Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 review: price-quality the better choice

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is the cheapest Android tablet in the Tab S8 series. According to Samsung, this high-end device should excel in entertainment, productivity and artistic possibilities. Whether that is the case, you can read in this review.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8

This year Samsung brought not two, but three tablets on the market in the highest price segment. These are the 11-inch Tab S8 base model, the 12.4-inch Tab S8 Plus and the huge 14.6-inch Tab S8 Ultra. We tested the Tab S8 Plus last week and you can check our extensive review here. This time we put the regular Tab S8 on the grid. Are you enough with this entry-level model, or do you prefer the more expensive and larger tablets from the series? You will discover it in this review.

Specifications

– Read more under the specifications –

Nice design, great fingerprint scanner

All tablets from this Tab S8 series are very similar and we have already extensively discussed the design of the tablets in our review of the Tab S8 Plus. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a premium tablet and that’s how it feels. It is made of aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (screen). What is striking is how thin the tablet is, because the thickness is a meager 6 mm without the included stylus. You can easily attach the S Pen to the back magnetically, so that the stylus can be charged and you can connect it in the software. We find two speakers on either side, respectively, which together provide a quad-speaker set-up.

A fingerprint scanner is incorporated in the power button, which works accurately and smoothly. It is a point that distinguishes the smaller tablet from the other products in this series. In our review of the Tab S8 Plus, you can read that in the case of larger tablets, we are not a big proponent of a scanner under the screen. The fingerprint scanner on the side of this regular Tab S8 is therefore an excellent choice from Samsung and it also pushes the recommended retail price of the tablet.

Solid LCD panel

Where the Tab S8 has to lose compared to the other tablets in the series, is in terms of screen quality. The Tab S8 has an 11-inch TFT LCD screen, instead of an AMOLED panel. You obviously have a lot of quality difference between LCD screens and I found that the colors of the screen look vibrant enough. It’s not the same as with AMOLED, but you still see a clear difference with the screen of the average budget tablet. This is also due to the 120 Hz refresh rate and high resolution. Of all the tablets in the series, the base model has the highest pixel density. Samsung does use the better LCD screens with the Tab S8.

A disadvantage of this TFT LCD panel is that it lacks support for the richer color contrasts in HD10+ content. In addition, the screen is less economical if you use, for example, a dark theme or an always-on screen. You can read the screen again from difficult viewing angles, but the brightness of the panel could be slightly higher. In sunlight everything is less visible than you would like. I can imagine that an LCD screen for a premium tablet might seem disappointing at first glance, and I still prefer AMOLED too, but as long as you don’t have the very highest demands from your tablet screen, this Tab S8 won’t disappoint. .

Lightning fast and reliable battery

With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and 8 GB of RAM on board, you will not be short of anything, if at all. Everything runs smoothly and you fly through apps, partly thanks to the 120 Hz refresh rate, of course. The Tab S8 is a workhorse and the software even encourages multitasking. When the work is finally done, some gaming can be done and that with the highest possible graphics in mobile games.

The battery capacity is 8,000 mAh, considerably less than the 10,900 mAh of the larger Tab S8 Plus. There’s no need to be afraid of falling down with an empty battery, because the regular Tab S8 still lasts a whole working day even with that smaller battery, even with intensive use. As we are used to with premium devices from Samsung, there is no charger in the box and you can purchase it separately. so you will have to buy it yourself. The tablet can charge quickly with a power of up to 45W. The standby time is also good.

Cameras for video calling

For those few times that you will use them, the cameras on this tablet are certainly sufficient. You could already read that in the review of the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus, which has exactly the same cameras. You’ll find a 13MP main camera and a 6MP wide-angle sensor on the back. The selfie camera is also the same as the Tab S8 and the wide 120-degree angle in which it takes pictures makes it very suitable for video meetings. With the handy Auto Framing function, your face also automatically remains in the picture. You can read all about it in the Tab S8 Plus review.

Nice software and accessories

The Tab S8 runs on One UI 4.1, based on Android 12. One UI is a very mature software shell that comes with good additions to Android. Examples of new functions in the latest version are the smart widgets and the option to virtually expand working memory. With the Tab S8 series you are also entitled to five years of security updates and four version updates, which is definitely an added value for this tablet.

With the S-Pen, the software is even more extensive. You can use it to quickly take notes, take pictures from a distance or take a screenshot with some weird gesture. Samsung also comes with the necessary software that allows you to get the most out of the S Pen. There is a basic drawing app, a more advanced tool and its own note taking app. We already started using this software in the review of the Tab S8 Plus.

With Samsung Dex you can turn your tablet into a simple desktop computer. To be able to use this function properly, I recommend the case with keyboard. Such a keyboard accessory is in any case an added value, especially if you regularly use it for typing. It’s a big upgrade compared to a virtual keyboard.

Conclusion

The basic model of the Tab S8 series may be the smallest: but with its 11-inch screen and powerful performance, this model remains a very complete tablet. It’s not quite a laptop replacement yet, but the S Pen makes this tablet more versatile. We also find the fingerprint scanner on the side more pleasant to use compared to the scanner under the screen in the other products in this series. Despite the smaller battery, the battery life remains excellent.

On the other hand, consumers may be put off reading that the Tab S8 will come with an LCD screen, but such prejudices are not entirely justified in the case of this tablet. A tablet that costs 750 euros is not for everyone, but with the Tab S8 you get one of the best premium tablets in this price range.

Buy Samsung Galaxy Tab S8

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is available in the colors Graphite, Silver Pink Gold and you can buy it from 749 euros.