Samsung unveils Tablet that can be used without a battery but there’s a catch

Samsung’s new rugged tablet brings many notable features, and it even works when you remove the battery, but there’s a limitation.

Samsung has announced the new Tab Active 5. The tablet brings a rugged build with military grade rating, but the most interesting bit is probably its ability to function without a battery. Samsung says this feature is supposed to protect the battery health in hot environments such as in a kiosk or vehicle.

The tablet caters to people who work in harsh condition or those who are adventures at heart. It brings a an 8-inch 120Hz TFT screen, which is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. The device features an IP68 rating, meaning it’s resistant against water and dust.

Tab Active 5 has a MIL-STD-810H military grade design and features a 3.5mm headphone jack. Circling back to its main highlight, Samsung says the tablet can be used without a battery in the “No Battery Mode”. However, you still need to connect it to a dedicated USB Type-C power source.

Unsurprisingly, No Battery Mode limits device CPU performance when enabled and reduces maximum volume, and display brightness. The battery inside the device is rated to be 5,050mAh.

Galaxy Tab Active 5 also supports 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3. It is powered by an unnamed 5 nm processor.

Samsung also launched a rugged smartphone

Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 has also debuted alongside the tablet and it flexes the same durability features as the slate. The rugged phone is built around a 6.6-inch FHD+ TFT screen with a waterdrop notch. The panel is clad with top-of-the-line Gorilla Glass Victus+.

The Korean company did not disclose the processor powering the phone, but it might be the mid-range Dimensity 6100 Plus. The device brings 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 4,050mAh battery.

Notably, the Galaxy XCover 7 also has pogrammable keys, which enable shortcuts and improved productivity.

Pricing & availability

Samsung hasn’t revealed the prices of both Galaxy Tab Active 5 and Galaxy XCover 7 but says they will be available for purchase starting January 2024. More details should be revealed in the coming days.