New Galaxy Tab A7 (2020) inches closer to release, but is it relevant?

Fresh evidence has emerged to support the existence of a new mid-range tablet somewhere in Samsung’s development labs. As you might recall, a Snapdragon 662-powered Samsung tablet bearing model number SM-T505 popped up in online benchmarks last week, and now a different variant of the same tablet carrying model number SM-T500 has been spotted by 91mobiles in the database of China’s regulatory agency 3C.

There’s no doubt that the SM-T505 / SM-T500 tablet will hit the market as the Galaxy Tab A7 (2020). This was recently confirmed by certificates issued by the Wi-Fi Alliance. In addition, the moniker and model numbers have also been linked by Bluetooth earlier this month. The SM-T500 variant is bound to Wi-Fi connectivity, whereas the SM-T505 will have LTE support. Both models also take advantage of Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 11 a/b/g/n/ac. The aforementioned Snapdragon 622 chipset will be paired with 3GB of RAM, and the tablet will ship with Android 10 out of the box.

Is there a place left on the market for 7-inch tablets?

Given the Galaxy Tab A7 (2020) moniker, it’s technically going to be a sequel to the Galaxy Tab A 7.0 (2016). It also means that it should have a 7-inch display, which begs the question of whether or not it has a place on the market in 2020. Samsung has almost achieved a 7-inch diagonal with its Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone, and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is expected to have a similar 6.9-inch footprint.

Of course, the Galaxy Tab A7 (2020) will have a squarer aspect ratio that would provide a different user experience, not to mention that the upcoming tablet is bound to fit in a much more affordable price range compared to the company’s flagship phones. But nevertheless, it seems a bit odd for Samsung to want to bring back 7-inch tablets four years after its last one was released. Up until this new model emerged, it looked as if the company abandoned this design and switched to an 8.4-inch format for its smallest Galaxy Tab A tablets. For whatever reason, Samsung may have had a change of heart.

Would you be interested in a new 7-inch Galaxy Tab A7? What would compel you to buy a tablet that seems relatively small by today’s standards? Leave a comment below.