Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus
execs and cons Execs Tasteful 12.4” AMOLED show with 120Hz Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 could be very succesful Aspect-firing audio system are crisp and lots loud S Pen included within the field Cons Pricier than most Android tablets Wider facet ratio may be tough to make use of Haptics really feel low cost Software program is held again by Google
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When Samsung introduced its Galaxy Tab S8 sequence again in February, all eyes have been moderately glued to the biggest 14.6-inch Extremely mannequin. In it have been a few of the highest spec configurations we had seen on any Android pill, resembling 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a large Tremendous AMOLED show that put laptops to disgrace. Then got here the worth tag; a lofty $1,279 that might sticker-shock any unsuspecting client.
I can confidently advocate this mid-sized Galaxy pill to nearly any consumer.
That is why the center baby, the Tab S8 Plus, is equally worthy of your consideration for those who’re searching for the very best Android pill. The Plus dimension, which is armed with related {hardware} and software program options because the Extremely, at present begins at $829 on Samsung’s web site. Save for the additional front-facing digital camera and bigger show and battery dimension, you are getting a near-identical, flagship pill expertise for tons of of {dollars} much less.
I have been testing the Tab S8 Plus over the previous two weeks and, whereas it has its flaws, I can confidently advocate the mid-sized Galaxy pill to nearly any consumer. The identical cannot be stated in regards to the Extremely and even the LCD-equipped Tab S8 mannequin. Here is why.
Specs
Dimensions
285 x 185 x 5.7 mm
Weight
572 g (1.26 lbs)
Display12.4” Tremendous AMOLED (2,800 x 1,752) at 120Hz
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Reminiscence
8GB RAM with 128GB/256GB (expandable by way of MicroSD)
Digicam
13MP vast, 6MP ultra-wide, and a 12MP entrance
Battery10,090 mAh with as much as 45W quick chargingOperating systemOne UI Tab 4 based mostly on Android 12Wi-Fi/Cell broadbandWi-Fi 6E, 4G LTE, and 5GConnection ports1x USB-C 3.2, 1x MicroSD card slot, keyboard pins
Evaluating base fashions alone, the Tab S8 Plus is on equal footing with the Extremely, which is nice. It is obtained a big Tremendous AMOLED panel that refreshes at 120Hz, the most recent Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB that is expandable as much as 1TB by way of MicroSD. There’s additionally a wholesome 10,090mAh battery powering the unit, with assist for 45W quick charging. (You may have to purchase the charger individually, although.) The mannequin that I have been testing is the 5G variant from AT&T, which lets me faucet into the GSM community after I’m out and about.
Design
Within the hand, the Tab S8 Plus appears like how a premium pill ought to. It is remarkably skinny at 5.7mm, however the weighted full-aluminum unibody is sturdy and reassuring. With cheaper tablets, urgent the screens can really feel hole and empty beneath. That is not the case right here; Samsung is not skimping on exterior or inside {hardware}.
Nonetheless, I would not say that the design of the Tab S8 Plus will elevate eyebrows. It is only a boring slab of glass and metallic that serves its goal: being a conveyable work and leisure machine. The colours obtainable are silver, graphite, and pink gold, and every one is as delicate and forgettable as the following. (That is nonetheless another shade than what Apple gives for the iPad Professional, so I suppose it may very well be worse.)
Surrounding the pill are 4 Dolby Atmos-supported audio system, an influence button, quantity rocker, MicroSD card slot, USB-C port, and pegs to attach the non-obligatory keyboard cowl. The primary-party accent shouldn’t be a “must-have” for the Tab S8 Plus, however I would extremely advocate it for college kids or professionals who search 2-in-1 performance.
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The Tab S8 Plus is impressively skinny at 5.7mm.
June Wan/ZDNet
Samsung bundles a $59 S Pen stylus with the Tab S8 Plus. For a freebie, the S Pen is remarkably useful and offers the Tab S8 Plus the spice that it lacks. The stylus connects to the pill mechanically and carries 4,096 ranges of strain sensitivity. That implies that your penmanship is dependent upon the way you glide the stylus throughout the show, in addition to how onerous you press down. Whereas my use circumstances of the S Pen are usually extra two-dimensional — I am both jotting down assembly notes or signing NDAs — I can see professionals, like designers and artists, pushing the wi-fi accent to its full potential.
Like final yr’s Tab S7, there is a magnetic strip on the again of the S8 Plus to snap the S Pen onto and wirelessly cost it. From carrying the pill round in my backpack to stacking it above my books and paperwork, the magnet was highly effective sufficient to forestall the stylus from falling off. If Samsung may pull a Be aware — or, ought to I say, Extremely — and add a devoted silo for the pill S Pen, that may be even higher.
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The included S Pen is each enjoyable to make use of and precious for work.
June Wan/ZDNet
Show
Samsung has been on the high of its sport in the case of show expertise and the Tab S8 Plus is not any exception. Its 12.4-inch Tremendous AMOLED panel produces a few of the finest colours I’ve seen on a pill but. And due to the ability of OLED, the show precisely visualizes each lighter and darker scenes, whereas getting a lot brilliant (as much as 400 nits). The tell-tale signal of a great show, at the very least to me, is how nicely it could actually retain colours when seen from completely different angles. Decrease-quality panels are inclined to shift in blue or greyish hues, however each shades have been absent when tilting the system in any route.
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The pill follows a wider 16:10 facet ratio, which makes it work higher in panorama mode than in portrait. (That is in comparison with the squarish 4:3 dimensions of the iPad Professional.) Whereas we proceed to see tablets pattern on this route, I’ve discovered the broader type issue to be clumsy to deal with. Do not get me flawed, the Tab S8 Plus is a killer leisure machine (see picture beneath). However for day-to-day use — and I partially blame Google/Android for this — apps and home windows simply aren’t optimized for the facet ratio. Usually, apps like Asana and a few Google Chrome web sites merely aren’t engineered to reap the benefits of the broader actual property. (I would assume the issue is much more prevalent on the bigger Extremely mannequin.)
At 12.4 inches, the Tab S8 Plus is ideal for on-the-go leisure.
June Wan/ZDNet
Luckily, there are answers to this, like Samsung’s DeX mode and the “View desktop website” that almost all cell browser apps supply. I am going to go over DeX just a little extra within the efficiency part.
The final bit that I would wish to share in regards to the Tab S8 Plus show is the wonderful in-display fingerprint sensor. Whereas my ZDNet colleague, Matthew Miller, beloved the side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the smaller Tab S8 that he reviewed, I am all for the fancier show tech. On the correct facet of the Plus mannequin is an optical fingerprint sensor, which implies that as an alternative of performing an ultrasonic, 3D-based scan of your fingerprint, the system shoots a beam of sunshine to detect your fingerprint picture.
This technique is arguably much less dependable than its ultrasonic counterpart and does not work in case your finger is moist, however I’ve discovered it to be a lot quick and time-saving. When the pill is held in panorama mode, the sensor is positioned proper beside your thumb, so signing into the Tab S8 Plus is only a faucet away.
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A superbly positioned fingerprint sensor makes for an incredible first impression.
June Wan/ZDNet
Software program
Android’s lack of app optimization on tablets continues to be an enormous drawback. Whereas Samsung has completed a commendable job at leveling its batch of home-grown apps, like Notes, Web, and Calendar, with the pill platform, there’s nonetheless work to be completed for Android as an entire. As I discussed earlier than, commonly-used apps resembling Slack and Instagram simply appear like blown-out variations of their smartphone counterparts. Clearly, this is not the case with all apps, as I’ve had nice experiences utilizing Microsoft Outlook, Google Drive, and even the Google Feed on the house display screen. However for a way a lot cash persons are spending on these tablets, they deserve a extra tailor-made software program expertise.
The Tab S8 Plus runs on One UI Tab 4 based mostly on Android 12. Samsung says Android 12L, Google’s upcoming software program that is truly optimized for bigger screens, shall be coming to its flagship pill quickly. We have gotten glimpses of the brand new working system model and the adjustments look promising.
One other brilliant word, the Tab S8 Plus is among the many few S sequence tablets that qualify for Samsung’s five-year replace coverage. (It is technically 4 years of main OS upgrades and 5 years of safety patches, however a beneficiant dedication nonetheless.) That makes the Tab S8 Plus all of the extra dependable for years down the street and is a bonus over another Android producer.
Extra: Samsung inches nearer to Apple with its newest software program improve coverage
A well-known Android expertise, however on a bigger display screen.
June Wan/ZDNet
Efficiency
With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and 8GB of RAM, the Tab S8 Plus will run and handle all apps that you just throw at it. From my weeks of testing, the pill was greater than able to being my background media participant (YouTube, Netflix, Spotify), secondary monitor (Calendar, Google Drive, Outlook), and on-the-go laptop (Slack, Zoom, Google Maps). Solely the Tab S8 Extremely has 12/16GB RAM configurations, however I’ve discovered the 8GB on the Plus to be greater than ample.
The AKG-tuned audio system on the Tab S8 Plus get vigorously loud and admirably sharp. Whether or not I used to be watching the NBA Finals or the most recent episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the audio efficiency was full and vibrant. My solely criticism is the position of the facet audio system as they’re simply coated when holding the pill. In any other case, the sound system did not make me miss the headphone jack in any respect.
Samsung DeX was what I used probably the most when it got here to engaged on the Tab S8 Plus. DeX, brief for desktop expertise, transforms the consumer interface of the pill right into a desktop-like format, versus the usual Android dwelling display screen of apps and widgets. The change goes past the house display screen, as apps can then be opened in devoted home windows for multitasking and navigation. Toss in resizing and you’ve got a pill that may run upwards of 5 apps directly. (I used to be content material with 2-3, although.)
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As somebody who labored in cell retail in 2017, I bear in mind all the thrill surrounding the Samsung DeX dock for the Galaxy S8. It is fairly spectacular that, these days, you may simply change modes with a faucet from the notification panel and never want any companion {hardware}.
A house display screen comparability between pill mode (left) and DeX mode (proper).
June Wan/ZDNet
Oh, and about that S Pen. The tip has this rubberized materials that permits it to easily glide throughout the Tab S8 Plus display screen, and the pill does a magical job at palm rejection. Because of its wi-fi capabilities, the S Pen can immediate Samsung’s signature Air Actions, which embrace Display screen write, Sensible choose, Dwell messages, and AR Doodle. They’re all options which have thrived on Galaxy Be aware units for years and a few are undoubtedly much less gimmicky than others.
Display screen write and Sensible choose have been probably the most helpful for my workflow. The previous captures a screenshot so that you can draw over, like instructions on a map or notes on a PDF. Sensible choose permits you to spotlight an space on the display screen to both save as a picture, convert to textual content or GIF, or take away the textual content from its background. It’s totally useful when working with photographs and movies.
Extra: One of the best stylus tablets: Prime picks for content material creation
Display screen write permits you to seize a screenshot and draw over it.
June Wan/ZDNet
Very similar to the iPhone and iPad, the Samsung pill works finest with a Samsung cellphone. Collectively you may reap the benefits of options like Fast Share (just like Apple’s AirDrop) or Galaxy connectivity to mechanically sync notes, recordsdata, and audio recordings throughout Samsung units. All the apps that assist the latter function are Samsung exclusives, so hold that in thoughts for those who’re on another Android.
Lastly, the haptic motor on the pill could be very mediocre. I did not assume that I would be bothered by the engines of a $900 pill, however right here I’m. In comparison with the blocky and life-like vibrations on the $799 iPad Professional, that of the Tab S8 Plus feels free and rattly — to the purpose the place I simply turned off vibrations system-wide. They’re disappointingly paying homage to some sub-$300 Android telephones that I’ve reviewed.
Cameras
As for digital camera efficiency, the Tab S8 Plus is a step above its smaller sibling due to the extra 6MP ultra-wide lens. Paired with the conventional 13MP vast, the pill is nice sufficient for informal flicks and doc scans. However at 1.26 kilos, I would not advocate utilizing the system as a devoted digital camera and the slippery matte sides actually do not assist with stabilization.
What’s value stating is the brand new 12MP front-facing shooter, which helps facial monitoring and auto framing (just like Apple’s Heart Stage). Fittingly, the brand new lens additionally has a wider discipline of view; it is 120-degrees now in comparison with final yr’s 80.
Battery
The ten,090mAh cell on the Tab S8 Plus has confirmed to be dependable and economical. On a typical week, the pill lasted me three days per cost — barely kind of relying on what I used to be doing. Should you plan on connecting the pill to cell knowledge and/or utilizing it as a devoted workstation, then I would estimate at most two days of endurance.
To cost, Samsung features a USB-C to USB-C cable within the field, however no energy adapter. Whereas I am much less nitpicky about smartphones ditching the charging brick, receiving a toned-down field for a pill felt like a theft. Luckily, my current 65W cellphone charger was greater than succesful sufficient to energy the Tab S8 Plus at its 45W restrict.
Backside line
I am a agency believer that it is best to by no means purchase a product for its promise of future updates. The Tab S8 Plus is an exception. Not solely does the Samsung pill impress in {hardware}, however it delivers software program options (for the stylus as nicely!) that no different Android producer is doing. And with as much as 5 years of software program assist and Android 12L on the horizon, there’s much more upside for the mid-sized Galaxy pill.
At a beginning value of $899, the Tab S8 Plus falls in premium flagship territory. However with some digging round, you may simply discover it for cheaper and bundled with further equipment, too.
Alternate options to contemplate
One of the best different to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus is its older sibling, the Tab S8 Extremely. The bigger pill measures at 14.6-inches, which places it in laptop computer territory, and may be geared up with as much as 16GB RAM to energy the system.
For one thing just a little cheaper, look to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE. The system launched late final yr however stays a succesful and inexpensive Samsung pill. Meaning you may be getting related software program options like DeX mode and an included S Pen.
I reviewed the Lenovo Tab P12 Professional lately and aptly titled the piece “The flagship Android pill shoots for the Galaxy”. Whereas the pill comes with a lesser Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor, it is nonetheless a efficiency machine that champions most apps and duties that you just throw at it.