Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 review: Feature-rich premium Android tablet
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 is a flagship Android tablet. It features Qualcomm's power Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, premium build quality, and the retail box comes with the S Pen stylus free.
The Galaxy Tab S8 Wi-Fi model is priced at Rs 58,999 and the 5G variant is for Rs 70,999. On paper, it has a good set of features. But, does it deliver the goods? Let's check it out.
Design, build quality, and display
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 features high-quality armour aluminium for the casing of the back panel. It exudes a premium hand-feel experience and also offers stability to the structure. It weighs 870 gram and comes in 253.8 x 165.3 x 6.3 mm in dimension.
It comes in three colours— graphite, silver, pink gold. Our review unit is a graphite variant and it looks good to the eyes.
On the front, it sports an 11.0-inch WQXGA+(2560 x 1600p) super AMOLED screen with a pixel density of 276 ppi (pixels per inch) and supports up to 120Hz refresh rate.
The screen size is perfect. It is not so big or too small, great for viewing multimedia content and also reading e-books.
The uniform bezel around the edges is perfectly designed to give space for the fingers and thumb to rest on the front panel to hold it without obstructing the view on the screen.
Watching a movie on the Galaxy Tab S8's super AMOLED screen is a treat; the colors are natural and the black look darker on multimedia content played on the display.
The tablet also features four stereo speakers and they are tuned with AKG and Dolby Atmos sound systems. Have to say, they deliver really audio output and never felt any distortion of sound even when put on maximum volume.
It also features three microphones, so the audio is recorded clearly during a video chat on messenger apps.
Unlike the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus or the Tab S8 Ultra, which come with an optical in-display fingerprint sensor, the generic Galaxy Tab S8 model features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. It is very tactile and responds fast to the thumb impression and quickly unlocks the screen.
Performance
As mentioned before, Samsung's premium table ships with a 4nm-class Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset backed by 8GB/12GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage (expandable up to 1TB) and Android 12-based One UI 4.1 OS.
Working on the Galaxy Tab S8 was a smooth affair and never once, it showed any kind of lag-ness.
I felt odd playing the Asphalt 8: Legends on such a big screen, but have to appreciate how smoothly it performed. And, I enjoyed every bit watching the TV series and movies thanks to the brilliant AMOLED display and AKG-tuned quad speakers.
The Galaxy Tab S8 boasts a dual-camera module--13MP (autofocus) + 6MP (ultra wide) with LED flash on the back.
The device is capable of recording high resolution up to 4K at 30/60 fps (frames per second) and full HD 1080p at 30 fps.
It takes pretty decent pictures. But, I won't recommend people go around the garden toting the big Galaxy Tab S8 to take photos. Instead, the dual-camera can be best used for taking photos of documents to convert to digital copies. Yes, it does a fine job with Microsoft Lens - PDF Scanner app.
I have to add that Samsung and Microsoft have ensured the Galaxy Tab S8 and all other new Galaxy phones and tablets are optimised to work with all Office suite of apps and also seamlessly sync with Windows-based PCs through wired and wireless via the DeX connection feature.
And, with the S Pen stylus, the Galaxy Tab S8 series becomes more versatile compared to any other Android tablets in the industry. Users can let loose their creativity to doodle or even write notes.
It is so satisfying to hear the scribble sound effect of the S Pen when writing on the screen and makes it a wonderful user experience.
Samsung is also offering a QWERTY keyboard accessory and is available for as low as Rs 7,350 on Amazon and Samsung stores.
As said in the first impression article, it took some time for my fingers to get accustomed to the compact keyboard. But once the muscle memory kicks in, it got better to type with less mistakes and if you are subscribed to the Microsoft office service, the autocorrect on the World app will take care of those issues.
Also, the work half done on the Galaxy Tab S8, can be resumed at the exact same point on the Windows PC and complete the project.
Not just Microsoft apps, even Google's YouTube, Duo video calling apps, and more are optimised to work better on the Galaxy Tab S8, making it a worthy tablet to own.
The build quality of the Samsung keyboard cover is really good and worth the asking price.
As far as the battery life is concerned, the Galaxy Tab S8 comes with an 8,000mAh battery. It serves you long. Depending on the type of usage, it can last a whole day or go up to three days. As a journalist, I used to spend the weekend with just the Galaxy Tab S8. Whenever I am reviewing a device, I open the note app on the tablet to jot down my thoughts with key points and save the document. In my spare time in the evening, I used to watch a movie and doom scroll on social media platforms. With such activity, the device will serve you for more than two days easily.
It should be noted that I used to download the movies the previous day via Wi-Fi and play them on a later date. This reduces battery-draining speed and the tablet lasts longer.
To sum up, I never faced any anxiety of battery dying out in the middle of writing an article or while watching a movie. If you plan well, you never have to worry about the battery life of the tablet at all.
Also, it supports a super-fast Type-C USB 3.2-based 45W charger and the device can be charged from zero to 100 per cent battery capacity in around 80 minutes. However, the retail box doesn't come with a charger and users have to buy it separately.
Samsung took the decision to skip the charger to reduce the negative impact on the environment for mining raw materials. They want users to reuse their old chargers for the new models.
Also, the company says that the retail packages are made of recycled materials. Furthermore, some of the key components of the device are made of repurposed ocean-bound wastes such as plastic bottles and fishnets.
Final thoughts
The new Galaxy Tab S8 is undeniably the best Android tablet out there in the market. Yes, it is the most expensive among its peers. But, the S Pen support makes the device more versatile not just in terms of productivity but also explore the artistic creativity side to doodle. The touch response to the stylus on-screen is remarkably good. Add to that, S Pen comes free with the retail box.
The display panel is really bright and is of premium quality; the best in the industry. Writing notes with S Pen and even with the keypad accessory was a delightful experience.
Though it may not replace the ubiquitous laptops, is a really good traveling companion to finish an urgent office presentation on the go.
To top it off, Samsung is offering four years of Android OS updates (up to 2026) and an additional year of security software support (up to 2027), making it a compelling device worth investing in for long-term use.
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