one side only. So, when you’re watching a movie, there’s no stereo feeling. But yes, it’s not supposed to be an entertainment tablet.

S Pen: Great Stylus

As with its predecessor, the S Pen is included. Technically, it works in the same way as other S Pen tablets, but it is also IP68-protected against water and dust and looks much more rugged than other Samsung pens.

The S Pen therefore works in the same way as the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, for example, and is therefore ideal for handwritten notes and drawing. It’s very precise, responds very quickly and is really well implemented overall.

The same software features are also supported. These include the S Pen commands and the Samsung Notes app. This makes the Active5 the best 8-inch Android tablet with a pen at the moment.

Hardware & Performance

The Galaxy Tab Active5 is powered by a Samsung Exynos 1380 processor with 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The internal memory can be 128GB or 256GB. Optionally, you can get it with 5G and it supports GPS and NFC. The WiFi version also has GPS.

My benchmark comparison shows that the performance of the Active5 is comparable to the Galaxy Tab S9 FE. No wonder, because both have exactly the same processor. In terms of performance, it’s therefore a mid-range tablet, which is why the Lenovo Legion Tab and the iPad Mini perform a good deal better. It is interesting to note that the graphics performance of the Active3 is better.

This is also confirmed by the 3D Mark Wild Life test. The performance is good, but not on the same level as some flagship tablets. I think that’s a bit of a shame, because the predecessor was very powerful by the standards of the time, it had flagship performance.

Well, we know the Exynos 1380 and, as with the S9 FE, the performance is good enough for all common apps. Intensive multitasking is also possible.

Read: The Best Shooter Games For Android Tablets

Obviously, the Active5 is many things, but not a gaming tablet. Nevertheless, I tried out a few games. PUBG Mobile runs great with HDR graphics, but you can’t select higher settings.

I was able to install Fortnite and set the graphics quality to “epic” and the 3D resolution to 100%. It actually runs surprisingly well. In action scenes, however, the frame rate can quickly drop below 20FPS, which is not enough.

It runs better after I have reduced the 3D resolution to 75%. And it’s nice and smooth when you set the graphics to “high” instead of “epic”. So it’s not a high-end gaming tablet, but it does support demanding games.

Active5 Tablet As A Phone

I have the 5G version of the Galaxy Tab Active5 and you can make calls with this variant. In fact, the tablet behaves exactly like a large smartphone in almost all respects. Just with an 8-inch display.

The sound quality of the earpiece is good and I had normal conversations with the tablet, just like with my smartphone. Of course, you can also receive text messages, install WhatsApp and use it normally, as well as use the tablet as a hotspot for other devices.

As with its predecessor, the Active5 is a 3-in-1 thanks to 5G and the earpiece. It’s a tablet, a smartphone for making calls and, thanks to Samsung DeX, also a replacement for your desktop computer.

Software and DeX

Let’s get to the software. Android 14 with OneUI version 6 is pre-installed out of the box. According to Samsung, they want to provide it with major operating system updates for four years and security updates for five years. I think that’s great and very exemplary of Samsung.

I don’t have too much to say about the software, because the tablet runs exactly the same software as other Samsung tablets and smartphones. And I think the software is very well implemented. I like the fact that the Samsung Notes app is pre-installed. And it’s also great that the DeX desktop mode is supported on an 8-inch tablet.

Well, at least partially. You can’t actually use DeX without an external screen. I guess because the display is too small and Samsung doesn’t have an interface for it.

As I said, it’s a pity that the tablet only has a USB 2.0 port without monitor support. So, how do you connect a screen? Unfortunately, this is only possible wirelessly with a TV. I used Samsung DeX with the Active5 on my LG TV and used the tablet as a trackpad. It actually works pretty well.

Compared to its predecessor, Samsung DeX is therefore limited, which I think is a shame. It can still be useful for business users who travel a lot and want to connect their Active5 to the TV in their hotel room.

Battery Life

In my battery test, the Active5 lasted exactly 7.5 hours. Considering the bright display, that’s a pretty good result. For this test, I always run an HD YouTube video at maximum brightness and in this case at 120Hz in an endless loop.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Review: My Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 proved to be a really good 8-inch Android tablet in my review. Especially if you are looking for a rugged outdoor device that is protected against water, dust and drops. I particularly like the fact that the display is bright at 600 nits and that the S Pen is included. It’s also great that it will receive software updates for so long and that you can also make phone calls with the 5G version.

On the other hand, I think it’s a shame that the graphics performance hasn’t improved compared to its predecessor, but has actually getten worse. It’s not a gaming tablet as a result. Due to the one speaker, I can’t recommend it as an entertainment device anyway.

It is also unfortunate that we only get one USB 2.0 port and that the tablet cannot be connected to an external monitor by wire, but only wirelessly to a TV. This may be useful for some, but with the predecessor you could connect any monitor.

Despite these two disadvantages, the Active5 remains an excellent tablet. At least if you are looking for a rugged device that is protected against shocks, water and dust.

If you don’t need a rugged tablet, you can also go for the iPad Mini. And if you want an 8-inch Android tablet, the Lenovo Legion Tab has recently become available outside of China. I really liked it in my review, it was initially only available in China, but has now finally officially made it to Europe. Be sure to check out my review of it.