Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Series Poses Serious Competition Against Laptops
Apart from the Galaxy S22 series, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series of tablets are also here, and it poses a serious competition against laptops. Here’s what you need to know.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is the biggest of the three new tablets, and unsurprisingly, most feature-packed one as well. It uses a monstrous 14.6-inch WQXGA+ Super AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. Together with its quad stereo speakers with Sound by AKG and Dolby Atmos, you can be sure to enjoy an immersive multimedia experience with it.
It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC with Adreno 730 GPU which should provide quite a bit of firepower for gaming, video editing, and other intensive tasks. As for memory configurations, you can choose between 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB RAM with storage options of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. If that isn’t enough, you can expand it further via a microSD card, up to 1TB.
In case you’re wondering, it has a dual rear camera setup consisting of a 13MP wide angle and 6MP ultra-wide angle cameras. The front-facing cameras, which you can see is positioned at the notch on the display, is a 12MP wide angle and 12MP ultra-wide angle camera setup. As for connectivity, it supports Wi-Fi 6E, 5G, and Bluetooth 5.2.
What makes it truly special is its improved S Pen support, as they have reduced the latency even further and improved ability to multitask thanks to the new DeX mode for a more PC-like experience. When used with their keyboard cover case and a wireless Bluetooth mouse, it makes for a very enticing laptop replacement.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will be available starting 10th February 2021 with a retail price of RM5,899.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and S8 Plus
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and S8 Plus are more in line with what you’d expect from a modern flagship Android tablet. Both tablets are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC with memory configurations of 8GB and 12GB RAM, along with internal storage options of 128GB and 256GB. Just like the Ultra model, you can expand the storage further via microSD up to 1TB.
It also features a quad speaker setup with sound by AKG and Dolby Atmos, a single 12MP ultra-wide front facing camera, rear dual camera setup consisting of a 12MP wide angle and 12MP ultra-wide angle cameras, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 5G support, up to 120Hz refresh rate, and Super Fast Charging 2.0 with support for up to 45W charging.
As for the differences, the base model has a smaller 11-inch WQXGA LTPS TFT display and an 8,000mAh battery capacity. The Plus model on the other hand uses a slightly larger 12.4-inch WQXGA+ Super AMOLED display and a 10,090mAh battery capacity.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and Tab S8 Plus will be available starting 10th February 2021 with retail prices set at:
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 = RM3,299
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus 8GB RAM / 128GB storage = RM4,599
Specifications
| Galaxy Tab S8 | Galaxy Tab S8 Plus | Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra | |
| Display | 11″ WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) LTPS TFT Up to 120Hz refresh rate |
12.4″ WQXGA+ (2,800 x 1,752) Super AMOLED Up to 120Hz refresh rate |
14.6″ WQXGA+ (2,960 x 1,848) Super AMOLED Up to 120Hz refresh rate |
| SoC | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 4nm 1 x Cortex-X2 @ 3 GHz + 3 x Cortex-A710 @ 2.5GHz + 4 x Cortex-A510 @ 1.8 GHz Adreno 730 GPU |
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 4nm 1 x Cortex-X2 @ 3 GHz + 3 x Cortex-A710 @ 2.5GHz + 4 x Cortex-A510 @ 1.8 GHz Adreno 730 GPU |
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 4nm 1 x Cortex-X2 @ 3 GHz + 3 x Cortex-A710 @ 2.5GHz + 4 x Cortex-A510 @ 1.8 GHz Adreno 730 GPU |
| RAM | 8GB / 12GB | 8GB / 12GB | 8GB / 12GB / 16GB |
| Storage | 128GB / 256GB (expandable) microSD up to 1TB |
128GB / 256GB (expandable) microSD up to 1TB |
128GB / 256GB / 512GB (expandable) microSD up to 1TB |
| Front camera | 12MP Ultra-wide | 12MP Ultra-wide | 12MP Wide and 12MP Ultra-wide |
| Rear camera | 13MP primary, 6MP ultra-wide | 13MP primary, 6MP ultra-wide | 13MP primary, 6MP ultra-wide |
| Battery | 8,000mAh Super Fast Charging 2.0 (45W) |
10,090mAh Super Fast Charging 2.0 (45W) |
11,200mAh Super Fast Charging 2.0 (45W) |
| Audio | Quad Stereo Speakers with Sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos 3 Microphones |
Quad Stereo Speakers with Sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos 3 Microphones |
Quad Stereo Speakers with Sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos 3 Microphones |
| Security | Samsung Knox with Samsung Knox Vault Fingerprint with Side Key |
Samsung Knox with Samsung Knox Vault Fingerprint on Display |
Samsung Knox with Samsung Knox Vault Fingerprint on Display |
| Connectivity | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 USB-C 3.2 |
5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 USB-C 3.2 |
5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 USB-C 3.2 |
| Size | 253.8 x 165.3 x 6.3 mm | 285 x 185 x 5.7 mm | 326.4 x 208.6 x 5.5 mm |
| Weight | 507g | 572g | 728g |
| Colour | Graphite, Silver, Pink Gold | Graphite, Silver, Pink Gold | Graphite |
In case you missed it, check out what’s new with the Samsung Galaxy S22 series by clicking right here.
Pokdepinion: Given the relatively big advancements of the tablets, I’m quite tempted to try turning the Ultra into my new portable productivity machine. It seems like I can multitask easy enough and I can enjoy the full Adobe Photoshop experience, which is all I need. Hopefully I can test it out sooner or later.
