Frankly, a guy whose ride is a Maruti Suzuki Dzire would be only too happy to switch to a Hyundai Creta if the wallet allows. And frankly, a Jeep Compass owner would blow a raspberry if given keys to a Creta. Moving down the spec sheet ladder is never easy, but that shouldn’t necessarily translate into criticising a product because it doesn’t come with some comfort features.

Samsung has reinvented itself in the last couple of years, learning the ways of the market quickly. There are budget tablets. Then there are flagship tablets. And then there is the budget flagship or Lite. The company has already impressed us with its Galaxy Note10 Lite and the Galaxy S10 Lite not because they are cheaper but because they are capable without breaking the bank. This is where the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite comes in. Yes, it’s the Lite version of the most powerful Android tablet that’s available. But there is no point offering you a spec sheet of RAM and processor because you already know the answer. It’s about where the device fits in, if at all.

A purposeful brother of the Tab S6

Out of the box, the tablet looks as good as the Tab S6. What’s most impressive is the pen that comes inside the box and not with a separate price tag! The pen sticks to the tablet, like on, say, a Surface Pro and it does so with a fantastic click. The 10.4-inch screen has narrow bezels and before you point it out, it’s TFT compared to the super AMOLED on the Tab S6.

Without beating around the bush, the difference between TFT and AMOLED is best understood when the two screens are placed next to each other. Agreed that AMOLED can get brighter, can get dimmer and is better. But so is the screen on the Tab S6 Lite until you place it against its bigger brother. Also, it’s about where you are going to use it and for what. I wouldn’t use the S6 Lite to read a book in the park and I would definitely use it to doodle while waiting at a cafe. This means the S Pen is more important. And the price difference is just too much to even look at this difference of screen resolution.

What I found odd is the absence of the pogo pin connector, which means no DeX, a feature on high-end Samsung devices that allows a desktop-like experience, turning your tablet into an everything-device. So no connecting keyboard. But then using DeX on a small screen can be tough, like resizing windows requires a bit of dragging. On the bright side, the South Korean company has thrown in a headphone jack, which is a welcome move while the speakers on either side of the tablet are good enough for audio. In other words, the Tab S6 Lite is a purposeful brother of the Tab S6.

S Pen is for tasks beyond taking notes

The clear winner on the tablet for me is the S Pen, which comes with the tablet. Load any drawing app and immediately you would be pleasantly surprised by how well the pen works. The lines are smooth. Pressure points are understood well. And it can sort of predict what your next move would be.

Having a pen without a battery (like on the Tab S6) means it doesn’t require charging and it connects via Bluetooth, which is acceptable. Equally acceptable is the palm rejection ability of the tablet while drawing. Say you are doodling away but what happens on most tablets is that once you lift the palm, there are some marks left on the canvas that you have to clean up. On the Tab S6 Lite, palm rejection works well.

Another brownie point for this one comes in the form of the rubbery tip on the pen. Usually when a line is drawn slowly for accuracy, digital pens tend to pick up shakes of the finger. Most artists get around this by applying a matte screen protector, which offers better control but the colours appear somewhat off. The S Pen on this tablet offers better grip and to the casual artist there is hardly any need for extra screen protection. If you want to use the tablet for unleashing the artist in you, we suggest that you install apps like ArtFlow or SketchBook from Autodesk. The S Pen is indeed for tasks beyond taking notes.

Is it for you?

Agreed the bells and whistles on the Tab S6 are missing here. But the user still gets an awesome 8MP camera on the rear while the front 5MP camera is enough for the relentless videoconference user. Since it runs Android 10, there are many good features but Google should look at upping the Android game. For example, Instagram looks great on the tablet but when you use the tab in landscape mode, the app doesn’t flip. This is a problem on the software side and not hardware.

By way of hardware, the battery has enough juice to last 10-11 hours of Wi-Fi use. The octa-core processor is powerful enough to run most games but don’t expect this to be a gaming beast. Seriously, it’s better to go for this Lite tablet than a Windows one with the lowest configuration. As for Apple, you have to buy the pencil separately, which adds to the cost of the machine.

All credit to the company for cutting corners without playing around with user experience. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite allows you to be a master painter as well as a productive blogger. The price is right. The feeling is great. It’s an impressive device for a humble user.

At a glance

• Processor: Octa core; 2.3GHz, 1.7GHz
• Display: 10.4 inch, 2000 x 1200 (WUXGA+), TFT
• S Pen: Comes in the box
• Camera: Rear — 8MP; front — 5MP
• Video: FHD (1920 x 1080)@30fps
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB; microSD up to 1TB
• Battery: Up to 12 hours Internet usage on Wi-Fi
• Price: Rs 31,999 (LTE)