Android 6.0 Update Comes To Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 (SM-T280)

The Android 6.0 update is coming to the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 (SM-T280) that was launched in the US earlier this year. The rollout of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update actually started with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A NOOK 7.0, Barnes & Noble’s version of the tablet, even though the NOOK has the exact same hardware as Samsung’s regular versions of the tablet.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 (SM-T280) was released with Android 5.1 Lollipop, but the hardware has no problem of supporting OS upgrades, so the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update was expected, also because this was a new tablet launched in 2016.

Barnes & Noble have a support page that shows how to look for software updates on a NOOK-skinned Samsung tablet, though the updates should arrive automatically, unless any files have become corrupted by bad apps along the way.

Samsung have slowly started to update its support pages for the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 too, where both the model numbers SM-T280NZWAXAR and SM-T280NZKAXAR are now listed with new Android 6.0 Marshmallow user manuals alongside the older Android 5.1 Lollipop user manuals.

SM-T280NZWAXAR and SM-T280NZKAXAR
SM-T280NZWAXAR and SM-T280NZKAXAR before Android 6.0 update (with French theme/wallpaper)

The same model numbers are assigned to both the NOOK versions as well as the regular versions, since the NOOK tablets are only NOOK versions because of the additional apps fitted to them.

But apart from that, they are the same models as the SM-T280NZKAXAR and SM-T280NZWAXAR models found in stores. So the Android 6.0 update is finally rolling out now between Q3 and Q4 2016 to all models of Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0.

There are only three other 7-inch tablets with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on the market these days, with these being the low resolution Lenovo Tab3 7, the over 3 years old Google Nexus 7 FHD, and the coming Acer Iconia One 7 (B1-780).


– Tom Bowen