Samsung announced Galaxy Tab Active, which it said is the company’s “first tablet specifically built for business”, featuring a ruggedised, portable design “to take on the demands of today’s challenging business environments”.

The South Korean firm said that in order to learn what was needed, it “engaged in a series of advisory group workshops with Fortune 500 companies” across vertical markets such as retail, logistics and transportation.

Galaxy Tab Active has an anti-shock covering that can withstand a 1.2-meter drop and, with the cover on, it is water and dust resistant with IP67 certification.

It also has a 3.1MP autofocus camera that can scan barcodes, and NFC which can be used to aid “work process management”. It also includes a stylus under a protective cover as an alternative to finger input for workers who wear gloves, and a removable 10-hour battery.

​Also supported is Samsung’s Knox secure data platform.

Galaxy Tab active will be available in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + LTE versions. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quadcore processor, has an 8-inch screen, and has 16GB of storage with microSD expansion slot.