Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 specifications
Price: from $699
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Display: 11-inch (2560 x 1600) 120Hz LCD show
RAM: 8 GB
Storage: 128GB/256GB
Ports: USB-C, microSD
Battery lifestyles: 12:52 (examined)
Accessories: S Pen stylus incorporated
Dimensions: 9.99 x 6.51 x 0.25 inches
Weight: 1.1 kilos
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 units a brand new same old for top class Android pills. This is the successor to 2020’s Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, which we referred to as the most productive iPad Pro rival — and one of the most perfect pills, duration — in the marketplace.
But that used to be two years in the past, and for the time being, Apple redefined what we think from pro-grade pills with the exceptional 2021 iPad Pros. Samsung has additionally stepped up its pill sport, launching the Tab S8 along two better, OLED-equipped fashions: A reasonably progressed Tab S8 Plus and the brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, a large 14.6-inch Android pill with a display sufficiently big to overshadow the iPad Pro.
So the place does that go away the Galaxy Tab S8? Its 11-inch LCD display is vibrant and responsive, however it cannot fit the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021’s dazzling mini-LED show. But whilst it is not honest to name the Tab S8 an actual iPad Pro rival any further, it’s a sublime, performant and power-efficient slate that does not mar the strengths of Android 12 with an excessive amount of Samsung tech.
The Galaxy Tab S8 units a brand new same old for what a top class Android pill will have to be, and it is one of the most perfect Android pills you’ll be able to purchase at this time, particularly in case you are already invested in Samsung’s instrument ecosystem.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Price and availability
- Price begins at $699 (much less with trade-in)
- Wi-Fi simplest within the U.S. at this time; mobile fashions coming in 2022
The Galaxy Tab S8 is in the stores by means of Samsung’s web page (opens in new tab) at a beginning worth of $699 (much less with qualifying trade-in). and for that you just get a style with 128GB of garage on your selection of Silver, Graphite or Pink Gold. If you wish to have extra garage, you’ll be able to pay $779 to get a style with 256GB of area as an alternative.
At the time of evaluate Samsung simplest sells Wi-Fi fashions of this pill, however it plans to supply Tab S8s with mobile connectivity by means of AT&T and T-Mobile later this 12 months.
Make certain you test our Samsung promo codes web page to seek out the newest gives and worth cuts.
Samsung additionally sells a slew of equipment, together with the $139 Galaxy Tab S8 Book Cover Keyboard Slim, which transforms the pill right into a midway respectable computer substitute.
Samsung despatched us a 128GB Galaxy Tab S8 in Pink Gold to check, at the side of a Book Cover Keyboard Slim. If you have been to check out and buy the similar equipment direct, you would pay upwards of $840.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Design
- Slim, mild pill feels relaxed to carry
- Pink Gold colour scheme appears to be like slick
- Gets cumbersome with the Cover Keyboard connected
The Galaxy Tab S8 is the entry-level style of its technology, however it doesn’t really feel love it. The Pink Gold colour scheme on our evaluate unit provides a sublime sheen to the pill’s slender, mild chassis.
At kind of 10 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches and 1.1 kilos, the Tab S8 feels relaxed to carry, even all through lengthy stints gaming or studying at the sofa. The Book Cover Keyboard Slim provides slightly of bulk when connected, however no longer such a lot that you can understand the additional weight in a backpack.
On the again of the instrument you can discover a slight bump that properties the rear digital camera, in addition to a magnetized strip the place you’ll be able to connect the incorporated S Pen stylus to fee it. Along the ground fringe of the pill is a USB-C port for charging or connecting equipment (together with a number of shows, because it helps DisplayPort out), and at the left edge you can discover a port for attaching the Book Cover Keyboard Slim.
Along the correct edge you can in finding the ability button (which additionally properties the fingerprint reader), the amount rocker and the microSD card slot, which is housed in a protected compartment you’ll be able to open with one thing small and pointy (Samsung features a device for opening the microSD compartment within the field). If you have been hoping for a headphone jack, disregard about it — you are restricted to USB-C or Bluetooth.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Display
- Bright, stunning show
- Colors glance nice, simple to change between Vivid and Natural
- Hard to not envy pricier siblings’ AMOLED displays
Much like its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab S8 sports activities an 11-inch WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) LED show with a 120Hz refresh price. And like its predecessor, the display appears to be like vibrant and colourful, with great easy scrolling due to its adaptive refresh price (which dynamically adjusts the refresh price as much as its 120Hz max, as an alternative of staying locked at 60Hz), despite the fact that you’ll be able to lock the refresh price at 60Hz within the pill’s Display settings to make it drain much less battery continual.
While observing TV and enjoying video games at the Tab S8 I discovered the show to be colourful and slightly hanging at most brightness, which used to be subsidized up after we were given the pill into our checking out lab. We began measuring issues and located the Tab S8’s show is able to reaching a height brightness of 480 nits within the heart, with a mean brightness of 463 nits throughout the entire display.
That’s vibrant for an Android pill, outshining the likes of the Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 (390 nits moderate brightness), however it nonetheless cannot fit the brightness of the iPad 2021
(472 nits) or both the 11-inch (571 nits) or 12.9-inch (562.6 nits) iPad Pros. In my very own hands-on checking out I’ve discovered the Tab S8 is vibrant sufficient to make use of in near to any scenario, together with open air below direct noonday solar. However, in such eventualities even at max brightness you will see a large number of your personal mirrored image within the display, which is disappointingly just right at selecting up fingerprints.
The Galaxy Tab S8 show can also be set to Vivid or Natural, and in observe I discovered the Vivid surroundings to be extra a laugh as it makes colours glance brighter and extra colourful. However, should you care about colour accuracy you may want to depart it on Natural. When we pointed our colorimeter at it, the Tab S8’s show completed 101.1% of the sRGB colour gamut in Natural mode and 157.8% in Vivid mode.
However, this is a little disappointing that this gorgeous display is not OLED and does not make stronger HDR. OLED shows and HDR content material are nonetheless exhausting to seek out on pills, however that is converting temporarily, led partly by means of the Tab S8’s larger siblings the Tab S8 Plus and Tab S8 Ultra, with their Super AMOLED 120Hz shows.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Performance
- Snappy efficiency due to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip
- Still cannot outperform Apple’s pills
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip offers the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 numerous continual for many duties, and the 8GB of RAM is helping make operating and navigating between apps really feel snappy and responsive.
Anecdotally, I by no means bumped into any vital slowdown, crashing, or different efficiency problems whilst placing the Tab S8 thru its paces. It had no hassle maintaining 20+ Chrome tabs open whilst I concurrently streamed tune and watched YouTube movies at 1080p.
When we put it to the take a look at the use of Geekbench 5’s multicore benchmark, the Tab S8 earned a rating of three,228. That’s excellent for an Android pill, beating the bigger Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 (3,128) with its older Snapdragon 870 chip. However, the Tab S8 could not outpace Apple’s pills on this take a look at, falling in the back of even non-M1 slates just like the 2021 iPad (3,387) and the 2020 iPad Air 4 (4,262).
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Audio
- Quad speaker array sounds just right, will get loud
- Bass sounds skinny
The 4 audio system within the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 get unusually loud, and so they make stronger Dolby Atmos besides, despite the fact that you can wish to be sure that characteristic is enabled within the Settings menu to benefit from the complete impact.
The audio system themselves kick out sound that is transparent and resonant, despite the fact that the bass lacks punch. Bass-heavy tracks like Massive Attack’s “Angel” sound skinny at the S8, however an album like Howlin Wolf’s Moanin’ within the Moonlight sounds beautiful just right popping out of this pill.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Software
- Great canvas for Android 12, which runs smartly
- Samsung bloatware usually just right to risk free
- Plays smartly with different Galaxy units
The Galaxy Tab S8 arrives operating Android 12 with some additional Samsung device on best, together with a tweaked person interface, expanded inter-operability with different Samsung units and customized device like Samsung Notes.
The great factor about Samsung’s device is if you do not love it, you’ll be able to usually delete, disable or forget about it. Since I should not have any Samsung units available these days I had a tough time checking out the numerous tactics wherein the Tab S8 can connect with different Galaxy pills and smartphones, however similar to with Apple {hardware}, it kind of feels those that make investments deeply within the Galaxy ecosystem can get admission to depths of interoperability maximum folks can simplest believe.
However, I used to be ready to spend quite a lot of time checking out the bounds of probably the most thrilling piece of device that comes pre-installed at the Tab S8: DeX Mode. Samsung’s spin on a computer mode for pills appears to be like just right and feels snappy to make use of,
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: S Pen
- Sketching and note-taking feels easy and responsive
- Skeuomorphic pencil-on-paper sound can grate
I like that Samsung comprises an S Pen with each and every Tab S8, and I love how thick and simple to carry the stylus feels in my hand. Using it to attract and take notes at the Tab S8’s show feels easy and correct, with out a noticeable lag. That would possibly have one thing to do with the show’s adaptive refresh price (as much as 120Hz), because the extra steadily the display refreshes itself, the extra steadily it could possibly reply on your enter.
I do want there used to be a slot within the pill for the S Pen to slip into when no longer in use, simply to provide the pill a sleeker glance and make it more uncomplicated to not lose the stylus. However, it magnetizes to the again slightly strongly, and it is simple to connect/detach with out taking a look whenever you get the dangle of it.
Note that should you, like me, temporarily develop bored with the faux pencil-on-paper noise the Tab S8 pumps out while you are writing with the stylus, you’ll be able to flip it down (or off fully) within the Sounds and vibration segment of the Settings menu: Just search for the System quantity regulate.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Book Cover Keyboard
- Keyboard feels small and cramped
- Satisfying and durable typing revel in
To in point of fact benefit from the Tab S8’s productiveness equipment it is a good suggestion to hook up a keyboard, and it simply so occurs Samsung sells its personal removable Book Cover Keyboard Slim for $139.
The quilt magnetizes to the pill, and whenever you get the dangle of snapping it on it is beautiful simple to connect. The quilt itself feels strong and does a just right activity of constructing the pill really feel secure from the ever present risk of scuffs and scratches. There’s a strip minimize out of the again to depart room for the rear digital camera and the S Pen, and there may be additionally a cubby within the fold of the quilt the place you’ll be able to retailer the S Pen when no longer the use of it.
One of those covers used to be incorporated with our evaluate unit, and after the use of it in my daily paintings (together with penning this evaluate) I’ve to mention the keyboard is to hand, useful, and too small for me to experience the use of by any means. My fingers are at the better facet, so there is a just right probability you can have a extra relaxing time typing at the cramped, skinny Book Cover Keyboard Slim than I did. Personally, I used to be stunned at how pleasurable and durable the keys really feel to kind on, however the format is so cramped that my fingers curl into T-rex claws on the mere considered seeking to paintings on it for lengthy sessions.
You might smartly have a greater revel in, and if you do not there may be at all times the method to attach your personal keyboard by means of Bluetooth or the USB-C port. Of direction, it most certainly may not include a kickstand that holds the pill up as effectively because the Book Cover Keyboard Slim does. Watch out when the use of it on a desk, despite the fact that: the quilt props the Tab S8 up at simply the correct perspective to indicate the digital camera proper up your nostril.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Cameras
- Cameras are just right for an Android pill
- 12MP selfie cam, 13MP/6MP rear cameras; all can do 4K/60fps video
- Sharp, correct symbol high quality
The Galaxy Tab S8 has a perfect set of cameras for an Android pill. Up entrance there is a 12MP ultra-wide selfie cam, and at the again are a 13 MP auto-focus lens and a 6MP ultra-wide lens. All can report video at as much as 4k answer and 60 frames in keeping with 2nd, and the front-facing digital camera has a brand new auto-framing characteristic that robotically adjusts the shot to check out and stay you in body should you transfer round. It’s a transparent reaction to the Center Stage auto-framing generation Apple offered with the 2021 iPad Pro, and in my revel in it really works subtly and smartly.
If you want to {photograph} one thing together with your pill, you need to do so much worse than the Galaxy Tab S8. The rear cameras do a perfect activity of shooting element and colour correctly (despite the fact that you lose a large number of element in ultrawide and zoomed-in pictures), and the selfie cam made me glance higher in conferences than the 1080p webcam at the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio did.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Battery lifestyles
- Nearly 13 hours of battery lifestyles
- Lasts longer than maximum pills, together with iPads
The Galaxy Tab S8 does not burn thru battery continual too temporarily, and I used to be ready to pick out it up within the morning at kind of 80% charged, use it for an afternoon’s paintings, and put it down with a minimum of 20% continual left.
In our battery take a look at, which duties the pill with endlessly browsing the Internet over Wi-Fi with its display set to 150 nits of brightness, the Tab S8 controlled to remaining 12 hours and 52 mins. Enabling the method to lock the display’s refresh price at a decrease 60Hz (and thus preserve continual) helped the pill remaining just a little longer (12:59) in the similar take a look at, however no longer sufficient to make an important distinction.
That’s no longer slightly as power-efficient because the Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 (14:03), however it is higher than the Yoga Tab 11 (11:55), the iPad 2021 (11:59) and the iPad Air 4 (10:29).
In our charging pace take a look at the use of the Tab S8’s incorporated 45W charger, the pill used to be ready to fee as much as 23% in quarter-hour and 45% in half-hour.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 evaluate: Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a wonderful Android pill. It’s speedy, long-lasting, stunning to take a look at and relaxed to carry. The cameras are just right sufficient to make taking footage and video calls together with your pill appear a laugh, and the packed-in S Pen is a pleasing contact that works smartly.
That mentioned, the Galaxy Tab S8 cannot fit the efficiency or show high quality of most current iPads. With Samsung’s DeX mode enabled the Galaxy Tab S8 is a extra possible computer substitute than just about any iPad, however even for its affordable beginning worth of $838 with keyboard you’ll be able to get a extra succesful Windows computer just like the Asus Zenbook 13 OLED.
The Galaxy Tab S8 is just right at a large number of issues, however it is best at being a top class Android pill. You can use it to get paintings carried out in a pinch, however in my revel in it is best loved as a fast all-purpose instrument for making paintings and play slightly extra relaxing. On the sofa its nice for gaming or studying comics, and at paintings it is great to have as a note-keeping instrument or secondary show, particularly should you move to the difficulty of making an investment within the Galaxy ecosystem and making your workspace DeX-friendly.
If you completely will have to have the largest, baddest Android slate conceivable you most likely need the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, however should you simply want a perfect top class Android pill the Galaxy Tab S8 delivers — and within the procedure, units a brand new same old for what we will have to be expecting from the class.
